Creature from the Black Lagoon 3D Blu-ray

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 sci-fi horror flick about several explorers who journey to the Amazon to dig up and study fossils from ancient creatures. However, part of journey takes them into a forbidden place called "The Black Lagoon," that many a people have entered, but no one has ever leaved. In the name of science, the group of explorers enter the area in what is expected to be just another expedition. But it isn't too long before a creature, half man and half fish, begins stalking the crew and wreaking havoc on their mission. Soon, what was supposed to be a journey of discovery turns into a fight for survival.

When I first heard of Creature from the Black Lagoon, I never really gave it that much thought, mostly cause I saw it as just another B-movie from the 50s. Now it's not because I have a problem with such films. But be it either the over-saturation of second rate movies today I must catch up with or the years of watching Mystery Science Theater 3000, I tend to pass on anything from the golden era of Hollywood that hasn't won any awards or really defined cinema history in any meaningful way, unless three guys are sitting in the corner making fun of it.

Creature isn't a special movie in particular (besides it's use of 3D, but we'll get to that in a minute), but it does plenty of things right. Of course it's premise is about what you'd expect from a film like this. Surreal monster? Check. Good-looking lady? Check. Action against monster? Check. However, what separates this movie from something you might get from MST3K is that it knows how to make itself entertaining and deliver the goods without trying to be anything more than it is. When this kind of setup is done wrong, you'll spend a lot of time dwelling on dull characters and action sequences that drag on longer than necessary. Done right, though, and you have yourself a fun thrill ride. And while Creature isn't be any means a perfect movie, it certainly leans more on the latter side of things.

For starters, the characters themselves, while aren't quite as enduring as Chief Brody or Quint from Jaws, are plenty likable and fun enough to spend 80 minutes with. The film never spends so much time on them we get bored of them, but neither does it spend too little time that we can't get invested in them. Everybody is presented as well-rounded with their own clear motivations. And while some of them might make some stupid decisions every once in a while, they don't always seem too out of character for the people making them. And that, I think adds more weight to the terror of the film.

Now for a movie called Creature from the Black Lagoon, your first impression would be they're just fighting a dumb dude in a fish costume. And for a little while, that seems to be the case. But the film actually does manage to get some decent milage out of him in terms of terror as the film progresses. Like Jaws, the Creature isn't given a whole lot of screen time. As a result, it leaves things about him from his intelligence, his stamina, and his strength all up to the audiences imagination. And just like Jaws, that creates a slightly mysterious and gripping atmosphere. What really adds to this, though, is how multi-dimensional the Creature's dangerousness gets when more and more of the crew's efforts to kill and/or escape him become futile. And part of that, I think, has to do with what we think of the monster coming in, seeing him as another dude in a fish costume. Bun when harpoons begin to fail at protruding his first few layers of skin, or when the monster demonstrates he's more intelligent than his fishy body would have you expect, or whenever he's offscreen, the Creature has you on the edge of your seat.

So yeah. Creature is, in a lot of ways, just another creature flick from the 50s. But in spite of what the countless B-movies from that era would have you think, this one is actually somewhat good. When I say good, I don't mean it inspires or does anything new or groundbreaking with the genre. But it does give an enjoyable thrill ride with a couple of good surprises that will entertain you if in the mood for a fun creature movie. Jaws, it is not. But as perfectly serviceable entertainment, I'd say it gets the job done.

OVERALL FILM RATING: 3.5/5

If you know anything about Creature from the Black Lagoon, you probably know it came out in 3D. This is 50s era of 3D, where the format was relatively new and because of how inconvenient it was to use due to the red and cyan glasses and the introduction of complicated film equipment needed to play the movie, any films that came out in 3D needed to be good to justify its use of the technology. That's why most films that came out in 3D during that era such as It Came from Outer Space and House of Wax garner a reputation for being better than most modern 3D movies. And Creature from the Black Lagoon is no exception.

I could probably write a whole article describing the differences between modern and vintage use of 3D technology. But for the sake of this review, I won't go into too much detail. However, I will say that Creature, just like every other 3D film from the 50s, was shot in native 3D. Thus, the 3D throughout is very strong. For a movie that takes place in the Amazon, you can expect there to be plenty of interesting usages of 3D. And on that end, Creatures does not disappoint. The compositions of the environment from beginning to end are all made much more intriguing via the film's incredible depth. A lot of the movie takes place on a boat. But even off of it, settings from inside a laboratory to a camp in the jungle feel wide and spacious, like something you could walk right into. There's one interesting scene that uses one continuous shot featuring characters traveling on a speedboat where the camera is placed in one specific place on the boat and never moves for the entirety of the shot. However, the background, that's very far away, is moving by, and at a fast rate at that. It almost reminds me of the ferry scene in Jaws (1975) 3D. It's simple, subtle shots like that that benefit from the intense depth that Creature gives. Even something as simple as a close up shot of the Creature sticking his hand out of the water and placing it onto land maintains a lifelike amount of space.

