Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

gavin6942 Deep in the rural swamps of Texas, Dr. Simond Trent (Jeff Alexander) is conducting experiments on the local swamp people in an attempt to discover the secret of evolution. When a party of oil surveyors comes upon his isolated laboratory he decides to take the final step and turn one of them into a grotesque amphibious creature.First of all, if you are watching this for the "swamp creature", you may be disappointed. It gets a very, very few minutes of screen time. But if you want to see the story of a scientist that thinks life evolves from a swamp, including people evolving from snakes rather than apes, then you might like this.The picture quality is a bit odd. Not good or bad, but hard to really define. At least we get science fiction legend John Agar.

kevin olzak 1966's "Curse of the Swamp Creature" was John Agar's second of three titles for notorious Texas filmmaker Larry Buchanan, and a comedown even after "Zontar the Thing from Venus" (1968's "Hell Raiders" was the last, a WW2 feature!). He proved to be a very active scientist running and bicycling around in "Zontar," while here he gets to relax and do a great deal of smoking, as do most of the other characters (surely an easy paycheck that any actor wouldn't mind!). Not a prolific genre actress (apart from 1965's "Space Monster"), the lovely Francine York does what she can as the imprisoned spouse of crazed scientist Jeff Alexander, also from "Zontar," who easily dominates the film in an over-the-top performance that simply no actor could have avoided (granted, there was no competition). Were it not for Alexander, conducting evolution experiments to turn mammals into reptiles, things would have been even worse than they already are, chewing the scenery in similar fashion as the wicked janitor in 1973's "Horror High" (aka "Twisted Brain"). One very busy actor is Buchanan regular Bill Thurman, doing double duty as the murdered oil man and as the so-called Swamp Creature; it's difficult to accept the scrawny Cal Duggan getting the upper hand over the burly, imposing Thurman, who incredibly, has even less to do as the "fish man" (the doctor's description). The same green mask with ping pong ball eyes would later pop up in both 1967's "Creature of Destruction" (played by Byron Lord) and 1969's "It's Alive!" (played by Thurman again). Say what you want about director Larry Buchanan, his 8 Azalea films (five of which were remade from old AIP scripts he received to shoot in color) have a distinctive look that defines them, using a stock company of local performers and the same recycled Ronald Stein music cues. One is hard pressed to defend them on any level, but they are certainly unique; just try to explain that to someone too young to have seen them on late night broadcasts such as Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, which aired the film four times from 1968-72. While not officially a remake of an earlier AIP 50s title, the 'original' Tony Houston screenplay is an almost exact replica of the 1956 Alex Gordon production "Voodoo Woman," which also featured a mad scientist (Tom Conway rather than Jeff Alexander), his imprisoned wife (Mary Ellen Kaye rather than Francine York), and a party searching for wealth in the jungle, led by a scheming seductress (Marla English rather than Shirley McLine) and a no nonsense guide (Mike Connors rather than John Agar). Quite a wonderful lady, the still breathtaking Francine was recently seen in fine form in a May 2012 episode of HOT IN CLEVELAND.

Tyypo Let's be clear here. Larry Buchanan is a terrible film maker. If I had known this was one of his movies when I picked it on my streaming Netflix account, I would not have watched it. It is ineptly bad, and it is not quite clear at any time whether the director knows this or not. It's hard to focus on just one element of badness. You have to laugh when you see the Mad Scientist throw dead bodies into the pool to be consumed by alligators. I mean, you can see that it is a clean, normal swimming pool in many shots, then the scene switches to what appears to be a muddy, shallow outdoor swamp where the actual gators are. Was I supposed to see that? Was it an oversight? They blew the budget acquiring that footage apparently, because the actual "swamp creature" effects at the big finale look like they cost about $25, and I'm being generous.I confess I liked one thing: the Mad Scientist's voice. It was so deliciously over-the-top, it went perfectly with his ridiculous lines. To listen to him interact with his lackeys, it would seem that they're all just one mistake away from being terminated from his employ - permanently. All the other characters were just boring, with John Agar's presence almost incidental.

David Michael O'Rorey (retromaster2000) I saw this movie on AMC's Monsterfest in Oct. of 2003 it was on at 3 or 4am I had my tape ready & all to record. But the movie wasn't what I expected. I was use to seeing good monster suits like in Octaman & Zaat both from 1972. But over time since 2004 I have grew to like & appreciate Buchanan's stuff. Zontar, The Thing From Venus, was the first I saw. Then The Eye Creatures & so on. So Swamp Creature is a direct remake of Voodoo Woman (1956) it's about this mad scientist named Simon Trent who is trying to make land creatures into sea creatures his several failed experiments with his human subjects ended up in the gator pool. He even ends up using one of his assistants played by Tony Houston. John Agar stars & plays Barry Rogers a Geologist that falls into a plot for money dealing with finding oil. The local Snake Worshiping Natives are restless & know the doctor's evil experiments. Agar & the rest eventually get to their destination & meet the doctor & his charming sexy wife played by Francine York, which looks so gorgeously hot in the red dinner dress if u don't like these movies then at least watch it for her. So the doctor eventually succeeds in creating his fish swamp monster by using the chick posing as Mrs. West. Of course u know it's not going to work with Pat (Francine York) taunting her to show her how Simon ruined her beauty she throws him into the gator pool. This movie isn't for you unless u like B & Z Grade Sci-Fi & Horror Flicks. If u guys like 60's glamor watch it for Francine York at least. She looks stunning in this movie. I think this is Buchanan's best 60's Made For T.V. remake besides Creature Of Destruction from 1967.