Horrorfest 2012: The Monster that Challenged the World

Now we head directly into 1950s atomic-scare territory with THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD, in which radioactive mollusks (yes, you read correctly) are the titular monsters in question.

These mollusks don't really challenge the world so much as they do the Salton Sea, an interesting setting for a flick of this kind. The setting is one of the few things the movie has going for it -- what better location for a paranoid 1950s flick than a creepy, geologically odd, abandoned sea in the middle of the desert?

Unfortunately the movie starts with a narrator telling us all about the Salton Sea, which is boring. That's the biggest weakness of the movie -- it's boring.

Basically, we've got a Naval test site on the edge of the Salton Sea, blasting it with radiation, when an earthquake awakens prehistoric mollusks who go on a killing spree. The Navy teams up with scientists to solve the mystery and destroy the creatures. Not much new territory covered here.

Aside from the setting, the best part of the flick is the creatures themselves -- they truly are monsterous and are not cheap props or costumes. Clearly a lot of ingenuity and work went into making the monsters as cool and effective as possible, so the brief moments they're on screen are always exciting.

Those moments are too brief, though, and we're left without any real interesting heroes or victims to follow. So, while the flick isn't outright bad, it is certainly bland, which is a shame -- too bad these cool creatures couldn't have been in a flick with a little more get up and go.