Once we get into the Black Lagoon, though, that's when the 3D is put to maximum use. Above water, the space between objects remains mesmerizing. Shots with foreground elements on the boat against the jungle background that's incredibly far away make great use of the added depth. That doesn't mean, though, that deck of the boat itself doesn't look extra good in 3D. The composition with ropes, poles, the people, and various objects benefit from the space provided by the 3D. There's one highlight moment here where the creature is being kept inside a pit in the boat full of water, and the pit is shown being closed up by some bamboo poles. Inside the boat, the depth still doesn't let up, allowing the structure of the room and the objects inside of it to be brought into fantastic three-dimensional light. Once we get into the water, we see some really fun 3D at play. In a way similar to those IMAX ocean documentaries, we see many a vines, fish, rocks, and bubbles that reach back into the screen in interesting ways. I wouldn't say the underwater shots here are some of my favorite underwater shots I've seen in a 3D movie ever, but they make for plenty of mesmerizing shots.

Now that you know the world inside the screen of Creature is very deep, now would be a good time to tell you that the movie does a fantastic job of popping things out at you. Right from the beginning of the film, we get explosions with rocks and debris, a fossilized creature hand that sticks way out of the screen, and various surrounding objects. But it doesn't stop there. When we get out into the lagoon, plenty of negative parallax we get includes the jungle foliage, the various equipment on the boat including ropes, poles, and people, and even the Creature himself, who is much more intimidating standing right in front of you. Underwater, the pop outs remain ever present. The vines, fish, rocks, and bubbles I mentioned earlier that go into the screen also come out of it quite a lot. But we also get plenty of harpoons poking out and being shot at us, a gun with a white substance in it being used similarly, and even a swimming (and very attractive) Julie Adams.

With all of the positives out of the way, I think now is the time to give out a couple of small nitpicks I had with the 3D. These don't deal with how the 3D was used, but rather have to do with the technical transfer from the Blu-ray disc (though this is only what I experienced. The issues on my display might look different on yours). Ghosting isn't a prevalent thing throughout Creature, but there were a few shots in which I found it pretty distracting, and they mostly took place on the deck of the boat. There were also a couple of shots where the left and right eye views bizarrely went reversed. They only lasted for a few brief seconds each, but I was left wondering if it was an oversight or what. None the less, though, these issues were still few and far between. I just thought I'd give you a heads up about in case you come across them in your display.

Creature from the Black Lagoon may not be my favorite 3D film of all time, but it still remains a very well-done presentation, and to give it a rating of anything less than excellent would not be giving it its due credit. The 3D is used subtly but effectively, allowing pop outs to come when they need to and providing staggering amounts of depth in the in-between moments. It probably won't wow you as much as Avatar or Gravity, but it will most likely remain just as memorable. With the 3D being the way it is, this is one trip to the lagoon you'll want to take, or unless you're faint of heart.

3D RATING: EXCELLENT

Other sources that review this movie's 3D:

High-Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/7836/creature_black_lagoon_54.html

Tommy Boy 3D's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdv83GEPqo

Go Find Fun's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KaOFdH3Rh8

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Creature from the Black Lagoon is fun creature movie that I doubt a lot of people know about. And sure, it's not my personal favorite rendition of the creature feature formula, it's a pretty darn effective one. It delivers the thrills and suspense you're looking for and it doesn't do anything more. If you're looking for a solid B-movie, this one certainly gets my recommendation. However, if you have a 3D display, this one isn't just recommended, it's a must-own. It's a remnant from a time when 3D movies tried to be worth the time and effort to be shown in 3D, and it certainly shows. The movie is good enough on its own. But in 3D, you're immersed in it, feeling the danger even more than you can in its 2D counterpart. While it's probably not the #1 best 3D film you'll ever see, it's definitely worth your money. If you can watch Creature in 3D, waste no time and do it.

BUY THE MOVIE HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Creature-Lagoon-Blu-ray-Richard-Carlson/dp/B00C1AIMXE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=32O1FBIQLTJZB&keywords=creature+from+the+black+lagoon+3d&qid=1668288215&sprefix=creature+from+the+black+lagoon%2Caps%2C477&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

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