Behemoth the Sea Monster (1959)

Directed by Eugène Lourié [Other horror films: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), The Colossus of New York (1958), Gorgo (1961)]

I have to say, I forgot how decent portions of this film are. Better known by the title The Giant Behemoth, Behemoth the Sea Monster is a decent film. I don’t think it necessarily stands out among other giant creature movies from the late 1950’s, but it is decent.

Personally, I love how hard they hit on the dangers of radiation from atomic testing in the beginning, having a marine scientist (Gene Evans’ character) warn of the dangers, which was nice, and I only wish people listened and dismantled the bombs back then instead of going through the Cold War for thirty more years. Like Godzilla did before, this film is a nice argument against atomic weaponry, and I appreciated it.

Things moved pretty quick for most of the film. I will admit that toward the final twenty minutes, during the beast’s attacks in London and the commission trying to come up with some way to defeat it, I did feel it dragged a bit. Partially, I think, because, as fun as the scenes of the rampaging behemoth were, some of them were a bit on the repetitive side.

Of note-worthy performances, there’s really only three, and even though they did well, it’s not as though any of the three were exceptionally memorable. Gene Evans (Peopletoys) and André Morell (The Plague of the Zombies, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Mummy’s Shroud, The Shadow of the Cat) worked well together, especially during the first half of the film when they still had some disagreements, and though he really only got one scene, I loved Jack MacGowran’s (Dance of the Vampires) exuberance.

Admittedly, but unsurprisingly, the behemoth was a bit on the hokey side, but if I’m being honest, I found it more charming than anything else. Seeing it flipping over a ferry or destroying a helicopter, not to mention all of the cars it smashed, was a decent amount of fun, and though, as I said, I do think some of the attacks toward the end were a bit longer than need be, I still appreciated the creature.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t looking forward to revisiting this one. All I remember from my first time seeing this is thinking that it was a poor man’s Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It’s actually decent fun, at least near the beginning, but I do think it tapers off a little. Ultimately, I think it falls somewhere around average, but if you’re a fan of late 50’s horror, it’s worth seeing.

7/10