2
(nothing substantial)
7
(some mild monster violence)
3
(avoid it unless you have a strong interest in some aspect of it)
My viewing of "Creature From the Haunted Sea" was not particularly pleasurable. Maybe this was partially because I had different expectations of what I was getting into. I'm not much of a Roger Corman fan anyway, so that didn't help I'm sure.
Spies are following Cuban treasure being smuggled by a mobster. In an effort to double-cross for a larger share of the loot (as in 100%) the villain knocks off his Cuban partners under the guise of a famous monster. What he doesn't count on is that the monster is real and just happens to choose that moment to show up for a little mayhem throwing all criminal plans awry.
This is more of a comedy than a horror (despite being market to me as the latter) which is a large part of the differing expectations I mentioned. There is very little horrific material amounting to some murders and a few monster battles that are more goofy than spooky. Taken from the view of being funny this is more tolerable, but even with that in mind the movie would benefit from a stronger approach to the horror elements.
As far as the comedy goes it does have some funny moments though it took me a while to get used to the style of goofy humor. Mostly I was bored. The pace is very slow and the comedy is often out-of-place silly. It amounts to things like a guy who makes animal noises as a means of communication, except the noises he makes are clearly recordings of the real thing making his recreation of them hyper-real. That was silly to me without being funny at least after the 5th or 6th time, but deadpan lines about dusk being evident because the sun was going down managed to crack me up. A musical number involving a woman singing on a boat for no reason goes on for forever and makes no sense. It was neither scary nor funny nor a particularly good song which illustrates the lacking in the movie's ability to do anything well except be silly.
If you can get into it enough to laugh it’s not the worst movie. The acting is more passable than some of its peers from the black-and-white era of filmmaking, and like I said, I did find myself laughing sometimes. However, getting into it is not something a lot of people are likely to do.
Morality
I don’t recall hearing any strong language. There’s little if any sexuality. The movie is about a monster killing people so there is some violence, but it’s not at all graphic. Most of the killing blows happen off screen. The monster scenes are not at all scary.
Spirituality
I think I was too bored to notice any spiritual implications.
Final Thoughts
Some decent acting and the occasional laugh save "Creature from the Haunted Sea" from being completely unbearable but only just slightly. If you want an old horror/comedy to watch "One Body Too Many" is a better choice. (I'm sure there are others, but I just happened to watch both of these close together.)
Buying Guide
Like many of these very old movies there are more versions of "Creature from the Haunted Sea" than you can shake a sea monster at. At least this time there are a couple that stand out from the others.
While there are a few stand-alone DVD options only 1 of these stands out: the one that lists “In Color!” The other notables are multi-packs with one being the 50 pack of "Horror Classics," and the other being a Roger Corman 3 pack.
While I don't care at all about having colorized versions of black-&-white films, the “In Color!” DVD does also offer a “restored” transfer of the original as well. It lists the full-frame ratio and no extras.
The Roger Corman Puerto Rico trilogy offers "Creature from the Haunted Sea," "The Last Woman on Earth," and "Battle of Blood Island" with the best presentations and listing of extras I've seen for any of them. This is the only listing for a widescreen version of this movie that I've seen along with a commentary and additional scenes shot for TV.
Final Recommendation:
If you're really wanting to own this movie on its own merits the Roger Corman trilogy is easily your best bet. It's the only one listing any extras and is your best bet at quality of presentation. The 50 pack offers a lot of movies for a low price and offers acceptable quality for the casual fan. The Chilling 20 pack is OK as well but generally less pleasing quality-wise than the 50 pack.
I'll start by telling you about the "Horror Classics" 50 pack.
Video
1.33:
I thought this would have been the original ratio for the movie, but since the trilogy pack lists a widescreen version maybe this really is an early example of pan-&-scan. The image is pretty rough containing a lot of trash and lines. It looks like the negative was scratched up. It's still clear enough to make out all the action.
Audio
2.0 mono:
The audio quality is decent, and by decent I mean you can understand all the dialogue (which is not always the case with these old films). It shows its age but is acceptable. It does sound somewhat muted, but there isn't much white noise.
Packaging
This particular disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box. Newer versions are repackaged in plastic.
Extras
There are none.
I've also seen the version in the 20 pack called “Chilling.”
Video
1.33:
It's trashy, a little washed out, and grainy with a shaky image.
Audio
2.0 mono:
There is a good bit of white noise, enough to be annoying.
Packaging
The disc comes in a paper sleeve that lives in a plastic case.
Extras
No extras for this one, either.