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When undergoing the viewing of a film called The Giant Gila Monster, suitable expectations should already be established. Could one reasonably expect the film to be a wrenching, affecting work of human drama with award worthy performances and writing? Obviously not, and the film is far too aware of its B-movie trappings to ever aspire to be anything more than cheesy, kitschy entertainment. What makes The Giant Gila Monster so noteworthy as opposed to the masses of similar giant monster films is how unexpectedly (for lack of a better word) good the film is, with the anticipated unintentional laughs often displaced in favour of a surprisingly sturdily constructed and cheerfully entertaining monster romp. <br /><br />While the film could hardly hold a candle in comparison to even the average A-list release of the time, when considered in comparison to the similar monster sci-fi films of the era, the quality invested is unexpectedly exceptional for the genre. No matter how pulpy the subject matter, director Ray Kellogg (who would later go on to direct, of all things, John Wayne in 1960s propaganda film The Green Berets) demonstrates a suitable awareness of horror thriller conventions, favouring a slow, meticulous build up of narrative tension in favour of cheap shocks (the laughably over the top opening narration notwithstanding), making the inevitable lizard mayhem all the more welcome. However, this approach may not sit well with viewers watching the film with the sole intent of seeing giant lizard destruction, who may find the film unnecessarily slow and generating insufficient tension to warrant holding the creature off-screen for so long. And it is true the film carries an undeniably leisurely, laid back tone, overly so to generate any lasting thrills, let alone scares, but the effectively eerie, very 1950s theremin theme is sufficiently edgy to at least evoke a continual sense of unease, if not outright fright. <br /><br />Even the choice of unnatural antagonist itself proves in keeping with the film's 'slow and steady' tone, with the slothful, lumbering Gila Monster being too slow and cumbersome to generate more than a semblance of a threat. The special effects hardly help the matter; while again, hardly as laughably atrocious as they could be, never once create a convincing impression of the lizard actually being 50 feet long, alternating between shots of a life sized reptile hissing its way through underbrush (with twigs poorly substituting for tree trunks) and an enormous foot closing down upon its prey. These sequences provide the bulk of the film's campy pleasures more in keeping with the genre, but to a surprising degree it is the expository narrative which proves the most compelling, a true rarity for such a film.<br /><br />However, the film is even bold enough to allude to social commentary, with its association between sex and death (teenagers alone in "lover's lane" are clearly destined for a grisly fate) predating years of genre conventions, as well as a continually reinforced 'moralistic monster' message of not to drink and drive. Even the depiction of 1950s teen culture is hardly as cringe-worthy as it could be, far from taking the condemnatory stance of many of its contemporaries (crucially, it is a teen who finally saves the day) and even the inherent racism in the genre is challenged, by having the sole non-American (the teenaged protagonist's French girlfriend) act as the proverbial voice of reason, the only one feeling uneasy when the Gila Monster lurks nearby. This paradoxical alternating between the campy and surprisingly plausible is arguably what makes the film not as memorable or effective as it could be, but despite the lack of outstanding specifics, the film's earnest charm continually keeps the film from being as downright terrible as it easily could have been. <br /><br />Even the acting, often fated to be the low point of the genre, does not outright disappoint, delivering surprisingly credible and even relatively fleshed out characters. Don Sullivan delivers sufficient charisma and screen presence to keep his "gee-wiz" 1950s teenager enthusiasm from becoming sickening, and even allowing for subplots with his girlfriend and handicapped sister to ring surprisingly true (although Kellogg's comical attempt to worm in song numbers for him underscores the credibility of the character and film simultaneously). Fred Graham is also a sturdy presence as the honest sheriff daring to look beyond the conventional answers when examining the disappearance of missing teenagers, and Lisa Simone laudably resists melodramatics as Sullivan's girlfriend, managing the two rarities of providing an intelligent female lead, and not spending the entire picture screaming. <br /><br />For all of its very predictable flaws, the film's cheerful charm for the most part carries it through on a sheer sense of fun, and at only 73 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome, overall making The Giant Gila Monster easily worth a watch for any who get a kick out of classic monster B-movies. <br /><br />-4/10 |