Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)

Sadly Over-hyped

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Here we go with another movie that doesn't make any sense.The only thing they don't fail at is letting us know who's going to die next.People are disappearing and the town people never believe those who actually see the "giant leeches".After most of the people are gone, they decide to believe the leeches exist and then quickly make up a bunch of "facts" about them.The hero threatens to arrest the elderly man who wants to use dynamite in the swamp to find the bodies but then ends up using it himself.Of course the elderly man is the hero's girlfriends dad, that's because the scientists don't have guns.Most importantly this movie has the obligatory scuba diving.What's a movie without scuba diving?Good?

I knew that this would fall into the same problems so many movies made at this time had. It seems like these people would never run out of animals to make giant and attack people. The weirdest thing is probably how these leeches look more like octopi. I mean, I'm fairly certain I see tentacles and suction cups. I guess I know little about leech anatomy, but I don't think that's how they work. It is pretty entertaining to see these goofy characters say all this stupid stuff. They just need to focus more on the actual action and less on these weird people.It's weird how they seem to say that dynamite won't work, even though it eventually does. At least they mention somewhat of a justification where they say nuclear weapons created the leeches. Every victim dies so they're mostly pointless. Only watch it on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The short length probably works for it. There were just too many of these movies. They're all rather boring and pointless. *

More gruesome creepy-crawly creatures turn giant-size with disappointing effects in this undeniably cheap slice of swampland scaremongering produced by exploitation legend Roger Corman in his inevitable cost-cutting manner. Whilst the authentic-seeming swamp locations help to add a lot to the atmosphere of the movie, the ramshackle production values hamper it from the start, with a supposedly monstrous "giant leech" looking more like a dirty, poorly-patterned floating blanket with badly drawn-on eyeballs. Also hampered by unbelievable wooden acting from the leads and an emphasis on dialogue and plot development over the bloodsucking action promised in both the title and advertising, this is a Z-movie escapade only of interest to real fans of golden-oldies who can forgive their films' many flaws.Genetic mutation as a result of pollution is the predictable explanation behind this horrific puzzle but it's a shame the monsters are so poorly-seen yet still very tacky and unbelievable from what we do see. Towards the end there's an overload of underwater photography which alternates between being creepy and silly (the creepiest parts are when the corpses of the eaten victims float to the surface, released from their underwater caves). The man vs. monster battles which always form an integral part of such movies are rather poorly done and you never get the sense that the characters are in real danger, despite the best efforts of the music which would have you on the edge of your seat.The build-up to the battle involves lots of cheesy dialogue between redneck types and arguments as to whether the swamps should be bombed - the ecologist debate vs. the rational government approach. The acting is pretty much poor from all performers, who it seems are amateurs at this kind of thing, in fact even the unconvincing leeches themselves are better actors than most of the cast! Even though its only an hour in running time, Attack of the Giant Leeches sorely tested the patience of even this kindly reviewer - sometimes bad movies are so good that they become gems; this is so bad that it's not even funny, just poorly done and with a minimum of skill on the parts of all involved. A spiritless and unconvincing film only for generous fans of the period.

I really liked this low budget "b" horror movie,, something about it that actually held my interest. maybe I'm just a fan of the old days where things were easier to understand and piece together,, or maybe it's the quirkiness of it.. Giant Leetches are underneath a Swamp Bottom and killing people,, A man who is having an affair with his friends wife get's caught by the husband ,, and he forces the couple to go out to the water , knowingly so the creature will eat them,, after they disappear, he is charged with a double murder,, then later on more people get killed and he's off the hook for it,, the police get some experts to go out to the swamp and check things out,, this time they brought some dynamite in hopes of getting rid of the creatures once and for all.