It Came from Beneath the Sea

A film with a very slow start, which actually hurts it, especially considering its length. But personally, it has that special charm of a 1950s film, like a classic story about someone getting involved in something they shouldn't. I can't help it, but I enjoy this. Additionally, I was quite excited to see how Ray Harryhausen's animations would look in black and white. Unfortunately, there are very few special effects in the film, so it relies mostly on dialogues, which is a shame. However, once the octopus comes into play, it's a different, better film. Its attempt to pull down the Golden Gate is breathtaking. (11/12/2013)

For a relatively short film, it takes a remarkably long time to get going. First we spend half an hour in the company of the love triangle, then we see the scene when Harryhausen's monster attacks the ship (and we find out what the ILM guys were inspired by when they made the kraken scenes for the second Pirates of the Caribbean), then the love triangle returns to the scene, and although we are not bored, we are still waiting for the finale. Fortunately, it does eventually come. And with everything that it encompasses. The giant octopus is on a rampage, destroying homes, the Golden Gate Bridge, stepping on poor San Franciscans... It’s a joy to watch! I ultimately give three stars to It Came from Beneath the Sea for what it brought to those who are not afraid to eat small octopuses in restaurants. (02/06/2011)

A considerably weaker version of the already weak The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms that’s not missing anything a proper monster movie of the 1950s should have, but with a structure that is very mechanical and boring. The romance line is annoying and, more importantly, the giant octopus really just makes you laugh nowadays and looks terribly stupid as it destroys the city and its inhabitants while half-submerged in the ocean. Another genre contribution that only shows the dominance of contemporary films like Them! or Tarantula, which have directorial ingenuity and atmosphere. (13/02/2018)

In the 1950s, a lot of monster-killers followed a tried and tested formula: a big monster is disturbed out of its inertia or mutated by something (usually nuclear tests) and embarks on a doomed journey, usually towards a big city. This is exactly this film, in which a giant octopus first threatens a nuclear submarine, then destroys a fishing boat and finally terrorises San Francisco. The fact that this monster-flick, which is not exceptional in terms of its plot, will not gather dust in the film archives, but on the contrary can become an addition to special fan DVD editions, can be attributed to one name, visual effects legend and renowned creator of stop-motion animation Ray Harryhausen (Clash of the Titans, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Jason and the Argonauts). He had made his debut two years earlier with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, which was a commercial success in its day and introduced the world to the typical Harryhausen figures brought to life by stop motion photography. In this film, Harryhausen "went all out" with the octopus animation. Its attack on the Golden Gate Bridge at the end of the film looks great for its time, the tentacles are beautifully deployed, breaking down walls and even casting shadows. The blending of the footage with the real actors looks very good and not as out of place as in the case of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Likewise, the rear projections aren't so blatant, with Harryhausen's weaker moment coming in the final underwater sequences, where the submarine model and the studio ambience around the divers is too ostentatious. Still, it can be said that Harryhausen's work made up for an expectedly dull plot. For three quarters of the film, you have to wade through a lightly sketched love triangle and the subsequent amorous outburst between the main characters, the captain of an atomic submarine (played by the then very popular B-movie star Kenneth Tobey) and a prominent scientist, also through a somewhat lengthy scientist's reassurance of the existence of a large cephalopod (the scientist's theory that the octopus, due to radioactive exposure, has changed its dietary priority and that it has now necessarily become a higher species – humans – is amusing). Both serve as time fillers before the grand finale in San Francisco, where powerful tentacles, torpedoes and even flamethrowers come into play. I don't mind the predictability and a certain amount of naivety, I just have a soft spot for these flicks, and especially Harryhausen. (24/01/2005)