ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS

The crab prepares to feast

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

A research party on an isolated atoll where atomic testing took place has disappeared, and a new group has been sent to investigate. Although they believe that the members of the first party are deceased, they eerily keep hearing their voices in the night. It develops that the radiation has mutated two land crabs into giants who develop the thought patterns of the people they devour, and turn against humans to protect their species. As one scientist puts it, "once they were human. Now they're land crabs." The crab telepathically calls out in the voices of the dead men in order to pounce upon the members of the new group. To make it easier for the hungry crabs to turn the scientists into prey, they use explosive energy charges to blow up the island bit by bit, giving the potential victims less places to run to.

Richard Garland and Pamela Duncan

Although the basic premise of the story might have been taken from an old horror comic tale, Attack of the Crab Monsters adds some unique elements of its own. It would be easy to dismiss the flick as absurd and highly illogical -- why does only one crab devour all of the members of the first party, for instance  -- but it's hard to dismiss the effectiveness of Roger Corman's adroit direction and the sheer disgusting creepiness of the situation the scientists find themselves in. (If anything, the actors in this completely underplay the terror and disorientation their characters must be feeling.) 

"Foolish. Very foolish."

The actors include "B" movie stalwarts Pamela Duncan [Soldiers of Fortune], Russell Johnson, Ed Nelson [T-Bird Gang], Mel Welles, Leslie Bradley, Richard H. Cutting and Beach Dickerson [Creature from the Haunted Sea, which was also directed by Corman]. Ronald Stein contributes a score which adds to the dread atmosphere, and the film is well-photographed by Floyd Crosby. The highlight of the film is a surreal sequence when the one remaining giant crab emerges from the ocean and telepathically shouts out at the survivors -- "foolish, very foolish" --  in a French accent no less! The low-tech effects fit the production perfectly and are kind of charming. NOTE: For more information on this film and others like it see Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Gotta love those crabs. ***.