Movie Reviews: Creature Features from the Black Lagoon

In honor of Halloween, I've revisited a Universal Monsters classic and watched its sequels for the first time!

The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) directed by Jack Arnold

An Amazonian expedition yields a fossilized hand from millions of years ago, a hand with webbed fingers. Doctor Carl Maia (Antonio Moreno) rushes down river to get help extracting the rest of the skeleton, presumably buried in the limestone wall that the hand came from. He leaves two locals behind to keep an eye on the camp. Maia meets up with David Reed (Richard Carlson) and Kay Lawrence (Julia Adams), both scientists who are ichthyologists. After selling them on the value of his find, they consult head of the project Mark Williams (Richard Denning), who agrees to fund the expedition that could prove both scientifically and financially rewarding. 

They rent a bigger boat to go back up stream, only to discover that Maia's camp has been ransacked and the two men are dead in their tent (a previous scene showed a shadowy attack by the Creature). Undaunted, they start excavating the limestone, but a week's worth of work yields no results. The scientists guess that some of the limestone may have fallen into the river and gone down the stream. The boat captain says there's a lagoon at the end. Locals call it the "Black Lagoon" and claim it is a paradise, though no one has come back to tell about it. They sail to the lagoon, barely making it through one narrow channel. In the lagoon, they scuba dive to get rocks to compare with the limestone--if they are the same age, chances are good more fossils will be found. But lurking in the watery depths is the Creature, a pre-historic gill man. They don't notice him at first until Kay goes swimming and realizes there's something else in the water. David wants to investigate it, keeping it alive. Mark wants to capture it dead or alive, cashing in on the potential. The Creature has other plans.

The movie turns into a classic "pick 'em off one at a time" horror as members of the expedition are killed. The scientists try a lot of smart schemes that don't work, partly due to the conflicting ambitions of David and Mark. Kay is a scientific equal with them but also winds up as the damsel-in-distress more than once. The tight pacing keeps things exciting as they switch from researching for science to fleeing for their lives. The Creature is smart enough to block off the narrow channel, forcing more confrontations and a higher body count.

The film has a lot going for it. A large portion of the film is underwater, with the Creature stalking the crew members, including an extended and amazing sequence where it mirrors Kay's swimming. Those scenes look like they are on location, with an actual lake bottom and not some tank at the studio. The creature design is the best ever by Universal. The suit looks credible and detailed, working both as the Creature walks on dry land and as it swims. It is quite graceful and agile in the water. The Creature's face is haunting and odd, just what you want for a monster from the dark. The rest of the body, which gets a lot of show time on the land and especially in the water, looks like an authentic aquatic creature. The movie looks great and the effects hold up (except for a bat in a cave that has some visible wires above it). The story works well, with interesting characters dealing intelligently with a situation they are not at all prepared for.

Highly recommended.

Revenge of the Creature (1955) directed by Jack Arnold

A new expedition shows up in the remote Amazon, this time planning on capturing the Creature and returning him to civilization. Well, not so much civilization as a marine park in Florida. The same boat captain leads Joe Hayes (John Bromfield) to the infamous lagoon where they manage to subdue the creature and pack him up for transport. The creature is in a coma and eventually revives at the marine park, where Bromfield works with animal psychologist Clete Ferguson (John Agar) to revive the creature and study it. The Creature's arrival is a sensation and draws lots of crowds and press, including ichthyology student Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson), who takes a liking to Feguson. They go into the tank and start up typical stimulus/response experiments using a cattle prod. The creature is chained to the bottom of the tank, so presumably he's securely trapped. He eventually breaks the chain and breaks out of the institute, leading to a chase along the waterways of Florida.

The movie takes an obvious premise (a second expedition properly equipped to "bring 'em back alive," the King Kong plot) and goes through the motions. There's less underwater photography here and more explanations about what is going on. One awkward (to modern ears) conversation has Ferguson asking if Helen is planning to marry and have kids or keep working. She turns the question back on him and he responds that he doesn't have to decide. Their romantic pairing gets more screen time than is probably needed. The show does not stint on Gillman action, though, with plenty of menace and attacks throughout the movie. This film is not as sharp as the first but is still entertaining in a B-movie sort of way.

