As a kid, I used to own a VHS of "Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies", a documentary/compilation of movie trailers from the 50s and 60s. Among them was the trailer for "The Giant Gila Monster", a 1959 film my dad saw as a child. Given that we're both fans of this classic era of monsters, we decided to watch it together. When a couple goes missing, a sheriff and young mechanic look into it. With more deaths, the culprit is revealed to be a massive Gila monster, the apparent result of gigantism. Naturally, chaos ensues.
While I typically don't expect a masterpiece when it comes to 50s B movies, I usually expect to be entertained. What I got here was boredom. While a few basic character arcs are fulfilled and there are a few mildly amusing moments, I struggled to stay invested in the cast with the lead actor's constant singing getting old after a while. The film is almost laid back in its presentation, which in this case does not work to its benefit, especially with a big hungry reptile running around. Speaking of which, they use a live animal walking among pretty decent miniatures to portray the creature. It's not even an actual Gila monster but a close relative called a Mexican beaded lizard. The animal is rarely motivated to do anything exciting even when it's supposed to "attack" people and the attacks themselves are poorly handled, often cutting away from the killings. It does have a distinct eerie theme music, but even that is slow and dull.
Frankly, I'd rather watch the laughable "The Giant Claw" than "The Giant Gila Monster". Surprisingly, it was remade in 2012 as a made-for-TV film titled "Gila!", but even that looks terrible. In short, not worth your time.
While I typically don't expect a masterpiece when it comes to 50s B movies, I usually expect to be entertained. What I got here was boredom. While a few basic character arcs are fulfilled and there are a few mildly amusing moments, I struggled to stay invested in the cast with the lead actor's constant singing getting old after a while. The film is almost laid back in its presentation, which in this case does not work to its benefit, especially with a big hungry reptile running around. Speaking of which, they use a live animal walking among pretty decent miniatures to portray the creature. It's not even an actual Gila monster but a close relative called a Mexican beaded lizard. The animal is rarely motivated to do anything exciting even when it's supposed to "attack" people and the attacks themselves are poorly handled, often cutting away from the killings. It does have a distinct eerie theme music, but even that is slow and dull.
Frankly, I'd rather watch the laughable "The Giant Claw" than "The Giant Gila Monster". Surprisingly, it was remade in 2012 as a made-for-TV film titled "Gila!", but even that looks terrible. In short, not worth your time.