StunnaKrypto
Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Softwing
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
merklekranz
It's difficult to make a case for recommending "The Crater Lake Monster", because while it is definitely not totally terrible, it has many, many problems. Let's break down some of the bad first. Because of the budget constraints the acting is a real mixed bag. The sheriff is sort of the cream of the crap. All females in the film are beyond bad, and often appear to be reading their script during filming. The two hillbillies take up way too much running time, and their act eventually wears out it's welcome. The story itself is disjointed, and continuity non existent, especially admiring the stars in the sky with noontime shadows and obvious bright daylight. The musical score is awful, and at times grating. Now for the good. The on location scenery is nicely photographed. The stop motion sequences are well done. The film is only 85 minutes. - MERK
Red-Barracuda
Creature features back in the 70's often based themselves around the notions of monsters that many people actually believed could be out there. To this end, there were several films about the Yeti and Bigfoot. The water-based equivalent of this phenomena were the lake monsters of which there were several reported 'sightings' of, these included legendary creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster and Ogopogo, amongst many others. I know it sounds strange nowadays but back in those days people really did believe things like that could actually be out there. The Crater Lake Monster is one of those films that taps into the belief in the possibility of the existence of these lake creatures. It was made by b-movie legends Crown International Pictures and it tells a story where a large plesiosaur emerges from a lake after a dormant dinosaur egg is fertilised by a meteorite from outer space.This film seems to have a pretty bad reputation but I can't go along with the negativity at all. Most cheap monster movies from the period would never have put a fraction of the effort into the rendering of their creature as this one does. The special effects artist David Allen has to be given special mention for his stop-motion work, which I thought was more than decent. The monster is a pretty impressive creation, especially when you take into account the low budget here. The beast emerges several times to cause perturbation and despair and whenever it does constitutes the highlights of the movie. On the whole, the film looks pretty decent too, with an attractive location and some nice photography. So, from a creature feature point-of-view this definitely scores. The only thing that damaged the film for me was the excessive use of very poor humour based around the antics of a half-witted duo called Arnie and Mitch, whom we spend far too much time with. Their appearances do slow down the film and feels a bit too much like padding. But, this aside, The Crater Lake Monster is a very pleasant experience and one of the more ambitious releases from Crown International from the period.
Leofwine_draca
It seems that '50s monster movies were still popular in the 1970s, which saw a run of movies dealing with possibly real mythological beasties terrorising redneck communities. Bigfoot was a popular staple of this decade in the likes of THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK and many more films, but the Yeti also showed up (in SNOWBEAST and elsewhere), the giant ape was revitalised with the KING KONG remake and its many imitators, and even Nessie got a look in, as in this particular film. Here, the legend of the giant underwater monster is transferred to rural America, where some dodgy science sees a dinosaur egg get hatched by an invasive meteorite – don't you just hate it when that happens?Soon enough the sheriff is on the case, investigating the mysterious death caused by the rampaging dinosaur. Actually, I lie. Nothing happens soon in this film...and it takes a full hour before any of the leads can acknowledge the existence of the monster. Another twenty minutes and the film is over! So not exactly the best paced film you'll see, but it does have its moments, mostly from the earnestness of writer-star Richard Cardella, playing the sheriff. He reminded me a little of Steve Barkett in THE AFTERMATH: sure, he's wooden, but he's enthusiastic with it and, I have to say, pretty entertaining when on screen.Sadly, the rest of the characters are not so good, including some truly insipid scientists, some distinctly non-rugged macho men, a guy sporting the worst British accent I've ever heard, and a couple of drunken rednecks who supply the film's comic relief. These latter two take up loads of screen time, and their drunken antics are extremely grating – literally at one point we watch them wandering about for a full ten minutes, just filling the screen time. It takes the biscuit, that's for sure.Elsewhere, the script is strictly by-the-numbers, and there's little of the bloodshed you'd hope to see in a '70s monster flick – this is kiddie-friendly throughout. The film offers absolutely nothing new to the monster genre, and even the genuine eerie surroundings are in short supply, limited to a few scene-setting shots. As for the monster, well it's a not-bad animated creature, with stop motion effects by the erstwhile Dave Allen and Jim Danforth combination. I could have done without the clumsy life-size model inserts but there you go. The effects are quite good, close to Ray Harryhausen's standard, and I have to say that the film picked up whenever the monster appeared on screen. But it's just not enough to save a film that's primarily aimed at children, and I have to say that anyone over the age of ten is going to find themselves twiddling their thumbs as this one plays out. Packed with plot holes and poor acting, THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER is only worthwhile for really obsessive monster fans.
dougdoepke
No need to recap the plot. Okay, the film's no classic. In fact, someone in production borrowed the bulldozer vs. monster from 1960's schlock comedy Dinosaurus. But, in my book, the 80-some minutes isn't bad enough to rate among the truly bad, e.g. Manos: The Hands of Fate {1966}. Catch the photography, which is pretty good (of course, post- production bungled day-for-night, but that's not photographer Gentry's fault). Then there're the lush colors, about as vivid as any I've seen. Add Cardella's sturdy performance as the take-charge sheriff, along with some pretty good stop-motion, and you've got genuine compensations that lift results from the truly bad. Of course, the intended comic relief is pretty lame, along with a script that appears almost thrown together. But perhaps most disappointing is the utter lack of tension. Monsters should generate tension. However, director Stromberg fails to build suspense, which requires a better sense of structure than what's provided here. Instead, the production goes for quick shock, which itself doesn't work very well. All in all, the movie's too good to be truly bad, and too bad to be good. I like what another reviewer observed, namely the results look like they were made by erratically skilled amateurs.