Recommended.

The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) directed by John Sherwood

Doctor William Barton (Jeff Morrow) puts together a team of scientists to go to the Florida Everglades to recover the Creature, who apparently didn't die at the end of the last film (or the film before). Barton brings his wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden) though they are a bit estranged. She is beautiful and naturally catches the eyes of the other scientists, especially Jed Grant (Gregg Palmer). She has to rebuff him several times. That doesn't satisfy the jealous and somewhat deranged Barton, who has financed the mission so he can help mankind "get to the stars." He is not clear on how that will work and Doctor Morgan (Rex Reason) argues with Barton's outlook. Grant sees humanity as floating between the stars and darkness, maybe the Creature can provide insight into resolving that tension. When Grant and Morgan dive to find the Gillman, Marcia tags along. She succumbs to nitrogen narcosis, making her delirious enough to remove her scuba gear. They return to the surface, failing to catch the monster. They sail further into shallow waters and have to confront the Creature from a smaller boat. The fight winds up with a subdued Gillman who has been hit with narcotics but also has been accidentally set on fire. They take him back to the big boat and bandage him up.

When they go to remove the bandages, the gills are missing and the hard skin has been replaced with soft, human-like skin. Also, the Gillman has reverted to breathing with lungs rather than gills, giving credence to Barton's "helping evolution along" theory. Grant and Morgan are still reluctant to go along. They make some clothes for the Gillman since his skin is less tough. They return to San Francisco, where Barton has a larger facility to keep and study the Gillman. The other issues (like Grant hitting on Marcia and Barton's slightly insane attitude) are still rampant and lead to some tragic outcomes.

This movie leans more into philosophical speculation about the Gillman and his symbolism as a transition from one mode of living to another. The Creature changes from a sea to a land creature, paralleling the "from earth to the stars" transition that Barton wants for humanity. The other scientists are a lot more skeptical about the outcome even while hoping for it. Any concrete movement in that direction is lost in the lust and paranoia of the Barton-Marcia-Grant love triangle, which turns out to be highly dysfunctional. The movie has some underwater action along with some land action, which is interesting but not as exciting as the first film. Having the creature in clothing looks a bit weird, like they were trying to save on the budget more than trying to humanize the Creature. I enjoyed watching the film but probably won't go back to it.

Mildly recommended.

Happy Halloween to all!

TV Review: Cassandra (2025)

Cassandra (2025) created for television by Benjamin Gutsche

A family moves in to a smart home built in the 1970s. The place is a bit run down but the son Fynn (Joshua Kantara) tinkers with the system and manages to get it back on line. Every room in the house has a monitor with a smiling female face. Also, a tall, slim, red robot has a TV for a head which also shows a seemingly benign Cassandra (Lavinia Wilson). It isn't long before the AI starts doing odd things, especially torturing Sam, the mom (Mina Tander), who is suffering from PTSD after her sister committed suicide in their previous home. Flashbacks show the original owners (and builders) of the house, a biomedical scientist (Franz Hartwig) and his manipulative and paranoid wife whose name is....Cassandra (yep, same actress). The horror drama builds out from there as pre-teen, modern-day daughter Juno (Mary Amber Oseremen Tolle) befriends the AI and father David (Michael Klammer) tries to keep things from getting blown out of proportion by the rest of the family.

The show does a good job slowly playing out the plot, revealing what happened in the 1970s and paralleling it with the present-day family's life. Some of the twists and horrors are a little far-fetched and hard to believe, even toward the end of the show. The series still has its moments of chill and is good at building cliffhangers for each episode. I'm not sure the premise of an evil-AI house holds up for six hours of narrative but this is a good effort.

Mildly recommended and not for the younger crowd. Also, this is a German production and I watched with Englis subtitles.

