Attack of the Giant Leeches

Director - Brandon L. Kowalski (Jake and the Fatman, Airwolf)

Starring - Ken Clark (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Pretender),Yvette Vickers (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Dead Don't Die), and Jan Shepard (Land of the Giants, The Magical World of Disney)

Release Date - 1959

Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi

Tagline - "Crawling horror... rising from the depths of hell... to kill and conquer."

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      When I was growing up I would often go out of my way to watch any slasher and zombie flick I could find.  I absolutely fucking loved them and nothing was more entertaining than a stack of these films a bunch of snacks and soda on a Friday or Saturday night.  However, as much as I loved slashers and zombies, I always found myself drawn to genre titles of the 40s, 50, and 60s.  I used to love watching films from these decades with my grandmother.  I watched a lot of films with her and even more from these decades over the years.  In 1959 Kowalski would follow up Night of the Blood Beast with Attack of the Giant Leeches.  The film would be remade in the early 2000s but this remake would completely miss the camp that made the original so much fun.  A few weeks back Film Masters sent over a Brandon L. Kowalski double feature with two Roger Corman produced films on blu.  I couldn't wait to dig into them and as soon as I finished Night of the Blood Beast, I hit play on Attack of the Giant Leeches.  

     The film follows a scientist and his girlfriend who are doing research in the swamp near a smalltown when a local starts claiming that a large monster killed the man he caught his wife sleeping with.  The town suspects him of killing him for that very reason but as time goes on more people turn up dead and they discover giant leeches are responsible.  

     Attack of the Giant Leeches is one I had seen before but never stood out to me.  It's a pretty forgettable movie but it's not bad.  It's a campy film that will satisfy if you are looking for cheesy monster movie from the golden age of Hollywood.  The acting in this one is extremely campy and stereotypical of the time.  Everyone is over the top and extremely dramatic.  Everyone hams it up but the female cast is my absolutely favorite.  Their screams are so loud and powerful while their portrayal of women is frail and weak.  The story for this one is not one that is thought provoking or clever.  However, it is a straight forward monster movie that made going to the drive-ins so much fun during this long gone era.  It's a mindless monster attacking a generic group of characters that the viewer has zero connection with.  Finally, this isn't a bloody flick.  It does have a body count but the kills are never shown on screen.  We have to use our imagination which is a good way for the film to cut some of the budget.  The creature design is a bit of a miss as well but it does have a certain charm about it that made all creature features of the 50s fun.  Overall, Attack of the Giant Leeches is not the most unique monster movie from the 50s but it's still a solid watch especially if you just finished Night of the Blood Beast.  I highly recommend checking it out.