Classic Old Time Monster Movies: Creature from the Haunted Sea DVD (1961) Starring Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Robert Towne, Beach Dickerson, Robert Bean, Esther Sandoval, Sonia Gonzalez, Edmundo Alvarez, Terry Nevin, Tanner Hunt.

THIS IS SO HOKEY IT'S HILARIOUS! The macho men battling the goofiest looking monster you've ever seen.

As advertised product with prompt shipping.

"Creature From the Haunted Sea" was a Roger Corman improvised monster cheapie made as an afterthought while he was in Puerto Rico after he shot "Battle of Blood Island" and "Last Woman on Earth" (which is why "Last Woman on Earth" features the same cast as "Creature From the Haunted Sea"). The results are a choppy mess that defines the monster-musical-spy-comedy-spoof genre for the 1960's. I had to watch this one in multiple sittings despite the very short running time.The film opens to the sonorous tune of flatulent woodwinds and silly animation. In disguise, secret agents XK-120 and XK-150 (who also provides the film's attempt at continuity via his incoherent narration) meet in a bar. Agent XK-120 has a decoder ring, and the plot quickly delves into the Cuban revolution (while the soundtrack sounds as if Gene Krupa had invaded Cuba) and a plot to loot the Cuban treasury. After a subplot about sharpened garden rakes, the Cubans give the bulk of their treasury to trustworthy American mobsters led by Antony Carbone as Renzo Capetto. Ponder. Fortunately XK-150 is on the case to tell us what's happening, although it still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. XK-150 also keeps the loyal Cuban resistance informed by making a radio out of hot dogs and dill pickles. I am not joking. The Cuba stuff is just awful.Where will the film go from there, you may well ask. The principal cast gets on a boat from Cuba, and the journey takes days: it's 198 miles from Miami to Havana. To the tune of lots of schizophrenic xylophone music, Pete, a gangster, does animal impressions (his favorite is the Himalayan yak), Cuban comic relief General Tostada becomes a target of many hilarious translating errors, and (finally) there is a murder onboard, which is quickly blamed on the rake monster.The beauty of the movie, though, is there really is a rake monster, which is a creature of staggering comic proportions, complete with ping pong ball eyes. He immediately targets the boat, which sets a course for monster avoidance. The Cuba plot and sea monster plot do not go together like peanut butter and chocolate; they're more like battery acid and lye. As the sea monster plot eclipses the Cuban revolution plot, the film officially becomes a train wreck.Onboard the boat the General wants to go to Caracas, the mandatory wily female, Mary-Belle, wants to go to Cannes, someone else wants to go to Bali, Indonesia, and Renzo wants to go to San Juan. XK-150 reports that they are going to Bali, and recommends an intercept in the Panama canal, whereupon the Cuban Coast Guard pursues the boat to get their gold back. This chase gives rise to the most painful scene of the film, when tone deaf Mary-Belle belts out a tune that is really and truly one of the worst songs I have ever heard anywhere. The Coast Guard intercept also gives rise to an unfortunate gunfight, and an even more unfortunate fish fight.The crime boss conjures a very obscure plan involving running the ship aground, and then capsizing it (?), so he hypnotizes the animal husbandry expert to help execute the plan. Unfortunately, despite all the careful planning, the boat collides with the monster and they try to abandon ship right there: you know, where the monster is. XK-150 takes this all in stride and compares it with some time he spent on Lake Minnetonka. Fortunately the cast boards a lifeboat and alights on an abandoned island near San Juan, whereupon an extremely complex plan for hiding the gold unfolds.After the most painful collect call in screen history, the cast busies themselves with island habitation. Pete finds his Puerto Rican love connection, and their mating ritual is something you do not want anything to do with. The male cast members end up with Puerto Rican women thanks to a matronly matchmaker named Porcina and her daughter Mango: it helps for the matchmaking bit if you know some elementary Spanish. It doesn't make it any better, but it makes it more comprehensible.It becomes a race to dive on the boat for the gold: Cuban frogmen are diving the wreck. Renzo dives the wreck, finds the strongbox; at the same time the monster finds him, therefore, the monster has found the strongbox. (Question: why are they diving with both spears and toilet plungers? Follow up: what does the monster want with the gold?) In a foreshadowing of "Jaws", the monster takes Mango underwater, and the movie ends with an annoying monster-infested screamfest that is sure to annoy. I'm pretty tolerant of bad movies, but the plot resolution here is too much to take: it is both confusing and stupid.I love B-movies of all eras and genres, but this is one of the toughest I have ever sat through. I have endured most of the Corman catalog, and believe this to be his worst film ever, and that's saying something. From the terrible and incoherent narration ("It was dusk. I could tell because the sun was going down."), to the ridiculous monster, to the brainless script, awful acting, relentless soundtrack, and inept secret agent, this was a turkey of enormous proportions.

Some times it is hard to tell if Roger Corman means to produce bad movies or if it just happens. This is one where it is obvious that Corman is having some good fun with the audience, and if you take it for pure camp, it's a great movie. Laugh along with Corman and the cast as they play out a ridiculous story with bad special effects but lots of laughs. The Creature the title talks about looks like the costume must have cost all of $5.89 and it was likely made of materials purchased at Dollar Tree. But that is part of the fun. As for the quality of the DVD, that is fine - both the color version and the original black and white version. It's a great Friday-night-at-the-monster-movies flick, as long as you don't even try to take it seriously.

This is the most awful movie ever. The acting is terrible, the story is terrible, the monster is terrible and wins the prize between a fellow "awful movie" of the year. Just one of those that you have to watch at least once.

Now this is a fun movie a little corny but it is funny!

Pure Garbage and Loved it!

How do I dislike this movie?Let me count the ways.Boring, drug-out story.Pathetic attempts at humor.Poor, poor dialog.A plot that was all over the place.This movie deserves no further analysis. One of Corman's worst. Hard to believe this is by the same man that pulled off making "The Pit and the Pendulum."I watched this for free, and I still feel ripped off.