As I publish this (October 2025), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: Haunted Hotels by Tom Ogden

Haunted Hotels: Eerie Inns, Ghoulish Guests, and Creepy Caretakers by Tom Ogden

This survey of American hotels that have experienced hauntings covers all of the country. The stories are divided by regions of the United States and includes hauntings in Hawaii and Alaska, which surprised me. Each hotel has its history described, usually dating back to the 1800s (new hotels haven't been around long enough to accumulate legends or phenomena), along with the sort of paranormal activity that occurs. Ghosts are identified with more or less detail about their lives and why they might be haunting the location (usually dying there under bad circumstances). Some of the stories are fictionalized, describing a person or couple coming to the hotel either in search of ghostly phenomena or accidentally stumbling upon such phenomena. A lot of crime drama and architecture is thrown in as those impact the story. If readers want to visit the hotels, the book provides resources at the end of each chapter and an appendix with videos and other online resources. 

I found this mildly entertaining. With so many different stories told, some are bound to be more interesting and engaging than others. I do not plan on visiting any of the hotels, though maybe I might wind up at one by accident. Hopefully I won't have an accident there and get included in a future book!

Mildly recommended.

Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland

Glenstone is an art museum in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. It has both indoor and outdoor art, focusing on twentieth- and twenty-first century work (i.e., modern art) in an open and relaxed environment. Admission is free but tickets are required so the place does not get crowded. Walking trails through the natural landscape lead to various outdoor works. A few buildings are placed along the trails, with one large complex that houses indoor art and another smaller gallery, along with two places to purchase something to eat.

The Arrival Hall is where visitors check in. The architecture is very minimalist, leaving almost everything to the imagination. 

Entryway to the grounds

Split-Rocker by Jeff Koons is a 2000 installation that has two not quite matched heads of rocking horses recreated in flowers. The structure is almost forty feet tall and is the image on the front of Glenstone's brouchure.

Split-Rocker

Wife and daughter admiring the flowers

The other face of the rocker

Rockers-eye view

In keeping with the intent of the museum, no explanation or interpretation is offered, leaving visitors to come to their own opinions and conclusions.

The next work we saw was Richard Serra's Contour 290 nestled into the hillside. It's a long, metal wall curving around the natural landscape. Since we had to stay on the path we could not get close to it.

Contour 290

Another angle

Smug by Tony Smith is a large, symmetrical work sitting in a field of gravel. Each side looks the same, an interesting effect.

Smug

View from a quarter of the way around it

Compression Line by Michael Heizer is a field of red stones with a visible slit in it that forms triangles at each end.

Compression Line

The Pavilions is the set of galleries that have a lot of displays of various art works with minimal descriptions. Photography is not allowed inside, but the buildings surround a courtyard with water and plants.

The Pavilions's courtyard

Charles Ray's Horse and Rider presents an older gentleman on an older horse in stainless steel.

Horse and Rider

Another outdoor sculpture is Richard Serra (again) with Sylvester. It's another steel wall, this time in a spiral. Visitors can walk inside to a small round space in the middle, though the restriction on touching the art forces some careful stepping, especially if someone is coming out while someone else is going in.

Visiting Sylvester

The grounds have two places to get food. The Cafe serves light meals and drinks; The Patio serves pastries and drinks. Both have indoor and outdoor seating. We visited the Patio, buying some coffee and a chocolate almond croissant.

The Patio

Further into the woods is a string of three small buildings made by Andy Goldsworthy called Clay Houses. This part was a bit crowded when we visited because each house has a small interior allowing only a few visitors at a time. We went into one that had a large boulder that suggested a dragon egg.

One of the Clay Houses

The wood path follows along the Greenbriar Branch, a small stream on the edge of the park.

A stream runs through it

Simone Lay's Satellite is an outdoor sculpture very similar to a work in the Pavilions, though much larger. 

Satellite

Further along the trail, Robert Gober has Two Partially Buried Sinks which are a bit far from the raised boardwalk and not easy to see. 

