“Attack of the Giant Leeches”
Go here for official information.
A “Roger Coreman Presents” creature feature. Directed by Bernard L Kowalski, who went on to direct just about everything on tv from episodes of Rawhide, Mission: Impossible, and Gunsmoke to Baretta, Knight Rider, and Magnum PI and much more. Let’s not overlook Playboy centerfold Yvette Vickers as beautiful, but troubled, Liz Walker, wife of a shop owner. Cheesy creature costuming aside, this flick is typical of late 50′s, late Golden Age b-grade movies. Solid schlock, cheaply made, and the musical score is shared with 2 other movies produced by brothers Roger and Gene Coreman. You know what you’re getting when you decide to watch this style movie.
After a local trapper claims to have seen a giant creature while out poaching, he is found dying with horrific wounds by game warden, Steve Benton and his girlfriend, Nan Greyson. When other people begin to disappear, Steve, along with Nan and her father, Dr. Greyson, discover that they were taken by giant leeches. One thing I like about this, and similar b-grades, is that you end up having very bright, strong female characters standing out from the fluff (or “Red-Shirts”, to use one of my favorite colloquialisms). Nan steps up and theorizes, technical jargon and all, with the best of them as to how the leeches got giant. The dialogue and interaction are good, not too over the top, again pretty standard for the time.
I think I’ll give this 3 cups-o-something good. Because, I did like it. A solid, b-grade creature feature, to be sure.
