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The Crater Lake Monster

 
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The Crater Lake Monster

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The Crater Lake Monster
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  • Director: William R. Stromberg
  • AMG Rating: star
  • Genre: Horror
  • Movie Type: Natural Horror, Creature Film
  • Themes: When Animals Attack, Mutants
  • Release Year: 1977
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 85 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: PG

Plot

This bargain-basement dinosaur romp finds a backwoods community terrorized by a massive plesiosaur, aroused from its hibernation at the bottom of Crater Lake by a meteorite impact. A dull police manhunt subplot drags things down in the second act, but there's some cheesy fun to be had as long as David Allen's lumbering stop-motion beastie is onscreen, munching down on the locals like a lumpy, waterlogged beast from 20,000 Fathoms. This drive-in favorite is notable mainly as an example of the burgeoning stop-motion animation skills of Allen, whose career ranged from TV commercials (remember Mrs. Butterworth?) to steady feature work under the aegis of producer Charles Band, with whom he collaborated on numerous productions. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Cast

Richard Cardella - Sheriff Steve Hanson; Kacey Cobb - Susan Patterson; Bob Hyman - Richard Calkins; Glenn Roberts - Arnie Chabot; Mark Siegel - Mitch Kowalski; Richard Garrison - Dan Turner

Credit

David Allen - Animator, William R. Stromberg - Director, Steve Nielson - Editor, Paul W. Gentry - Cinematographer, William R. Stromberg - Producer, Richard Cardella - Screenwriter, William R. Stromberg - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Jurassic Park; Carnosaur; Tremors; Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake; Baby... Secret of the Lost Legend; Lake Placid
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Wikipedia: The Crater Lake Monster
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The Crater Lake Monster

Film poster
Directed by William R. Stromberg
Written by William R. Stromberg
Richard Cardella
Starring Richard Cardella
Glen Roberts
Kacey Cobb
Distributed by Crown International Pictures
Release date(s) 1977
Running time 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 B-rated horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella. The script was also written by Stromberg and Cardella, and their affiliation with The Crater Lake Monster marked the zenith of their careers.[1]

The storyline revolves around a giant plesiosaur, akin to the Loch Ness Monster, which appears in Crater Lake, next to a small Californian town. As people are attacked by the monster, the Sheriff (Cardella) investigates along with a group of scientists in order to stop the creature.

The film is mostly notable for being an example of David W. Allen's early stop-motion animation, and "the best thing about the movie (make that the only thing)". Otherwise, the film was widely panned by critics, with DVD Drive-In calling it "one of the worst giant monster flicks of all time".[1] The film suffered from financing and publication problems with Crown International; as Cardella recounts:

“ Crown International was part of the financing and they just screwed up everything. They pulled their support for some key scenes (that would have explained a lot and plugged some of the obvious holes), added a canned score that really sucked, and turned it over to some hack to edit. The asshole didn't even use a fade or dissolve in the whole freakin' picture![2] ”

Despite being a critical and commercial flop, the camp appeal of the film led to a VHS release on United Home Video, and DVD release on Rhino Home Video.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Reis, George. "THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER (Review)". DVD Drive-In. http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/a-d/craterlakemonster.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  2. ^ Ken, Begg. "The Crater Lake Monster (Review)". The Unknown Movies. http://www.badmovieplanet.com/unknownmovies/reviews/rev177.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
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