CBR's 31 Days of Halloween is a daily feature highlighting our staff's favorite horror movies to watch during the month of October. Reader, beware - you're in for a scare!
October is often known as the month when fall is in full swing. The temperatures start to drop, and the leaves begin to turn. But more importantly, it's the month when Halloween approaches at full speed. To prepare and celebrate for the spooky season, many fans of the holiday may want to watch a collection of fun and scary movies. But while slashers and traditional horror films may be on the menu, there are also some unorthodox options that could fit right in.
A great place to enjoy the history of horror in full swing while exploring the many genres it offers is with the Universal Classic Monsters. Since the 1930s, Universal Pictures has offered a great selection of films that both terrify and spark the imagination of the viewer. But one character that made the largest waves for horror was the Gill-man from Creature From the Black Lagoon. That said, why is such an unexpected monster film a great selection this Halloween?
What Is Creature From the Black Lagoon About?
Creature From the Black Lagoon was a film that melded the classic monster horror Universal Pictures was known for with a science fiction twist. The story begins when a group of scientists is sent to the Amazon to study a new fossil that may be the key to finding a secret history of evolution. The fossil in question was a hand that had long fingers and seemed to be amphibious in nature. However, what they encounter is more than a fossil as they are met with a creature, the last of its kind, living in the lagoon.
The film continues as the scientists must survive in the lagoon while being stalked by the Gill-man, who is revealed to be a humanoid amphibian with immense strength and a powerful attachment to one of the scientists on the expedition. The creature makes no qualms about taking life to get what it wants, but in the end, the tale of horror ends with unspeakable tragedy and a trilogy that gets sadder for the Gill-man with each entry.
Why Creature From the Black Lagoon Is Mandatory Halloween Viewing
Creature From the Black Lagoon may not be the most obvious choice for a Halloween film, but it's done much to aid the genre of horror, specifically Halloween horror. For starters, it kicked off the genre of the creature feature, which was a big factor in the '50s as science-fiction made way for massive creatures from unique origins. But as the years went on, even more Halloween-themed creatures were born, with one of the most common being Pumpkinhead. Because of what the Gill-man had done, the film also spawned more science-fiction stories surrounding creatures from the past terrorizing the present, like The Relic.
Narratively, Creature From the Black Lagoon was also a mix of tragic tales that had been seen before but never in this capacity. One of the most obvious was the doomed love found in King Kong. But rather than a massive ape growing fond of the young woman meant to be sacrificed to him, the Gill-man gained a fondness for the intelligent Kay Lawrence. While there wasn't a traditional romance between them, their pairing represented the seemingly doomed relationship between humanity and the Earth. This was also added to the larger theme of humans and their mistreatment of the planet as the Gill-man, a being that's millions of years old, was seemingly killed in moments by the technology of humans.
How to Watch Creature From the Black Lagoon - Is it Streaming?
Creature From the Black Lagoon is a much older film than most of the horror options available, but that doesn't mean it's lost to time. For starters, it can be viewed for free on Tubi. However, the film can also be rented on outlets such as Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. But for those that can, the best way to see the film would be in a Blu-Ray collector's edition as it not only contains the film but also its two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. Both entries help tell the tragic tale of the Gill-man and better convey the larger message about the environment and its importance.
Creature From the Black Lagoon may not be the first choice on everyone's Halloween movie list, but it's one worth checking out. It features genuine scares, amazing shots and visual effects for its time, and a creature so iconic that countless fans know who the Gill-man is without having seen the film. Those that decide to see the movie will be anything but disappointed and ultimately entertained for having seen it.