A zoomed-in photo of Two Partially Buried Sinks

The whole experience grants a hodge-podge of impressions. Some works are whimsical; some are impressive; some are thought-provoking; some are inexplicable; some are underwhelming; some are silly. With the modern art attitude of letting everyone interpret for themselves, it undermines and devalues artistic expression and cuts off communication between the artist and the appreciators of art. It's easy to make snide remarks about some works (and believe me, we did) or to be lost in confusion rather than wonder when contemplating some piece or tableau. One doorway in the Pavilions led into an unlit room with piles of newspapers and wooden framing for the back wall of one of the other rooms. We thought this might be the back of a display. Browsing through some catalogs of exhibits at the Patio, we saw that room was in fact an art display on its own, not just a random back hall with the door unintentionally left open. Then there was the charming if ridiculous "Untitled" (Two Lovers), a pair of cheap wall clocks mounted right next to each other showing the time almost in sync. I had unequal amounts of mocking and appreciation for what was on display throughout the grounds. 

I did have an enjoyable time walking around with my family and sharing impressions on works, both good and bad. The weather was nice and the area is not too large. The trail leading to the art and the buildings is about a mile long, so not too strenuous or taxing.

Book Review: Universal Monsters: Frankenstein by M. Walsh et al.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein written and drawn by Michael Walsh and colors by Toni-Marie Griffin

Following the narrative of the 1931 movie, Michael Walsh retells the story of Doctor Frankenstein creating his monster. The wrinkle he throws in is a young boy named Paul. He's at the cemetery when Frankenstein and Fritz come to dig up a fresh corpse. That fresh corpse is Paul's father. The boy hops on their cart and winds up at the tower laboratory. He witnesses the creation of the creature and tries to connect with it. Unlike its reaction to Fritz and the doctor, the monster is at least gentle with Paul. But things don't go well as things go on.

Walsh does a good job capturing the feeling of dread from the movie. He expands Elizabeth's role in the story, giving her more backstory and having her interact with Paul. Finding a new perspective is tricky after almost a hundred years of Frankenstein imitations, reboots, and reimaginings. Some touching moments balance out the horrific ones. It's a nice supplement to the movie.

Recommended.

Movie Review: 28 Years Later... (2025)

28 Years Later... (2025) directed by Danny Boyle

A long time after the first movie (and seemingly ignoring the second), society in infected England is more or less gone. Holy Island has a thriving human community since it is isolated from the rest of England during high tide. The locals have made a fence and watchtower to keep out the infected. Their community gets by pretty well with the occasional excursions into England proper. One tradition is when a boy goes over to kill some infected using a bow and arrow, so it's a rite of passage to manhood. Spike (Alfie Williams) is taken by his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) on such an excursion, against the wishes of Spike's mom Isla (Jodie Comer). She is sick in bed with an unidentified illness that is also de facto incurable since Holy Island has no doctor. On "mainland" England, Spike has a rough time of it but spots some fires or lights in the distance. The light at sea is a patrol boat enforcing the quarantine of England. The light on the island is another matter which Jamie refuses to explain. Back in town, Spike finds out the fires are kept by a doctor who may or may not be crazy. Spike decides to take his mom to be cured by the doctor because he is desperate. Jamie objects but Spike contrives an opportunity to escape. His adventure seeking a cure for his mom will be a rougher but more certain path to manhood.

While the premise is interesting, I found it a little too unbelievable. The movie starts with a 28-year-old flashback of a priest's son fleeing from his small town with a cross from his dad, who embraces the apocalyptic nature of the Rage virus outbreak. The sequence seems like tone-setting but it becomes a bookend with an elaborate and very hard to believe final scene. The main story is okay if a bit episodic. Spike goes from a scared kid to a more mature fellow in a good way, given the bonkers world he lives in. The actors are generally good. The atmosphere is bleak and the visuals have the excessive cutting used in most modern zombie films. As a projection of the first film's future, this retains a bleak attitude but adds a much more sentimental attitude that doesn't quite fit.

