Revenge of the Creature (1955)

33% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(1,447 ratings)

Revenge of the Creature is, of course, the sequel to Universal's fabulously successful The Creature from the Black Lagoon--and like its predecessor, the film was lensed in 3-D (though released "flat" in most theatres). Though the audience had seen the Gill-Man shot full of holes in the first… More Revenge of the Creature is, of course, the sequel to Universal's fabulously successful The Creature from the Black Lagoon--and like its predecessor, the film was lensed in 3-D (though released "flat" in most theatres). Though the audience had seen the Gill-Man shot full of holes in the first picture, he still resides in the Black Lagoon in the sequel, apparently none the worse for wear. Two oceanographers (John Bromfield and Robert B. Williams) capture the creature and put him on display at Florida's Ocean Harbor Park (actually Marineland of the Atlantic). Here the hapless Gill-Man is taught a few words of English by compassionate icthyologists John Agar and Lori Nelson. Eventually, however, the creature reverts to type, kills one of his captors and goes on a rampage. And once again, he manages to briefly abduct the heroine and carry her off. Not nearly as good as the first Creature, this followup is saved by the underwater photography of Charles S. Welbourne--and by the effective performance by Ricou Browning as the Gill-Man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Jack Arnold
Written By: William Alland, Martin Berkeley
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror

In Theaters: May 11, 1955 Wide
On DVD: Sep 1, 1993
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Rob Humanick, Suite101.com
Less than the sum of its maddeningly redundant parts.
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
not really original considering the first, but still entertaining
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
This series went to crap faster than Freddy Krueger's.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Superb sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature picks up a year after the first film. A successful capture of the Gill Man by two oceanographers and put him on display at a Marine park. The "Gill-Man" as he is called is a hit at the park. At… More
Superb sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature picks up a year after the first film. A successful capture of the Gill Man by two oceanographers and put him on display at a Marine park. The "Gill-Man" as he is called is a hit at the park. At first things go without a hitch, but as the film progresses, the Gill-Man breaks free and goes on a rampage and escapes the park. Revenge of the Creature is a solid follow-up to the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is superbly acted and directed, and the pace of the story is very good. I very much enjoyed the storyline to this sequel, and I thought it was a great continuation to the first. The film like the first has some incredible underwater cinematography, and it adds incredible atmosphere to this classic horror film. The cast do a fine job and they deliver great performances. What I thoroughly enjoyed about this film is the effects, I thought for the time period they were very well done, and even if by today's fancy CGI techniques, the special effects used in this film are still relevant and groundbreaking to the cinematic medium. Revenge of the Creature, is not as grand a film, as Creature from the Black Lagoon, but the film is nonetheless a classic monster horror film, and it delivers some very good entertainment. The film is wonderful because of the strong cast, interesting story, great cinematography and of course the Gill-Man's knack for killing and wrecking havoc.
David L

The film begins back in the same lagoon where the creature was left at the end of the last film. The same local captain has agreed to take some idiots from America to capture the creature. Now considering how scared this captain was and how he lost several crew members in the last… More
The film begins back in the same lagoon where the creature was left at the end of the last film. The same local captain has agreed to take some idiots from America to capture the creature. Now considering how scared this captain was and how he lost several crew members in the last film, it's amazing that he'd once again take such a risk--especially since all he does is complain about this! Quite surprisingly, the monster is actually captured relatively quickly and most of the film actually takes place in and around Marineland in Florida (near St. Augustine). Seeing this "thing" in a giant aquarium as gawking stand about is a bit surreal, but once he escapes (a must for the film), things heat up considerably. Along for the ride are a behavioral scientist (John Agar) and the requisite "babe", the hot grad student and ichthyologist played by Lori Nelson. Both of them work with the creature trying to determine its intelligence and trainability--though the methods did seem a bit cruel. So, when the Creature breaks free, I found myself rooting for it--a real plus in a monster film when you have sympathy for the object of so much terror. As for Agar, he has a terrible reputation as an actor, but he was quite competent here. There are a couple of things viewers might want to look out for. First, it's pretty obvious that there are two different people playing the Creature if you try to spot the differences. In the underwater scenes, the guy inside this complex suit is skinnier and on land he's chunkier--perhaps so he can carry about the "screaming hot babe" required by such films. Second, it's also pretty obvious that this was originally a 3-D film---as the monster and arms and all kinds of stuff come hurtling at the camera. While it isn't hokey, it is noticeable. Overall, a nice higher budget horror film that excels in practically every way. The only negatives are that it's a sequel (in other words, it loses a point for originality) and occasionally the characters do act a bit dumb--but this can be forgiven since it's still a vastly superior film to the sort of schlock horror that was so common in the 50s.
Cassandra M

Revenge Of The Creature is the first and better of the 2 sequels to the excellent Creature From The Black Lagoon. A team of scientists travel to the Amazon and they capture the Gill Man and take him to Marineland in Florida so they can study him. But it is not long before he escapes… More
Revenge Of The Creature is the first and better of the 2 sequels to the excellent Creature From The Black Lagoon. A team of scientists travel to the Amazon and they capture the Gill Man and take him to Marineland in Florida so they can study him. But it is not long before he escapes and goes on the rampage, destroying cars and kidnapping the female scientist (jsut like he did in the first movie). He eventual escapes. The cast includes Sci-fi regular John Agar (Tarantula, The Brain From Planet Auris), Lori Nelson (The Day The World Ended) and Nestor Paiva, reprising his role from Creature From The Black Lagoon. With John Broomfield. Revenge Of the Creature is certainly worth seeking out.
Chris W

Not quite as good as the first one, but just as entertaining and watchable. The underwater cinemtaography is still pretty good, the extremely brief (and uncredited) film debut of Clint Eastwood is amusing, and the scene where the Gill Man flips the car over is awesome. Again, a step… More
Not quite as good as the first one, but just as entertaining and watchable. The underwater cinemtaography is still pretty good, the extremely brief (and uncredited) film debut of Clint Eastwood is amusing, and the scene where the Gill Man flips the car over is awesome. Again, a step down, but still good fun.
Anthony V

Not quite as good as the original, but still good monster fun.