Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man

Saw this recently and was very impressed, especially with the written narrative that seemed to move the story along nicely. Not to mention the fact that the narrative was delivered by none other than Keith "THEY LIVE" David, who is just as impressive a narrator as he is an actor.

As a fan of horror/sci-fi, I certainly knew some of the backstory of the Creature From the Black Lagoon, but I learned a whole lot more in this very informative documentary that had a really fast pace, and interesting subject material.

There were also nice turns by Academy-Award winner Benicio Del Toro and Arthur Ross, the original writer of the first and third films in the Creature trilogy. Don't want to give too much away, but I will say that this film will capture your interest, even if only a casual movie buff, while also serving as informative for the movie fanatics. And, that's well worth the price of admission!

I have been a die hard Universal Monster movie fan for nearly twenty years. I was fortunate enough to get a ticket through a friend, and I was able to see this film screened in LA earlier in the year. Being such a devoted Monster fan it was a wonderful experience to see this awesome documentary. From start to finish it gives you everything you want to know about the most popular Universal Monster of the 50's THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Many of the highlights for me were the rare photos, the narration by the "GREAT" KEITH David. Also, you have the a clip from the COLGATE COMEDY HOUR with classic comedians BUD ABBOTT and LOU COSTELLO when they met the CREATURE on national television before the movie had went into theaters.

Also you have BEN CHAPMAN(the actor who played the Gill Man), his beautiful leading lady JULIE ADAMS as well. Plus, ARTHUR ROSS the screen writer for both CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and the third and final entry CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. What I enjoy most of all is the depth this doc gives you on the history of this classic movie. You also see many fans from MONSTER CONVENTIONS from all over the USA. It's so great to see these stars signing autographs, and meeting fans at the shows. My favorite moment is when GILL MEN - BEN CHAPMAN (who did all the land scenes) and RICOU BROWNING (who did all the underwater scenes). When they finally meet each other and shake hands after 50 years. What a true magical moment to see these two together again after all these years. Just to see them enjoying a laugh together is a piece of movie history caught on film.

This documentary takes the time and goes into detail on the entire trilogy of CREATURE films. Which to me is just great, up until this point not much history had been brought up about the CREATURE. Now with this "GREAT" documentary we now have a detailed, highly entertaining look back at one of the most iconic monsters of all time. If you love Monster films, or if you just love films in general this is the one for you.

In closing just let me say that also in the doc. is Academy Award winner BENICIO DEL TORO, and DANIEL ROEBUCK as well. So, I strongly encourage every one of you to catch this wonderful, fun, and informative piece of work in this documentary CREATURE FEATURE: 50 YEARS OF THE GILL-MAN.

It was informative, entertaining, irreverent and silly at times just like the essence of those 50's sci fi movies. It was interesting to see how such a movie as the Creature from The Black Lagoon could have such a profound influence on America. I think not only was this a very good film but also a unique evidence of the great influence of films on the culture. Never would I have imagined such nutters as the guy with the Creature tattoos, the people with the vast COTBL memorabilia collections. Eccentric people like that are interesting. I just like the overall tone of it. Criticisms I have are it dragged on a bit long. SOme of the comments made at the horror film conventions were a little empty and useless. As well some of Benecio De Toro's comments probably should have been edited as they were not worthy of the final cut. But then again nothing is ever perfect. Also the footage of the actual Lagoon with the boat ride was a bit corny. But aside from that, the film is very very good. I think it has a place, possibly on late night on AMC, The Sci Fi Channel, or even as a special bonus addition to Creature DVD edition. Thumbs up.

You know how one thinks they have an understanding on subcultures that exist all around us and then you are introduced to a specific subculture and all of the sudden you are like "Holy crap, this stuff is totally crazy"? That is what happened to me when I watched "Creature Feature" at the Tribeca Screening Room on Dec 16th. The total chaos that I witnessed in this movie on the fans of the Gill-Man, from the fanatics at the conventions to the known stars as Benicio Del Toro and Dan Roebuck, was entertainment at its finest. I do not want to sound harsh and call people "freaks" but I am! I loved those Gil-Man freaks and this documentary did a great job on showing the true love of the Creature.

Looked great Sam. Looked just like a first look and the production value was great. Very informative and now I want to stay up till 3 am to watch it some night. Maybe I ll just go down to the local video store and rent it. I can't wait to see the next thing you do. Hopefully you remember me to cast me. J/k With Hollywood in the midst of a bunch of redo's or do over. I bet it won't be long till we see the creature back up on the main screen. I think your first look will be enough to prompt so action from the suits in Hollywood. I would definitely buy a ticket to go see it. If you guys don't already know it Sam is the new up and comer. I can't wait to see whats next.

Great job