Not recommended--this is a hodge-podge of ideas that don't quite hang together as a coherent whole.

TV Review: Resident Alien Season 1 (2021)

Resident Alien Season 1 (2021) created for television by Chris Sheridan based on the comics by Peter Hogan and Steven Parkhouse

An alien (Alan Tudyk) comes to Earth to wipe out the human race. His ship crashes and he loses his mass extinction device. The nearest town is Patience, Oregon, a small and somewhat isolated place. He kills and takes on the appearance of a local doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle. He winds up faking the doctor's social and professional life, which is complicated since the main doctor in town died in mysterious circumstances. He is roped in to be the new doctor. The local police chief (Corey Reynolds), a blowhard who puts more credit in his dog than in his deputy (Elizabeth Bowen), runs a slow and unsteady investigation. Harry's biggest problem is Max (Judah Prehn), a young boy who can see through Harry's disguise and tries to expose him. Max's dad is the town's milquetoast mayor (Levi Feihler) who tries to get along with everybody, to the town's detriment. Vanderspeigle's nurse assistant Asta (Sara Tomko) has a lot of her own small town drama to deal with in addition to the strange new behavior of her boss.

The series shifts the plot from the comics, where Harry is just trying to get along until he can contact home to come and get him. Even with the darker "kill them all" element, this show has a much more light-hearted tone. The alien is sarcastic and superior even though he comes off quite clueless about how humans interact. Tudyk is brilliant in the role both physically and in his line delivery. A lot of voiceover happens with Alien Harry commenting honestly on situations in which he has to try to blend in and be "normal." The show has numerous side plots like the conflict between the sheriff and his deputy, Asta dealing with a daughter she had abandoned in her teens who is now in town, and others. Most things are played for laughs and the show is very enjoyable, if very adult. Harry has a hard time dealing with sexual matters (his species does not have complementary sexes) and some dialogue is surprisingly graphic, though again it's played for laughs more than shock value or social commentary.

Recommended--the show isn't for kids but is very entertaining.

Book Review: How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This self-help classic is aimed at business men and women but author Dale Carnegie is self-conscious of its more general applicability. Every relationship with another person should be a human relationship, or, more precisely, a humane relationship. Supervisors and managers can fall into the temptation to use their authority to impose their vision of how things should be done, regardless of the input or ideas of their "underlings." Such behavior might increase productivity but definitely will produce resentment or indifference and will deplete trust and loyalty. The same can happen for parents or teachers, ministers or heads of social organizations. Even in dealing between co-workers or family members, using this book's principles will make relationships more fluid and more productive. Everyone can use this book because everyone has to deal with other people at some point or other.

The basic insight of the book is to treat other people like they are people, not some vending machine from which you can extract what you want if you apply the proper pressure or technique or cash. Carnegie asks readers to focus on the other person in a positive way. Smile at them. Show an interested in what they are interested in. See the situation from their point of view. Provide positive feedback before looking for ways to solve a problem. Engage the other person in solving the problem rather than providing a solution yourself. Treat them like a valued customer, employee, family member, fellow volunteer, etc. etc. Using a positive attitude engenders a positive attitude in others, creating a climate for a win-win situation.

Carnegie also emphasizes that you need to be sincere in dealing with others. People can tell when minimal praise comes before a critique or complaint and is only being used to "sandwich" the bad feedback. A genuine compliment puts someone in a better mood or a more receptive stance, maybe even giving the confidence to solve the problem on their own. Honesty is important in every relation.

Carnegie's style is very down to earth. His examples are from historical people (he loves Abraham Lincoln) and from people he's talked to, either in his classes or in regular life. He shows his principles in action across a wide range of people in a wide variety of situations. Readers have an easy time imagining putting those principles into action in their own lives.

This book is a classic for a reason--along with 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, it is a top-shelf self-help book.

Highly recommended.

Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington DC

The National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which manages most of the museums on the National Mall. We visited on a Sunday with free street parking.

