Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Just finished watching The Black Scorpion.

WOW! Talk about an under-appreciated film! I'd seen the movie once before, on TCM maybe five or six years ago, but that was late at night and I was only half-awake - this time I finally opened up my DVD copy and really watched it. The writing and acting are surprisingly good, the characters likable and the story itself manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. And that finale! THAT is how you end a giant monster movie! My only complaint is that the puppet they used for closeups looked goofy, and they did a pretty terrible job matting in the scorpions into the live action shots. But, IMO, that balances out with the superb stop motion effects by Willis O'Brien, which may be some of the best I've ever seen.

Coming off re-watching The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms only a couple days ago, I'm amazed how much more I liked The Black Scorpion. Sure, Beast is a good movie too, but after watching the two back-to-back it seems unfair that Beast gets so much praise while The Black Scorpion rarely gets a mention (at least around here).

So how about it? Who else loves The Black Scorpion?

Its goofy as hell and I can't call it a good film but it is a fun one. Still, its sad that Obie got stuck with movies like this and the Giant Behemoth while Harryhausen blew up big time.

Rumor has it that one of the puppets was left over from one of the giant bug armatures from the original Kong's lost spider pit sequence.

This was one of the films I used to wait to see again as it would come up the the rotation on the local stations. It was one of my favorites as a kid. Many years later I bought the VHS and found it was still exciting to watch. It was one of my first DVD purchases and usually gets watched about once a year. I think the only American giant-monster film I like better it Them!, but it is a very close second. Beast would be third.

Black Scorpion isn't without it's faults, but I always end up feeling entertained by it. And the battle at the end is as good as it gets in this sort of film. So having read and responded in this thread, I think it's time to watch it again!