Movie Review: Attack of the Giant Leeches

Attack of the Giant Leeches 

Starring:  Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Jan Shepard, Michael Emmet, Tyler McVey, Bruno VeSota, Gene Roth, Dan White, George Cisar 

Director: Bernard L. Kowalski 

American International Pictures, USA, 1959.

This movie was part of Horror Movie 50 movie pack box published by Mill Creek Entertainment. 

An otter-hunter Lem Sawyer (George Cisar) shoots at octopus-like creature in the swamp. His friends do not believe him and think that he has been drinking too much moonshine. Game warden Steve Benton (Ken Clark) and his girl friend Nan Greyson (Jan Shepard) are searching for poachers. They find Lem who dies from his wounds.

Lem Sawyer sees something strange in the swamp

Movie's hero, game warden Steve Benton

Steve's girlfriend Nan Greyson

The sheriff (Gene Roth) blames an alligator, but according to Doctor Greyson (Tyler McVey) the wounds were caused by an octopus or a leech-like creature. The sheriff does not believe and Steve gets angry and says to him: "Go soak your fat head!"

Lem gets killed by the swamp monsters

Steve and sheriff have different opinions

Shopkeeper's wife Liz

Shopkeeper Dave Walker (Bruno VeSota) and his wife Liz (former Playboy-model Yvette Vickers) have some marital problems. Liz is cheating her obese husband with Cal (Michael Emmet). Dave finds it out and proceeds to teach them a lesson with a shotgun. Cal turns out to be a spineless coward. Dave chases and scares them good but it is the giant leeches that get Liz and Cal. Dave is accused of murder and two southern boys (Dan White and Joseph Hamilton) are hired to search for the bodies. 

Dave catches Cal and Liz

The sheriff hires some local help

Good ol' moonshine!

Nan's father, Doctor Greyson wants to kill the swamp monsters with explosives but Steve opposes because it could ruin swamp ecology. More people are captured by the leeches. The leeches keep them in a cave and suck their blood. It is actually quite creepy scene, and surprisingly gory for a 50s movie. Roger Corman was the executive producer of the film, so that may explain the style.

Doctor Greyson wants to blow up stuff

The sinister cave of the giant leeches

Steve and Doc suspect that there has been some radioactive contamination from Cape Canaveral rocket tests that caused the mutations. Although Steve threatens to arrest him, Doc Greyson blows some dynamite to get the bodies to surface. Then it is up to scuba divers to find the possible survivors and get rid of the leeches. 

Scuba divers save the day

The movie is quite traditional, but gritty monster film in Deep South. The music by Alexander Laszlo is quite good and haunting. The clumsy-looking leeches are men in rubber suits that look vaguely like the tentacle guys in Maniac Mansion- and Day of the Tentacle- games. Or at least in my mind because partly because of the DVD-quality and partly because of the bad cinematography it is really hard to see what the leeches really look like. The underwater scenes are especially weird looking, with lumps of something trying to pull the victims underwater.

This is what I think the giant leeches look like (green tentacle in Lucasarts game Maniac Mansion)...

...and this is what the giant leeches look in the film

Rating: Average