365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 365- Attack of the Crab Monsters

Any movie that has the line "Once they were men, now they are land crabs" in it, can't be all bad. In fact when I was seven I loved this movie about giant crabs that stalked a group of scientist and killed them and ate their brains. This gave them the ability to absorb the scientists consciousness and then it stalked the rest of the group with telepathy, luring them to their doom. One by one the scientist were killed until there were only a few left on a Pacific island that was slowly sinking into the ocean.

 Whenever this movie was broadcast on Saturday morning TV I would sit in front of the TV with my bowl of cereal and tune in. I was enthralled by these murderous giant crustaceans. I loved this movie. I thought it was the greatest thing, right up there with my other favorite, The Crawling Eye (which has held up better over the years). 

I have since grown up and, in  the intervening years, have learned the difference between a good movie and a bad movie. But as bad movies go Attack of the Crab Monsters is a "good" bad movie. 

It is another of producer - director Roger Corman's low budget monster movies that deserves to mocked on Mystery Science Theatre. In fact they probably have mocked it. Everything about it is bad, from the cornball script to the ridiculous paper-mache monsters. But it's all bad in a good way and while you can't help making fun of it, you appreciate it for the great schlock that it is. 

Released in 1957 and made for a low budget of $70,000 dollars, it was just one of nine movies Corman made in '57. he developed a reputation for fast, cheap work. Many of the greatest names in modern movies learned their craft in the "Roger Corman school of film making". Sadly there are no future greats in The Attack of the Crab Monsters., the closest star the movie has is Russell Johnson, who would go on to play the professor on Gilligan's Island.

I can't recommend Attack of the Crab Monsters with a straight face, but if you are in the mood for some extreme silliness disguised as a monster movie, check it out.

At The Movie House rating *1/2 stars. ( Add **1/2 stars if you are under 8 years old)