Dynamixor
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Haven Kaycee
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
gary olszewski
I vaguely remember Ben from my Sci-Fi fandom days of the '60s, I was doing several interviews & bios of obscure actors/actresses, most notably Ben, actress Fay Spain, and Jody Fair, who played Angela in 1961's The Young Savages. Ben was one of the people at a low-key Sci-Fi con in Chicago, about 1970, when I had a nice chat with him and his "career" and life. All these were published in some now-long-forgotten fanzine of the day. Wish I still had copies of those interviews, but time marches on, and any of those people surely wouldn't' remember me at all so many years later. Ben was a really nice fellow, ekeing out a living (The cons of those days didn't even pay their guest, unless, of course they were big-name stars, and even then the pay was a couple hundred dollars, at most! Good to know Ben's still alive & kicking! How 'bout a remake of Creature, but 50 years older! Ugly then, uglier now!
jercorn2020
After seeing how Universal recycled their "Back To The Lagoon" doc for the new Creature box set, it was a real treat to see another filmmaker's take on a monster close to the hearts of many fans. And 'fan' is the appropriate word here - Creature Feature is all heart, and was obviously made by folks who not only love the Creature From The Black Lagoon, but the whole world of movie monsters and all the collecting and obsessions that go along with fandom in general. So instead of the usual, boring "this is how the soundtrack was made" - styled interviews and details, Creature Feature gives us a broad, loving tribute to The Creature From the Black Lagoon, including all the people, movies and events it helps inspire to this day. More importantly, it shows Creature's impact on culture.It's amazing that considering all the movies and books about Dracula and Frankenstein's influence on us all, that it's only now we see the Creature and his story getting recognition for it's influence on art and culture. This is the complete, definitive Creature documentary, which shows a real love and a real knack for what makes a monster, and monster fans, tick. Highly Recommended. Bravo!
vze29r3v
I have to confess that when I saw this film at the Tribeca Film Center right before Christmas, I was NOT a Creature From the Black Lagoon fanatic, though I do enjoy the old Universals. Mostly, I'm a fan of both the science fiction and horror genres.However, I was mildly surprised that this film seemed to appeal to me as much as it did some of the hardcore CFTBL fans in the audience. Similiarly, I think that this film WILL appeal to fans of those genres, in addition to the fans of the classic Universal Monster pictures.Personally, I found the history and backstory of the film very interesting, as I did the section on International Copycat Movies such as some of the Japanese and Mexican films that have seemed to copy both the design and idea of the Gill-Man character. There were even some interesting clips that featured everyone from Abbott and Costello (in a segment from the Creature's initial appearance on The Colgate Comedy Hour) to martial arts star Sonny Chiba (in one of the Copycat Creature movies).Naturally, as you'd expect this film featured interviews w/ cast and crew, however some of todays actors and filmmakers were included - to my delight - such as makeup wizard Tom Savini and Academy-Award Winner Benicio Del Toro, just to name a few. And the narration of actor Keith David, who sounds just like he stepped off the celluloid print of THEY LIVE also was a major asset to the film.There's not much negative I have to say, other than the fact that some of the fans' comments may have seemed a little redundant, and a few of the major interviews could have been trimmed here and there, but then again, I was interested enough after sitting through it to actually read the end credits, and I don't always do that. So, perhaps it is fine as it is. Certainly as someone in the indie film world, I might have done some things differently.But, that still doesn't change the fact that this film will provide Creature Comforts to any of the above Genre fans, as well as a BIG SMILE to fans of the old Universals. In closing, I would say that the movie has inspired me to go back and look at the three Creature From the Black Lagoon movies covered in the film. And if you're a genre fan like myself, it might just have the same effect on you.Either way, I think you'll enjoy your 80-plus minute visit with the Big Green Guy!
L. M.
I was one of the fortunate few to see the very first screening of this documentary. I had gone in with very little knowledge of the Gill-man but a deep appreciation for horror movies, and more appropriately classic monster movies.The documentary explored every aspect of the Creature, how it came to be, and the phenomenon that continues its popularity today. The music and light-hearted comedy keeps the audience attention, while celebrity commentary and actor interviews show the impact of this classic monster.I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of monster movies, or classic cinema as I'm sure everyone will learn numerous interesting facts they hadn't known before.