Mall-side entrance to Natural History Museum

Like in previous museum trips, we let each family member pick out an exhibit to visit. Our first exhibit was Fossil Hall on the main floor.

Entering the past

The exhibit is set up in chronological order, though we started at the most recent part of the millions of years of history. A time line shows the various ages and the mass extinction events that separate them.

Looking at history

The skeletons here (with some added bits to fill out what archeologists could not find) are more familiar shapes, like horses and deer.

A recent ancestor to current animals

I hope that skeleton in the back isn't doing what it looks like it is doing!

Primal primate

Soon enough, we were back in dinosaur ages.

Rodin's Thinker as a dino?

Fun interactive exhibit

One display dispelled the idea that oil comes from dead dinosaurs. Creatures with shells and bones left petrified remains. A lot of the oil finds are in areas that were oceans or shallow bays, where a lot of invertebrates like plankton and microscopic organisms fell to the bottom of the sea. As layers of sediment covered the organic material, it broke down and formed into oil and natural gas.

Origins of oil

A stegosaur!

A fish with too many bones

Around a corner, a research area lets visitors see scientists working on fossils from around the world. Well, you would see them working if you didn't visit on a Sunday.

Asking for help with their science!

An off-to-the-side display showed dinosaur poop, including this sample that they think was from a T-rex. They could tell because there is some undigested bone in it, so definitely from a carnivore. Also, the tyrannosaur was the only carnivore big enough to have a turd this large.

Dino-dung, not worth stealing

Mammoth with some recreated bones (maybe Loki stole the tusks for his helmet?)

Next, we went upstairs to the gems and minerals exhibit, the main attraction being the Hope Diamond. 

Hope Diamond, definitely worth stealing

Ronald Winston donated a set of "Fancy Color Diamonds" ranging from pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, white, grey, and black. It's much more impressive to see in person. Most diamonds don't have a color outside of white.

Winston Fancy Color Diamonds

This aquamarine gem is the largest in the world at 10,363 carats. Jeweler Bernd Munsteiner named this "Dom Pedro" after the first two emperors of Brazil (where the original, sixty-pound crystal was found in 1980s Brazil). 

Dom Pedro Aquamarine

These diamond earrings belong to French Empress Marie Antoinette. 

Marie Antoinette earrings

The Logan Sapphire was cut from a Sri Lankan crystal and weighs 423 carats. The lighting does a great job highlighting the beauty of the gem.

Logan Sapphire

Further into the exhibit are less precious stone. You can tell because you are allowed to touch them!

Another interactive exhibit

A case full of crystals

Stibnite that looks like nails with barite that looks like mini-snowballs

Part of the exhibit simulates a cave where mining of gems happens.

You'd think this would be interactive

The cave leads into the Geology exhibit that talks about the earth was formed.

Making magma?

Meteorite (space poop?)

Display of southern space stones

We went for a snack next. By the cafe is a recreation of a megalodon, a gigantic shark that looks quite fearsome. Maybe we were supposed to be the snack.

Fish out of water

Me inside the jaws of another shark

The museum is famous for its African Bush Elephant located in the main rotunda. Around it are displays about Africa elephants.

Seen from upstairs

We decided to try out the Cellphone: Unseen Connections exhibit though we had low expectations.

Poor primate

Info in a friendly format

Some displays showed the history of cell phones, going back to the big clunky ones like I used to own twenty-five years ago. Another display shows elements used to build phones, including a jar of oxygen. I kid you not, check the photo below.

Not worth stealing

A timeline unlike the Fossil Hall exhibit

My kids played a roll-and-move game. I wasn't paying any attention to it so I do not know what they learned from it.

RU Serious?

The next hall had an exhibit on mummies, which I was interested in, but the rest of the family was "museumed out" so we went through quickly on the way to the exit. 

Burial masks

More funerary fun!

The live butterfly pavilion was closed, otherwise we probably would have visited that too. I guess it pays to check the website before going!