CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) 🤩

When I was a little girl, I distinctly remember watching CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON in 3D on WPIX, a then-independent station out of New York City. I didn’t recall the year or much about the movie except that we had to go to Burger King to pick up the red & blue 3D glasses and that after I saw the film, I was terrified to bathe for a couple of days. Recently I saw that in honor of the 70th anniversary of its release, 1954’s CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was going to be streaming this month and I immediately wanted to review it for this site. 

When our memory fails us, we tend to fill in the blanks with things that seem correct. I thought I was 4-5 years old when this event happened, but research tells me it all went down in 1982 when I was 8. By this age, I had already watched far scarier movies like THE SHINING and often sat with my parents watching adult dramas on TV, such as ST. ELSEWHERE and M*A*S*H. I also remembered this happening around Halloween time, but per this blog, it was July 26th! And to top it all off, it wasn’t even CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON that WPIX aired in 3D, it was its 1955 sequel REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. So this may be my first time watching the original.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is a KING KONG-esque film but set on the waters of the Amazon River. As an adult, this type of film isn’t scary at all. And I doubt an 8-year-old in 2024 would be frightened by the creature. Example: My friend’s 5-year-old is a huge fan of the Godzilla franchise. But in 1954, wow! I bet it was terrifying to audiences. CREATURE was filmed in 3D but released after the peak of the early 1950s fad.

I don’t recommend this film because it’s going to scare you, although I’d love to know how your young kids react to it if you feel it’s appropriate for them. It’s a fun way to revisit film history, and (I think) the whole family can enjoy it. The underwater scenes are fantastic, especially given the time. They were all filmed on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot, so yes the creature is one of Universal’s classic monsters. Knowing it was filmed on the backlot lake is neat since I’ve been on the Universal tour several times. You can also marvel at the film’s practical effects and how two different actors spent their days sweating in the creature’s costume, one for water and one for land scenes. 

There are also deeper socio-anthropological aspects of the film: How it, and many films like it, are about the misunderstanding of the other. And how humans often want to control what they don’t understand. There’s also a lot to be said about how the only woman in the movie doesn’t do much besides being stalked by the creature and needing to be rescued. And we can’t deny how modern films like Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning THE SHAPE OF WATER are so heavily inspired by it.  All good talking points for your family movie night, right? Or… just relax and enjoy a classic monster film that often gets overlooked in favor of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy.  It’s also a perfect time since director James Wan is developing a remake. 

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON in 2D is streaming on the Criterion Channel app, or you can rent it on AppleTV, Amazon, YouTube, Fandango, and more for less than $4. Its sequel, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, which scared me out of baths 42 years ago, is only available to rent. If you find any way to see it in 3D, I highly recommend that, as I’ll be looking out for a screening, too!