The once-mighty Gill-Man, now reduced to a mere aquarium attraction.
Following the box office success of the previous year's CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, a sequel was inevitable. What resulted was a tragic showing for the last of the classic Universal monsters.
Having somehow survived being rather decisively killed at the end of his first film, the Gill-Man becomes the target of a pack of scientist assholes who go to his Amazon home, abduct him, and place his scaly ass on display for study in Florida's Ocean Harbor Oceanarium. Need I tell you how that works out for all involved?
I get the studio wanting to wring more cash out of a popular IP, but it almost seems like they went out of their way to make this entry as rote and bland as humanly possible. Setting the main bulk of the story in a location as familiar as a Florida aquarium completely removes the atmosphere and mystery of the Gill-Man's native environment, a locale that once crossed into felt like some forbidden Lovecraftian realm. So what if the Creature does his usual chasing of a human female while also running amok amidst the throng of humanity and turning over cars?
The careful craft that went int the first film is ignored in favor of a cheap and easy cash-in, with the Creature suit still looking good but very obviously a downgrade from the still-stunning original, and it just breaks my heart. This one is definitely skippable, but it's a damned sight better than the appalling THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956), in which the Gill-Man, once more back from the dead, suffers severe burns that necessitate scientists surgically transforming him into a land animal. Avoid that one like the plague.
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