This is it. The last film on our list of Universal Monster movies. It's been a long, and sometimes rough, journey.
We wrap up with the third installment in the Creature from the Black Lagoon series. This time, they grab him and somehow make him an air breather (?). First though, they use some weird tech to track him down, get into a fight, and wound him. I guess the creature doesn't understand gasoline, because he dumps a bunch of it all over himself and then gets set on fire. The "scientists" manhandle him onto the boat and mummify him into bandages.
Apparently, the burns he sustained removed the scales from his body, and he has a layer of skin underneath. Now he just looks weird. They make him some clothes, take him back home, and stick him in a boring enclosure with some goats and sheep. They don't even give him any enrichment toys! Anyway, he has a sad view of the water, but he breathes air now, so he'll drown if he tries to go back to the water.
The rich guy who is really possessive of his wife decides he's going to frame the creature for murder, but the creature is NOT having it. He goes on a rampage and heads off to the ocean. I mean, it's not fresh water, and we never see him enter the water, but I wish him the best.
Dang, this was weird. Every time I think they can't get stranger with these movies, they surprise me. What was up with the underwater ballet thing the woman did? It was weird, and I hated it. She was so unnecessary. The creature didn't even want anything to do with her. The soundtrack was still leaning into the BER BER BEERRRRR noise, so there's that. I did like the over-the-head body slam the creature would do.
I'm still going to praise the hero of this franchise, Ricou Browning. My favorite part of these movies was watching the creature underwater (I'll admit to some joy watching him rage at the end of this one, but it's a different type of enjoyment). Ricou played the creature during the underwater scenes in all three movies, and he deserves major props for the great work. I didn't see his name in the credits, and I think he should have more of the spotlight. Forget the stupid women who swim in the water while hunting dangerous creatures. Team Ricou!! The movie...hmm. With the fate of the creature unknown, it's hard to give it a good rating.
The journey gave us a lot of laughs. Ricou has a new fan, and I imagine the creature has reverted back to his original form and is living happily with his creature wife and children back in the lagoon.
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| Ricou Browning is the best! |
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