I strongly disagree with the previous poster and agree with the o.p., Capkronos, and with Balkaster. The dialogue is very funny, and quotable, even. The acting (which I discuss further down) is not bad for the most part. I'd say the cinematography wasn't the best, but I wouldn't categorize it as "rubbish." The props... what props? Aside from the spear guns, which seemed a little flimsy, I didn't notice anything off-kilter. There were no wobbling tombstones, a la Ed Wood. So the characterization of this giving "Ed Wood a good run for his money" is unfair. That the monster was cheap and unconvincing is a given. Won't argue that point.
I personally like this film -- more so than "Little Shop of Horrors," which seems to be unjustifiable revered (to me, it's just cheap, badly-shot, and, especially in comparison to the later musical remake,unfunny). CFTHS, despite being rather silly at times, has some hidden depth. I don't know if it's intentional in Charles B. Griffith's script that Renzo is a father-figure to both Jack (Mary-Belle's brother) and Pete. But while Pete is the favorite "son," Renzo seems to withhold his love for Jack. Jack can't seem to do anything to gain Renzo's affection. When Pete "brings home" a girl, Renzo adopts a mockingly gruff tone and rolls his eyes. But shortly thereafter, when Jack returns with a girl himself, Renzo seems genuinely angry. "You found this woman in San Juan?!" (and how can you not be amused by Jack's innocent reply, "Well, she was living in sort of a sorority house down by the docks. She's awful friendly.")
To the constantly aired comment that this movie is "badly acted," I say it's not -- at least until the end, when the monster shows up and the characters have to react to it. THEN it is bad (and this is also the director's fault for not getting better reactions from the actors -- or any reactions in a few cases [ahem, Carbone, Towne and Dickerson] -- and the editor's fault for not editing out said non-reactions). Up until then, the actors do their job well enough (just watch the scene when Mary-Belle gives Renzo--Anthony Carbone--a compliment, about how he'll come up with some way to get rid of all the Cubans "'cause you're my sweet-talkin' baby" (or something like that). You can see that Renzo is rather overwhelmed by that statement. He doesn't know whether to blush, turn away embarrassed, or embrace her).
I've watched this movie several times now because I was practicing on some movie editing software. I cut it down from its almost 75-minute length to about 30 minutes, trying to keep the plot as coherent as possible. Then I added in some intertitles (all spoofing film names) and songs. So, having worked with the film quite a bit, I have some affection for this "Creature."
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