- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms movie poster - Warner Bros.
The beast from 20,000 fathoms - the creature, the special effect - is awesomeness manifest for your inner Calvin, as can probably be testified by anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing it stomping through New York, particularly so if it was for the first time at a young age. Special effects have come far in the time since, so while modern cynicism towards the analogue might curb some enthusiasm for anything the latest generation might file under "prehistory," the personality of landmarks never subsides. The beast - the Rhedosaurus - was an early achievement by special effects guru Ray Harryhausen, and the sheer artistry of his creation wouldn't be surpassed for another forty years, when Steven Spielberg would have what is likely the final say on carnivorous reptiles on the loose.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the movie, unfortunately, is less absolute of a triumph, but nevertheless a very solid bit of monster movie craftsmanship deserving of the minor cultural status bestowed on it. If you consider yourself a fan of kaiju (the term for Japanese movies featuring giant monsters), this is the film to thank. The success of Beast would help spawn the original Godzilla the following year, the two effectively bringing the 1950's anti-nuclear metaphor monster home to stay. Godzilla has added historical dimension and is a better film, but Beast is in a way a purer execution of the idea - the template, if you will.
The story was partially adapted from the Ray Bradbury short "The Fog Horn," and it's pulp of a most delicious order. Shortly after the test detonation of a nuclear bomb at the north pole, a scientist glimpses a giant reptile through the snow before being nearly buried by the ensuing avalanche. With no one believing his story, he quickly learns to agree that he simply hit his head and saw things, but doubt persists amongst similar news stories cropping up from ship captains whose vessels were destroyed.
Much of the first hour is spent trying to make others believe the impossible. Though not lacking in pleasurable verbosity, these dialectic patches aren't as trim as they could be, frequently missing the rhythms of the words or holding a beat too long, as if the dialogue coach were more concerned with his work being noticed than with meshing with the rest of the film. It's enough to harsh the buzz.
Fortunately, the third act - a rampage through New York comprised of stop-motion, miniatures, rear projection and other layering processes - ensures that all was worthwhile, and by a walk at that. Chances are you've already seen a frequently-quoted clip of the film, involving an overambitious police office, used elsewhere (best incarnation: Gremlins 2). For the trampled and chewed-upon citizens of Manhattan, things get a whole lot worse before they get better. Economic, dynamic effects work and the somber, semi-scientific approach taken to the material keep things both thrilling and appropriately horrifying. The beast's species of dinosaur is fictitious, but it's the stuff of true nightmares.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Dir. Eugène Lourié. Perf. Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey. Warner Bros., 1953. Running Time: 80 min.
