THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER

The monster from Crater Lake

THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER (1977). Director: William R. Stromberg.

"I've been stuffing my shoes with newspapers for so long that my feet know more than my head does." -- Mitch. 

A meteor flashes across the sky and lands in Crater Lake in Oregon. The heat from the meteor causes a prehistoric egg to hatch, and before too long a long-necked, big toothed plesiosaurus -- the same creature that is supposedly in Loch Ness -- is snacking on the locals and a few tourists as well.

Glen Roberts and Mark Siegel

The Crater Lake Monster is a low-budget and generally forgettable monster movie that does boast some good locations, atmospheric photography (Paul Gentry), and some decent stop-motion and model work by Dave Allen. The monster has a battle with a steam shovel, but its appearances are simply too infrequent to make this pic a contender. To pad out the running time, there are such characters as a magician and his wife, as well as a convenience store robber and killer, all of whom encounter the creature. There is also way too much footage devoted to two buddies, Arnie (Glen Roberts) and Mitch (Mark Siegel), who rent boats to some of the victims; their allegedly comical appearances only dissipate the film's minor tension. At least Siegel gets the movie's funniest line (see above). 

Richard Cardella and Bob Hyman

Richard Cardella, who plays Sheriff Steve, also co-wrote the screenplay with the director, and Bob Hyman is cast as the town doctor.  Most of these actors had no other or very few acting credits, although Siegel has done a lot of work in visual effects. This was Stromberg's only directorial credit. Animator Dave Allen has the monster moving much like the dinosaur in The Giant Behemoth in one sequence. An unconvincing prop head is also used for other shots. An unintentionally hilarious moment occurs when one character talks about how she can supposedly see thousands of stars in the sky but it's broad daylight outside! The movie has a downbeat conclusion. 

Verdict: A monster you can miss. **.