Halloween season
simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of golden age Universal
horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip
of it by counting down Psychobabble’s
31 Favorite Universal Horrors!
#12. The Creature
from the Black Lagoon (1954- dir. Jack Arnold)
Just when Universal horror seemed dead in the water, this
little gem from Jack Arnold came bubbling to the surface. The supposition that
there might be some sort of missing link between fish and person is goofy, but
that’s okay since it spawned the Gill Man, and he may be the most interesting looking
of all Universal monsters. Good work, Millicent Patrick! The underwater sequences
are lovely, though they do tend to go on and on. The film really works best
above lagoon level when the Gill Man is shuffling across the deck of the Rita, Nestor Paiva is gnawing his cigar
and refusing to take shit from irritating Richard Denning, and Julie Adams is
being Julie Adams.
