| THE KILLER SHREWS |
| Directed by Ray Kellogg James Best .... Thorne Sherman Ingrid Goude .... Ann Craigis Ken Curtis .... Jerry Farrell Gordon McLendon .... Dr. Radford Baines Baruch Lumet .... Dr. Milo Craigis Judge Henry Dupree .... 'Rook' Griswold Alfredo DeSoto .... Mario This movie has picked up a cult following over the years from its lowly birth at the bottom of a double feature.Produced by Ken Curtis(Festus from Gunsmoke) this little potboiler features everything that made 50's B movies watchable:Mad scientists,lonely islands,a tough leading man,a hot babe, a scientific experiment gone amok that quickly eats the comic relief(burrrp!). A brief summary concerns a group of people on an island where an experiment to deal with overpopulation using shrews goes awry. The shrews are as big as dogs and they are mighty hungry.Our cast may become kibbles and bits for these hungry critters.To add to their woes they are forced to stay on the island due to a hurricane. Part of the charm is the ineptitude that runs through this film.The shrews are dogs in shag throw rugs.You can tell ahead of time which person is going to end up on the menu.Everybody comes and goes through the same door (just like a high school stage play).Whiskey is knocked back on a regular basis and the hero smokes a cigarette every 2 minutes.Gives him something to do with his hands besides play pocket pool.The scientists' daughter speaks with a Swedish accent but hey, she's a knockout. The "island" setting is pretty bleak and desolate which adds nicely to the creep factor.Of course being surrounded on an island by savage killer critters is creepy enough.Also the use of very few sets not only saves cash but in fact does add to the claustrophobic feeling of the film. Seeing that the house/lab is made of adobe the little varmints use their big fangs to start chewing their way through the walls.Eeek! My favorite line occurs when the the hero is about to give the scientist's daughter the bidness:"I aint exactly too concerned with overpopulation right now doc!".And the scientist is chewing on his pipe,smiling and nodding his head sagely as if to say "Go ahead.Drill my daughter". This movie was paired with The Giant Gila Monster which was also produced by the same team and director.Killer Shrews has gotten a bad rap but it is a fun viewing everytime for ol evil skip! |
 |