The Crater Lake Monster (1977)

User Rating:

1.7/10   

Director:

William R. Stromberg

Writers:

Richard Cardella (story)
William R. Stromberg (story)

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A beast more frightening than your most terrifying nightmare!

Plot:

A meteor that crashed into Oregon's Crater Lake unearths a dinosaur egg. The heat from the meteor causes the egg to hatch, and the emerging dinosaur takes to snacking on the locals.

Plot Keywords:

Meteor | Egg | Lake | Dinosaur | Prehistoric

Cast

Richard Cardella	...	Sheriff Steve Hanson
Glen Roberts	...	Arnie Chabot (as Glenn Roberts)
Mark Siegel	...	Mitch Kowalski
Bob Hyman	...	Richard Calkins
Richard Garrison	...	Dan Turner
Kacey Cobb	...	Susan Patterson
Michael F. Hoover	...	Ross Conway (as Michael Hoover)
Suzanne Lewis	...	Paula Conway
Marv Eliot	...	Sen. Jack Fuller
Garry Johnston	...	Blackmailer
Sonny Shepard	...	Robber
John Crowder	...	Mechanic
Susy Claycomb	...	Waitress
Hal Scharn	...	Birdwatcher
Mike Simmons	...	Store clerk

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Huntington Lake, California, USA

Company:

Crown International Pictures

Movie Connections:

Edited into Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies (1990) (V)

Poor

Crater Lake Monster, The (1977)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Scientists are up in arms after they discover evidence that dinosaurs were around at the same time as man. While they party the night away, a meteor on the other side of the lake crashes into the water where it hits an egg, which eventually hatches and sets forth a dinosaur who isn't very happy about being woke up. The dinosaur sets out for revenge killing anyone or anything that gets in its way.

I've always been a fan of films like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms but this here certainly isn't in the same league. The film was released around the same time that the Loch Ness monster was in the news and it's clear the filmmakers are trying to cash in on that but they left this viewer pretty much scratching his head. The stop-animation looks pretty good throughout the movie and the ending is very nicely done but for some unknown reason the director saved all the action for the end of the movie.

The first 80-minutes is pretty much dialogue driven with only a few attacks, which are mainly kept off camera. Are two "heroes" are a couple rednecks who are apparently trying to be Abbott and Costello but their material certainly isn't fresh nor is it funny. We get other oddball characters thrown in for comic relief but none of them deliver any laughs and while all the jokes are going on we're missing any chance to see the monster go into action. The movie pretty much fails on all levels with the exception of the dinosaur, which keeps this from being a complete dud.