THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Many monsters are known to be spotted right in the same surface as us, but the most unpredictable ones come from the sea.
PLOT
Creature from the Black Lagoon follows archeologist Carl Meia lead an expedition that is different from anything he's done before. He discovers a skeletal fossil that is a hand with webbed fingers, which links there was a life blended between land and sea animals of the Devonian period. He reaches out to ichthyologist David Reed and his girlfriend Kay Lawrence to join him on his expedition in Brazil. The trip will be funded by Reed's boss Mark Williams who will also join them in searching for the remaining skeleton. During Carl's absence from his camp though, two of his assistants who were waiting for his return get killed by an amphibious humanoid that the fossil originates. Carl's group, which also includes fellow scientist Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell), head to the camp via ship, a tramp steamer Rita by the captain Lucas (Nestor Paiva). They do find the ruins of the camp, but suspect it to be an animal like a jaguar. As it becomes difficult to find the remaining fossil, Mark wants to give up but David theorizes it must have washed downriver thousands of years prior being broken up bu the current. The group continues sailing into a black lagoon that Lucas identifies it as 'a paradise no one has ever returned from'. Little do the know that the same Gill-man that attacked the camp has been following them. When Mark & David go collect some rock samples, the creature stalks Kay that goes swimming underwater. It later reveals its existence to the whole group when getting caught in a drag line and leaving a claw behind in the net to escape. Mark & David pursue it underwater, but it still escapes despite getting shot with a harpoon. David shows the group the pictures he took upon encounter, which in turn they confirm it to be the creature of the same fossil. The Gill-man soon boards the ship and kills a crew member before heading back to the sea, leaving behind distinctive wet footprints in the process. By night, it tries to attack Rita and this time, the crew is able to capture it by trapping it in a cage once they corner it. The trap isn’t permanent though because it’d break free and attack Edwin. Despite defending himself, Edwin would be severely injured from the conflict. At that point, the crew finally decides to leave the lagoon until finding themselves blocked by fallen logs, orchestrated by the sea beast. As the men get occupied in moving the logs, Mark gets mauled by the Gill-man he was trying to capture on his own. The creature then abducts Kay and takes her to its grotto. The others follow them and rescue their colleague by shooting down the monster. The film ends with its body sinking into the watery depths.
THOUGHTS
Considering how there weren’t any new creatures in the 40s after The Wolf Man, you would think there wouldn’t be anything new from the Universal Monsters going into the 50s. Boy was I wrong because director Jack Arnold gave a much needed shakeup that delivers and then some. Instead of exploring the dangers of sci fi like Frankenstein, this one is about the danger of humanity can be inhumane towards nature; It expresses how people choose to see anything as a threat rather than give a chance to understand it, leading to an expected amount of consequences. That’s exactly what happens in this narrative because when you pick a fight against nature, it can sure as hell fight back and that’s the dynamic we see from start to finish. Although actors Ricou Browning & Ben Chapman were admittedly uncomfortable wearing the costumes to portray the Gill-man, there is no denying they brought so much life to this character once the cameras were rolling. From start to finish, we get to understand via body language this is just a curious being who wants to understand what’s new to him, but ends up attacking when being/feeling provoked. Believe it or not, he abducts Kay because he is infatuated with her the way she loves David. I wouldn't blame him though since Julie Adams is gorgeous, but you're in the wrong if you're taking her against her will. Moving on, there is a dynamic between the human characters alone because each one has limits with their own passion of pursuing the unknown. Richard Carlson shows David to be the passionate who wants the time to study the creature before push comes to shove, which is what Kay and Lucas follow in suit because they understand there is more to life than fear. Antonio Moreno also embraces that motto as Carl because he found the fossil first and like the others, he's eager to learn life that came before us but doesn't want to limit the options in figuring it out. That is where Richard Denning makes a big difference as Mark because he's all about being the dominant species when it comes to being an adventurer and sees it as an only solution, hence being keen on killing the Gill-man as they tried to capture it. That alone defends why he doesn't deserve any sympathy once he bites the dust and further proves how monsters are much different from what we expect because what's inner can be sometimes worse than what's out. In conclusion, Creature from the Black Lagoon is a fantastic monster flick for shaking up how we identify monsters as a whole. If sci fi and monsters are up your alley, see this now.
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