Monster From The Ocean Floor Blu Ray Review (Film Masters)

Monster from the Ocean Floor is a 1954 science fiction film directed by Wyott Ordung (Walk the Dark Street). It was written by Bill Danch (Spider-Man, The Alvin Show, Shazam!, and Groovie Goolies). It was produced by Roger Corman (Death Race 2000, Piranha, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, Black Scorpion, The Fantastic Four, Humanoids from the Deep, The Unborn, Sorority House Massacre, The Slumber Party Massacre, and Boxcar Bertha). It had an estimated budget of $28,000. Julie Blair (played by: Anne Kimbell from Girls at Sea, Port Sinister, Clipped Wings, Wagons West, and The Golden Idol) is an American on vacation in Mexico when she spots a giant one-eyed amoeba rising from the ocean. She tries to tell the authorities but not a single person believes her and she can’t get any help from them. She finally teams up with a marine biologist Steve Dunning (played by: Stuart Wade from Teenage Monster, Outside the Law, Death Valley Days, and 26 Men) in an attempt to destroy it!!!! Monster from the Ocean Floor is mainly known for being the very first feature produced by the legendary Roger Corman. This very low budget 50’s sci-fi film is very campy and it just has fun with all it’s limitations. The script isn’t anything special but the actors elevate it with their presence. Anne Kimbell is a real solid lead as Julie Blair. She does her best with what she has to work with here. The supporting cast includes Stuart Wade, Dick Pinner (Red Snow), Wyott Ordung (Dick Tracy), Inez Palange (One Million B.C.), Jonathan Haze (The Little Shop of Horrors), David Garcia (The Twilight Zone), and even Roger Corman (The Silence of the Lambs) shows up here. The score really adds to it’s atmosphere. The special fx are better than expected for something like this. It’s very short so it has a nice pace and flow to it. They used their budget wisely on most departments for this. I didn’t like the forced romance, I thought it kinda made the female hero look a little weak and it seemed like they weren’t confident enough with just her. Monster from the Ocean Floor falls into the so bad it’s good category. It has it’s moments but it’s loaded with flaws that don’t hold up at all. It’s still pretty fun and it’s an easy easy watch since it’s only 64 minutes. Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Film Masters! This 1080p (1.37:1) unrated transfer is from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. I’ve seen this on so many public domain releases and it usually looked pretty damn bad until now. Film Masters is one of the best when it comes to restoring these older forgotten features. Monster from the Ocean Floor looks like better than ever here. The black and white cinematography really shines because of it. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks on the disc. The audio is also very much improved compared to the past. All of the dialogue is very clean, the suspense is elevated, and the music has killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Tom Weaver. It has some archival interviews with producer Roger Corman thrown in here that makes it even more interesting. It has a brand new exclusive almost 9 minute “Bob Baker: From Monsters to Marionettes” with author Justin Humphreys. This pays tribute and remembers what Baker did for cinema with his unique skills. It has the almost 9 minute “Becoming a B-Movie Maker” archive interview with the iconic producer Roger Corman. He goes over his early career making movies. He goes through a variety things during this chat. It has the little over 2 minute “Gallery of Stills”. It has the original “Trailer” and the “Re-Cut 2024 Trailer”. It comes with a high quality booklet. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!