Der Schrecken aus der Meerestiefe

This isn't a B-flick. It's worse, it's a C-flick. Sea-flick? See?

Now that my really bad joke is out of the way, I can say this movie is one really bad joke on the audience. To say that the science is flawed is an understatement. (The specimens in the biology lab will die without air?!? They're a sealab; their purpose is to study water-breathing life!) The bombast-filled score is nothing more than stale leftovers from the 1950s, straining at almost every moment to add suspense where none exists. The sets are among the least convincing I've ever seen and the special effects are laughable. The "giant" spaceship and the sealab look like the 12-inch miniatures they probably were. The rubber-suited monster is not scary at all even when poor bluescreen matting makes it look several times larger that life. Worst of all, it commits the cardinal sin that distinguishes truly bad movies from the classics like "Plan 9 from Outer Space," it's no fun. It makes Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" series look like "Star Wars." Even the eminently forgettable "DeepStar Six" and "Leviathan" were an order of magnitude better than this. It's almost enough to make me rent "Sphere" and finally see the second half. Almost, but nothing's quite that bad.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Francis D. Lyon; Produced by Earle Lyon, for United Pictures, released by Feature Film Corporation of America. Screenplay by Arthur C. Pierce; Photography by Brick Marquard; Edited by Robert Eisen; Music by Paul Dunlap. Starring: Scott Brady, Sheree North, Gary Merrill, John Howard, Wende Wagner and Biff Elliot.

Science-fiction adventure revolving around perilous underwater scientific exploration and the uncovering of a man-like amphibian monster, of fishy parentage. Suffers from a low-grade production despite nice cast.

Commander Wayne (Scott Brady) travels to a research facility on the ocean floor to study an unidentified object. Wayne spends most of his free time being overly aggressive with the two beautiful, female scientists. He also does a lot of yelling.

The real fun begins once the crew -finally- enter the alien craft. They discover a container resembling a greyish watermelon. Once this container is taken back to the sea lab, it grows and hatches! In no time, a hideous creature is on a murderous rampage! Actually, the monster isn't bad at all. Far from drab, it has psychedelic red fins. The crew must fight for their lives, accompanied by the soundtrack from ANGRY RED PLANET.

DESTINATION INNER SPACE is quirky, 1960's sci-fi at its best...

I totally enjoyed this 60's slice of deep sea b-movie monster pie. The story was pretty good and engaging, and very weird the way the monster comes to be and both the miniatures and the monster are great! One of the best underwater humanoid sea creatures since Creature from the Black Lagoon. I don't know the history of the creature or who made it, but a lot of time and effort went into constructing that beauty! As a kid I remember it scared the hell out of me because of its size and speed. Not only that, there are a few suspenseful scenes in Destination Innerspace that work really well and I think still hold up today. Sure, the monster is not so scary now, but I'm still very impressed by the look of it which really made this obscure little gem worth finding again.

A group of scientists working in an undersea station discover an alien spacecraft. They, quite naturally, investigate. They discover a cylinder shaped object and bring it to their station for further testing. Before you can say "guy in a rubber suit", the thing hatches an amphibious type creature who immediately goes on a rampage. The good guys must try to stay alive and destroy the alien craft before any more of these things show up.

Admittedly, there are a lot of problems with Destination Inner Space. It's goofy, features from ridiculous acting, and has obvious budgetary limitations. But despite all that, there is a good deal of fun to be had. Fans of monster romps should find something to enjoy. I found the monster suit surprisingly effective. It's a unique design quite a bit different form what I've seen before. I especially enjoyed the use of color. Makes it look a bit like the sunfish I used to catch as a child when I went fishing with my grandfather. A decent amount of action, some scientific mumbo-jumbo, and some cheap, but fun miniatures are other highlights. Overall, a decent amount of entertainment despite the weaknesses.

Two other things worth mentioning:

1. I got a real unintended laugh out of star Scott Brady. First, he's a complete fish out of water. He has no business being in this movie. Second, just watching him try to buckle his diving vest over his pooch is a hoot.

2. I'm not sure I've ever actually seen Mike Road in a movie, but I knew that voice as soon as I heard it - Race Bannon. Too cool!