Going in, this had a lot going for it. Very nice locations in Mexico, lots of nice looking young people dressed for the beach. The plot was predictable, but that's not really a liability.
Then we see the monster. It looks like a big helium balloon from the Macy's parade, and it is CHEAP. And we see long shots of it in the bright sunshine that the Mexican coast provides so plentifully. We can't be scared of it because it's too fake to scare anyone over the age of three.
Roger Corman was just flat asleep at the wheel producing this one. Look back at the 1950's when he'd direct movies like THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED and Paul Blaisdell would make monsters out of whatever scraps he found lying around the studio. The monsters would be photographed at night, in shadows, in smoke, by flickering firelight, any way to keep us from getting too good a look at them. Here, the SFX people seem to be saying, This is a stupid idea, we didn't want to work on it, so there.
One thing about it is really scary, though. We see Eric Roberts play the lead in another film totally unworthy of him. Mr. Oscar nominee, Golden Globe nominee, Mr. Flavor of the Month in the 1980's winds up in crap like this just so he can get top billing? Now he's going back and forth between a strong supporting role in THE DARK KNIGHT to grade z projects. In 2010 he's credited for nineteen roles in films and TV shows.
Pathetic. Avoid this unless you just like seeing good actors make fools of themselves.
Then we see the monster. It looks like a big helium balloon from the Macy's parade, and it is CHEAP. And we see long shots of it in the bright sunshine that the Mexican coast provides so plentifully. We can't be scared of it because it's too fake to scare anyone over the age of three.
Roger Corman was just flat asleep at the wheel producing this one. Look back at the 1950's when he'd direct movies like THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED and Paul Blaisdell would make monsters out of whatever scraps he found lying around the studio. The monsters would be photographed at night, in shadows, in smoke, by flickering firelight, any way to keep us from getting too good a look at them. Here, the SFX people seem to be saying, This is a stupid idea, we didn't want to work on it, so there.
One thing about it is really scary, though. We see Eric Roberts play the lead in another film totally unworthy of him. Mr. Oscar nominee, Golden Globe nominee, Mr. Flavor of the Month in the 1980's winds up in crap like this just so he can get top billing? Now he's going back and forth between a strong supporting role in THE DARK KNIGHT to grade z projects. In 2010 he's credited for nineteen roles in films and TV shows.
Pathetic. Avoid this unless you just like seeing good actors make fools of themselves.