The Black Scorpion

source: The Black Scorpion

Trailer—The Black Scorpion

The Black Scorpion

THE BLACK SCORPION opens with about 20-25 minutes of stock footage of volcanic activity, and voice-over narration. The real action begins when the stars are introduced. Am I talking about intrepid geologist, Hank Scott (Richard Denning- CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) and Teresa Alvarez (Mara Corday- TARANTULA)? Of course not! I'm talking about the army of gargantuan, man-eating scorpions! These subterranean crawlers, animated by none other than Willis O'Brien, are a wonder to behold! Watch, as they grab and sting their human prey to death, and eat them before your eyes! Gasp, as a train is derailed and plundered for screaming snacks! Thrill, to the underground battle between monster arachnid and giant, be-tentacled worm! Be astonished, when an unexpected, even more deadly beast arises, and advances on Mexico City! The final confrontation alone is worth the price of the film! Oh yeah, and Denning and Ms. Corday are pretty good too...

Prehistoric giant scorpions are terrorizing the Mexican countryside. It's up to scientist Richard Denning to put a stop to them. An enjoyable 'giant bug' movie from a decade that specialized in them. It's not one of my favorites of this particular horror subgenre but it is fun. The highlights of the film are the stop-motion special effects created by Willis O'Brien and sexy Mara Corday as the rancher Richard Denning immediately falls for (who can blame him?). For his part, Denning does fine in another of those cardboard hero roles that were common in 1950s sci-fi and horror films. The supporting cast of mostly Mexican actors adds some flavor to things. The amazing stop-motion effects are what most people will love about this one. It's definitely worth a look if you're a fan of 1950s sci-fi and horror. A little slow-going early on but never dull.

From out of the desert come giant scorpions, destroying houses, ravaging vehicles and slaughtering innocents! It's Them! all over again, but with better and more vicious monsters that, coincidentally, sound exactly like Them!'s giant ants. The Black Scorpion is a typical 1950s giant monster movie, and you have to love the period and the genre to appreciate the film. I happen to love the period and the genre, and I also love stop-motion animation, so The Black Scorpion really presses my buttons. The animation supervisor is Willis (King Kong) O'Brien, with the actual effects work done by Pete Peterson. You can see more of Peterson's work on the DVD. We not only get scorpions by the handful, we get other animated creepy-crawlies as well. Lots of effects work in this one! The story is by-the-numbers but Richard Denning gives his usual stalwart performance. The DVD sports some nice Harryhausen extras, too. If you like this kind of thing, you'll LOVE The Black Scorpion.

Willis O'Brien's stop motion monsters run the gamut from great(the title creatures) to stupid (the worm like creatures). This is one of the middle of the road giant monster films that would be completely forgotten if it didn't have cool monsters. The plot has a volcano erupting and allowing some long hidden giant beasties to get free. Its nothing you haven't seen before but the cast gives it a try despite the lack luster script. Ultimately its all the effects and for the most part O'Brien delivers. There are a few dumb looking monsters and there are times when O'Brien's technique prove to be inferior to Harryhausen's since the marriage of monster to people produces a flat looking picture (look at the sequences in the cave) but for the most part he comes through. And yet again I have to say the cut away shots of the scorpion faces are very silly after the second time we see them.

This little gem from Warner Brothers is actually a pretty good movie for it's time and genre. The basis of the story is that 2 scientists, one American, one Mexican, head to Mexico to study an erupting volcano. What they find however, is nest underground of huge scorpions that are terrorizing Mexico City. The special effects are good for the era, the scorpion drools and makes scary sounds. The acting is so-so, Richard Denning overacts at times, and the relationship with the ever lovely and B movie horror queen Mara Corday, is not well developed, and the little Mexican boy "Juanito" is nothing short of annoying. But overall the story works helped by the great special effects and the good storyline. A fun movie to watch on a rainy Saturday night.

A volcano erupts and spits up these scorpions that are huge and prehistoric. This is the premise for The Black Scorpion, a 50's sci-fi/giant bug film. As cheesy 50's films go, this one is entertaining, if not a little slow in places. The Mexican landscape looks authentic and the scorpions themselves are pretty good when left in the hands of Willis O'Brien. But the close-ups of the creatures are a bit overused, almost to the point of becoming annoying. The scorpions kill each other off until one giant one is left to wreak his vengeance(and whet his appetite) in Mexico City. The best scene is the one when scientist Richard Denning(and his incredibly boring assistant Carlos Rivas, and annoying stow-a-way Juanito) are lowered into a giant cavern and the realm of Willis O'Brien's wonderful stop-motion animation. The rest of the film is rather predictable but still entertaining, and Mara Corday is at least pleasant to the eye as she must have had her clothing painted onto her.

Edward Ludwig directed this science fiction horror thriller that stars Richard Denning as American geologist Hank Scott, who is recruited by the Mexican authorities when an earthquake unleashes a horde of giant scorpions upon the Mexican countryside, causing havoc and destruction as they threaten to overrun the nearby city, then the world. Good model F/X on display, with some harrowing attack scenes(including a vivid cavern sequence), but there is no story or character involvement at all, with the plot being overly familiar and uninspired. A pity, because the film pushed the violence boundaries for its time, but the film just comes up short, and has been strangely forgotten. Basically a rehash of the much superior "Them!"