2
(nothing direct)
6
(violence and mild gore)
2
(so bad it's amusing)
What would happen if shrews grew as big as dogs? Evidently they would eat people. Makes sense to me and if you disagree then you’re just silly. Of course it could happen! Just watch "The Killer Shrews;" it explains very well how it could be possible!
See, here’s what happens. A boat captain arrives with supplies for a scientific research facility on an isolated island. With a hurricane about to hit they all hole up and buckle down in the poorly constructed building that doesn’t seem ideal for riding out a thunderstorm much less a hurricane. But anyway, the scientists have been experimenting with making rodents smaller, the problem is that one of their experiments went in the wrong direction and got bigger instead (must have been Backwards Day). Now the big guys are insatiably hungry and breeding like…. well, like rodents. That means a dwindling food supply. So the humans are starting to look like a pretty tasty snack.
The overpopulation of a hungry group of mutant animals sounds just like something out of a B horror movie doesn’t it? Nay, it is the very description of the genre. I can hear the pitch now. “Yes, sir, that is the movie we want to make. We can use coon dogs for the monsters and shoot in a couple of locations: a waterfront and a house.” “OK, fine, we’ll finance that. You’ve got $20. Make it stretch.” “How am I going to make a movie on $20? Guess that means no actors. Maybe someone out there will want to be in a movie. Doris, didn’t your cousin want to break into movies but nobody will hire him? Tell him I’ve got him a part!”
Seriously the acting in this movie is terrible. There are one or two parts that don’t completely suck, but that’s about the best I can say. With such a crazy story and limited scenery the movie really needs some decent characterizations to keep its head above water. I guess you can figure out that that didn’t happen.
The dogs work surprisingly well as the deadly rodents, it’s better at least than dressing up actors in rubber suits. But against everything else they come across as goofy as the rest of it.
Morality
There is more gore than the average black-and-white horror movie. A shrew takes a chunk out of a guy’s leg and it’s far more graphic than I expected. Such scenes are not frequent, though. There is no strong language, sex, or nudity.
Spirituality
Don't play God with shrews!
Final Thoughts
This really is a terrible movie. About all it’s good for is Mystery Science Theater type ridicule. If that’s what you’re wanting then by all means go for "The Killer Shrews," otherwise go spend your time elsewhere.
Buying Guide
Here's yet another old public domain movie with so many releases to sort though it may make you want to kill a shrew. Yes, I'm talking about "The Killer Shrews!"
There are several stand-alone DVD's and enough various combo packs to choke a giant rodent, even a Blu collection.
I couldn't find any release that stands out among the others. They all list the same specs with no mention of any remastering, and offer no extras of any kind. There is a colorized version, though. Even the Blu is nothing special as it just uses the data capacity of the Blu to hold more movies not higher resolution of this one.
Final Recommendation:
The 50 Horror Classics pack is a good choice for the simple fact that you'll actually get some good movies along with this one. Other than that just grab up whatever cheap bargain you happen to find.
I got mine in a 50 pack of “Horror Classics” which seems to be the standard print of the film.
Video
1.33:
There is no widescreen version. The picture has the typical trash and fuzziness inherent in most of these old unrestored flicks. It's pretty average as far as quality, maybe even a little above average.
Audio
2.0 mono:
The audio has the standard white noise, but at least the dialogue is understandable.
Packaging
This particular disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box. It has since been repackaged in plastic.
Extras
There are none.