Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

What a great 4th of July, an antique car show, created a new zombie head for a display jar and generally just chilled. While hanging out, I decided it was time to beak into some of the low-budget flicks I have in my collection. My choice for the early afternoon was the 1961 cult classic Creature from the Haunted Sea!

Plot/ Inept government agent XK150 is on the trail of mobster Renzo Capetto, a Bogart wanna-be who is transporting General Tostada, a group of exiled Cuban nationals, and a large portion of the Cuban treasury out of Cuba. Mary-Belle Monahan (an infamous gangster moll), Happy Jack Monahan (her dim-bulb gangster-in-training brother) and Pete Peterson Jr. (a hoodlum/animal impersonator) also accompany Renzo. Agent XK150 assumes the identity of "Sparks Moran" and somehow convinces Renzo to add him to the gang. Renzo concocts a plan to "invent" a sea monster, so that the Cubans will allow him to change their course. The phony sea monster will allow him to eliminate a few of the Cubans, and get himself closer to the treasure. Unfortunately, someone else invented the monster first.

What a Corman classic! This horror/comedy blending humor and suspense is totally absurd and cheesy but has a few fine moments mixed in. The movie has storyline full of gaps, and unfathomable twists and is actually a total mess. However, the incredibly cheap special effects with the ridiculous rubber monster have to be an all-time great! In the end, this is just another Z- budget gem from Roger Corman! A playful and witty send up of horror thrillers mixing gangsters, fleeing revolutionaries and a sea monster, what else could you ask for?