Theme Song: Seriously-heavy, blaring horns by an uncredited James “Horns are my Game” Horner.
Interesting Dated References: The desire to lacquer paper goods (maps, napkins, brochures, etc.) and hang them in your den; The weird stretch of time in which every Betamax I randomly grabbed featured Virgil Frye, father of Soleil Moon Frye.
Best Line: Shouted to bystanders by man in reference to a clearly-breathing injured person — “His insides are all busted in … he’s dead.”
Social Context: This film came about as a result of Jaws-hysteria and the ensuing mad dash to get rip-off movies into theaters. As the plot progresses, Up From the Depths crumbles into a slapstick revenge flick, as resort inhabitants take up arms to capture and kill the sea creature for a cash reward. If you think that somehow saves the movie from being (mostly) totally miserable, you are wrong.
Summary: So there’s an earthquake or some shit, and a blurry prehistoric creature is unleashed and begins preying on guests at the Tropical Palace resort. Mr. Forbes, the resort manager (Kedric Wolfe), refuses to acknowledge the beast, and actively tries to suppress the story from developing.
Meanwhile, Greg (Sam Bottoms, Apocalypse Now) and his uncle Earl (Frye) are con men posing as tour guides who lure in wealthy resort guests with promises of treasure.
But then the blurry monster starts killing them. Or at least that’s what I think is happening, because all the filmmakers do is imply a killing by showing one of those ‘60s psychedelic oil lights your grandparents flipped on to illuminate their high.
Eventually Forbes offers a reward to kill the creature, and all the guests go nutty on the hunt with spears and guns and booze. Things culminate with Greg using the lone scientist at the resort as chum to lure the creature into eating some explosives.
Worth Mentioning:
– This movie is terrible, yet Filipino wildman Cirio H. Santiago, who acted as one of the producers on Up from the Depths, went on to remake it in 1987 as Demons of Paradise.
– R. Lee Ermey appears toward the end of the film as one of the drunken hunters.
– Directed by Charles B. Griffith, who lent his hand to writing a number of ‘60s/’70s trash-script classics, including Attack of the Crab Monsters, A Bucket of Blood, Beast from Haunted Cave, The Little Shop of Horrors, Barbarella, and Death Race 2000.
– If you are a shallow human being who only cares about breasts despite the fact we are all just bags of fluid and everyone dies, you’ll be happy to know actress Denise Hayes whips out her cans and even scuba dives naked for no reason whatsoever.
Poster and Box Art: The Vestron video box cover is excellent and is the same one used in all marketing of Up From the Depths.
Availability: Everyone wants to buy bullshit these days, so double and quadruple pack DVDs are available for sale on Amazon.