Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) American International/Sci-Fi-Horror RT: 62 minutes No MPAA rating (some violent images and gunplay) Director: Bernard L. Kowalski Screenplay: Leo Gordon Music: Alexander Laszlo Cinematography: John M. Nickolaus Jr. Release date: October 1959 (US) Cast: Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Jan Shepard, Michael Emmet, Tyler McVey, Bruno VeSota, Gene Roth, Daniel White, George Cisar. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
A long time ago (late 70s/early 80s), one of my local UHF stations (good old channel 48!) used to show cheesy old monster movies from the 50s and 60s on Saturday afternoons. It was called “Creature Double Feature”. I didn’t tune in too often. On Saturdays, I was either out or listening to whatever new record I bought at Sam Goody that morning. As I got older, I’d be at the movies. As a teen, I was more interested in R-rated thrills at a theater than old movies on TV.
Although I didn’t watch the program, I was acutely aware of the titles they showed. One that sticks out in my mind is Attack of the Giant Leeches. Don’t ask me why, but it just always stayed with me. I never considered actually watching it until I got onto an exploitation movie kick these past few months. I came across it on YouTube and thought, “Why not.” The price is right- FREE! And at just over an hour long, it wouldn’t be much of a time investment. I basically had nothing to lose except maybe a few IQ points.
Attack of the Giant Leeches, a grade-Z horror schlockfest from American International, is a Corman production as in produced by Roger Corman (executive producer, to be exact) and younger brother Gene. Shot in eight days on an estimated budget of $70,000, it’s one of those “so awful, it’s great” deals. The monsters are actors in costumes made of thin black material with fake suckers sewn on. They’re more funny-looking than scary. That is, when you get a clear view of them which is rarely. Blame the lighting and cinematography. A lot of the time, it’s too dark to see much of anything especially in the nighttime scenes. Guess what? These creatures are nocturnal. Nice one, Roger! The score by Andrew Laszlo was previously used in Night of the Blood Beast. Hey, I didn’t know they recycled in the late 50s. Cool!
For what it’s worth, I guess I ought to talk about the plot of Attack of the Giant Leeches. Set in the Florida Everglades, it’s about a bunch of yokels being terrorized by a pair of giant leeches (as if you couldn’t guess). Concern grows when people start disappearing. First, it’s Liz Walker (Vickers, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) and her lover Cal (Emmet, Night of the Blood Beast). Her jealous husband, local storekeeper Dave (VeSota, Hot Car Girl), catches them together and forces them into the swamp at gunpoint. That’s when the leeches grab them and take them to their cave where they drain them of their blood.
Every great story has a hero. So does every bad movie. Attack of the Giant Leeches has Steve Benton (Clark, None But the Lonely Spy), a game warden whose primary concern is not killing the local wildlife (i.e. alligators) in trying to find and stop the giant leeches. He’s helped in his investigation by local physician Doc Greyson (McVey, Night of the Blood Beast) and his comely daughter Nan (Shepard, Paradise- Hawaiian Style).
What else is there to say about Attack of the Giant Leeches? It’s terrible. Many critics consider it one of the worst movies ever made. It was mocked on an episode of MST3K. Nobody even bothered renewing the copyright so it’s a public domain movie. That means it’s been released numerous times on VHS and DVD at bargain bin prices. The movie itself is positively laughable. The acting is indescribably bad. The sole point of interest in this area is Vickers being Playboy’s Playmate of the Month a few months prior (July ’59) to the movie’s release. It has some of the worst dialogue. There are many choice lines, but my favorite is when Steve says “Go soak your fat head!” to the portly and useless sheriff.
I’d say that Attack of the Giant Leeches works 100% better as unintentional comedy than horror even if it tries to prey of the public’s fear of atomic energy at the time (the leeches are thought to be the result of atomic radiation from nearby Cape Canaveral). In any event, it’s not the least bit scary; it was made to be seen by 9YOs at Saturday matinee double features in the early 60s. How scary could it be?
I’m giving Attack of the Giant Leeches a three-star rating because it’s so much fun to watch. Yes, it’s filmmaking at its worst. It looks, sounds and feels cheap. It’s low-budget, low-quality, lowbrow and highly entertaining for all the wrong reasons. GO AND WATCH IT RIGHT NOW! Hey, the price is right.
