The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)

creature walks among us movie poster 1956
5.0 Overall Score
Story: 6/10
Acting: 5/10
Visuals: 5/10

An end to the Creature series that feels like a real conclusion

Not enough underwater footage, Gill-Man loses his gills

Movie Info

Movie Name: The Creature Walks Among Us

Studio: Universal International Pictures

Genre(s): Horror/B-Movie

Release Date(s): April 26, 1956

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

creature walks among us gill man burned human torch

The gill-man does his best Human Torch impression…”FLAME ON!!!”

The gill-man survived encounter with the authority and is now hiding in the swamps of the Florida Everglades. Dr. William Barton (Jeff Morrow) leads a team into the Everglades to capture the creature, but the gill-man is severely burned in the process. Fighting for his life, the gill-man’s physiology begins to change and doctors discovers undeveloped lungs that could save him. Now a fish out of water, the creature finds himself trapped between man and fish, but quickly realizes there is more evil in the world than him.

Directed by John Sherwood, The Creature Walks Among Us is the final film in the “Creature” saga from Universal Pictures.  Following Revenge of the Creature in 1955, the film was not released in 3D like the two previous entries and wasn’t well received.

creature walks among us surgery mask

Bad news on your face-lift…you still look like a fish

As a fan of Creature from the Black Lagoon and a tepid fan of its sequel, The Creature Walks Among Us is like a cruel joke.  Everything that made the original films great is wiped out here…though I will admit that the movie is much more original than Revenge of the Creature.

Thematically, the decision to make the gill-man a human in this picture does make sense.  It turns him into the victim as he realizes humans also murder and when Jed Grant (Gregg Palmer) is killed by Barton for advances on his wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden).  The movie is a bummer but does have a nice ending with the creature deciding he would rather die a fish than live as a human by entering the sea.

creature walks among us gill man drowning

I’ve got something in my chest…oh yeah, lungs.

While switching up the plot of this entry is smart, it probably was done more out of financial reasons.  The movie features few underwater scenes (since the creature can’t breathe there anymore), and it was probably much cheaper to make the movie with the bulky “humanoid” creature suit replacing the cool gill-man suit (with even old scenes reused).  It just doesn’t have the appeal of the original films.

The creature is one of Hollywood’s all-time great monsters.  It was original and it was fun…something that The Creature Walks Among Us lacks.  With all the talk of remakes of this film, a film that encompasses all three pictures could be a better and more rounded picture.  The creature has oddly been left untouched thus far, and I hope it remains that way…of course remaking this entry in the series couldn’t make it much worse.

Related Links:

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

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