I just viewed this science fiction film from the 1950’s a few days ago. I admit that I was mostly entertained by this movie which eluded viewing until just recently but coincided with some articles I saw that illustrated the decline and fall of the Salton Sea recreational area located in the southern most part of the state of California, USA. Seems that this area was once a thriving vacation and resort spot before things got a little disgusting with the receding of this (basically) unnatural lake. The lake resulted as a collection of runoff of high water from the Colorado River in essentially a desert environment and was sustained for a time from diverted waters from agricultural water usage to form a massive, though reasonably shallow body of water. In its heyday, people bought property here and enjoyed the lakeside life but eventually, as the waters evaporated, the fish in the lake died, the smell of rot ballooned and the dust which kicked up had a very negative effect on the health of local residents. An exodus followed and relatively small numbers of people still occupy the area. Anyway, those notes aside, let’s talk about this movie!
A military base located at one end of the Salton Sea experiences a sizeable earthquake. The event triggers the uncovering of prehistoric mollusk eggs which become exposed to water and subsequently mature into beasties on the attack for food. This comes in the form of unsuspecting humans who become prey. It is the job of the military to neutralize the threat and ensure that said monstrosities do not encroach on nearby and outlying human food sources.
Nice stretches of the military and scientists combining to track and contain the problem. Also some very horrific moments where multiple female cast members are shown to have suffered similar losses of significant others and the devastating impact it has on their lives. These moments definitely caught me off guard. An interesting, mature touch not generally seen in these types of movies! Wow. This movie was very ahead of its time. Worth checking out!
