The Giant Gila Monster

1959 horror movie

Rating: 5/20

Plot: A giant Gila monster that is apparently driven mad at the sound of the theremin stomps about and needs to be stopped before it knocks over more hot rods and completely ruins the 1950's. A ubiquitous teenage mechanic with dreams of becoming a rock 'n' roll superstar works with the town sheriff to rid the town of the beast.

Considering this is the work of Ray Kellogg (the man who infamously has characters watching a sunset in the east at the end of The Green Berets), one can't expect anything intelligent. And intelligent it ain't. You've got terrible special effects (a normal-sized Gila Monster filmed among miniatures), treacly subplot involving the main character's crippled little sister and his aspirations to record hit music featuring the ukulele, some really bad and possibly inappropriate songs, numerous implausibilities, bad lighting that casts characters' shadows really high on the wall behind them, and times where characters are literally shown on screen trying to remember their lines. This is more typically bad than hilariously bad, but it's still entertaining enough to make children laugh regardless of whether or not they've eaten the mushrooms the ubiquitous teenager is apparently singing about in his song. Definitely a product of its time, this is highly recommended to anybody who likes hot rods, cuffed pants, sock hops, or giant reptiles.

Note: Abbey couldn't finish watching this. Seven year olds have better things to do apparently.