Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959)

Brilliant and touching

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The other people who reviewed and rated this mess must have watched a different movie than I did. This movie has absolutely no plot and it almost never makes sense. It takes place in Mexico yet there are no Mexicans. You can quickly tell that it's been dubbed into English without ever looking at the screen. They say "mustn't" a lot. Have you ever said "mustn't"? The star has a three year old nameless daughter who is clearly voiced by an adult. At one point her mom even calls her "the child". Normally I would tear apart a movie like this but I'm not writing ten paragraphs about a movie that no one should see. Just know that if you watch this, you can never get the 75 minutes back.

A team of archaeologists are investigating Mayan ruins in Mexico, trying to figure out why the Mayans migrated in 607 A.D. They soon discover a pool of water, which was used to make sacrifices to the goddess Caltiki. They are also soon threatened by a carnivorous, pulpy mass that can only be destroyed with fire. Not only will the characters have to deal with this monster, but one of their team (Gerard Herter), who's gone insane after a physical encounter with the creature has left him mutilated.This is an absolute must see for any fan of old school horror and the celebrated filmmakers Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava. Bava was responsible for the effectively stark black & white cinematography, and the special effects. He also actually directed a fair portion of the picture, although Freda (a.k.a. Robert Hamton) would get the sole directing credit. The story, by Filippo Sanjust, owes a debt to earlier pictures like "The Quatermass Xperiment", "The Blob", and "X: The Unknown", and is pretty straightforward and enjoyable. Pacing is more than adequate, resulting in a trim little movie that runs a mere 77 minutes. However, it's definitely the technical know how that makes this work as well as it does. Bavas' cinematography is beautiful, bringing out the atmosphere inherent to those rural settings, and his special effects are enjoyable, especially when the monster (made out of tripe) is multiplying, and several of the resulting duplicates are rampaging. Good music, as well, by Roberto Nicolosi and Roman Vlad.The cast is efficient, with Canadian born John Merivale ("A Night to Remember") creating a reasonably likable hero. Didi Sullivan is lovely as his wife. Herter is quite good as the unhinged human antagonist, and Daniela Rocca is appealing as the lady who loves him, but is unable to compete for his affections. In other roles you'll see reliable actors such as Giacomo Rossi Stuart ("Kill, Baby...Kill!") and Arturo Dominici ("Black Sunday").Exciting at times, and appropriately hideous (there are some wonderful shots of the damage done to human bodies after Caltiki has engulfed them), this is a creature feature well worth your time.Eight out of 10.

On the heels of "The Blob" comes Caltiki, the vindictive mass of an ancient Mayan god who literally swallows and disintegrated its victims, many of whom it had driven crazy beforehand. Unlike the American blob, this one is in black and white and thus not as gory. However, the attacks are certainly quite frightening.Italian made but badly dubbed, this is a mixed bag of horror and mythology. The voice of the litter girl sounds like something you'd hear on Rocky and Bullwinkle, and other voices don't match, either. Still interesting and quite graphic, there are a few moments where you might turn your head away.The special effects are by Mario Brava, who would find immortality with directing "Black Sunday". One ugly moment has one of the psychotic characters being shown inside Caltiki. practically dissolving into a skeleton before your eyes. A survivor of Caltiki literally has their arm chewed off. This isn't going to be for everybody. But I can see why it has a cult following.

Yes, this is the movie we ran out of ... my younger sister crying and the rest of us equally scared out of our pants. For years on end we have remembered this movie but never been able to find it. Finally I got a copy on DVD and enjoyed watching the rest of the movie... a great 50s Blob movie and one that brings back memories of that day when me and my brothers and sisters went to the Saturday matinée and were scared out of our wits... having to leave soon after the greedy scientist loses his hand to the Blob after he goes back for the bag of gold jewels. This review has to be longer so without giving away the ending I will just say that the only disappointing part of the movie is that the Blob is kinda slow... and needs radioactivity to grow and move. I would have like for him to cause more death and destruction before the end of the movie. There are some cool graphic death scenes and plenty of comic relief from the dated but entertaining acting and even a tribal belly dance. Plenty of greedy evil crazed scientists too.