December 22nd is National Cookie Exchange Day!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Terrifying Tuesdays: Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)


I've decided that this is crab week, so "Attack of the Crab Monsters" is the movie to see!  In this 1957 release, a group of scientists arrives on a Pacific atoll to find out what happened to a previous team.  They also plan to continue the first team's research on the effects of radiation fallout from nuclear weapons testing on the area's flora and fauna.  Stranded when their transport plane explodes, the scientists discover that the place is inhabited by giant mutated crabs who gain intelligence by absorbing the minds of human victims.  The crabs are also causing the island to sink into the ocean.  As the scientists struggle to survive, they must find a way to destroy the crabs before these monsters take over the world!

This is a typical B-movie of the 1950s, neither better nor worse than most.  It falls into the category I like to call "giant bug movies", in which nuclear testing has unintended negative effects on local invertebrates.  Fear of atomic war was very real at the time, and these films reflected some of the concerns of the day.  This movie is light fare and only mildly scary, perfect for those times when mindless entertainment is the only objective!

Interesting Fact:  Russell Johnson, who plays Hank Chapman, is better known as The Professor of "Gilligan's Island" fame.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 0
   

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