Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)

To me, this movie is perfection.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

In a Florida swamp, people are starting to go missing. Among the local townspeople struggling to solve the mystery are game warden Steve Benton (Ken Clark), his lovely girlfriend Nan Greyson (Jan Shepard), and her doctor father (Tyler McVey). Meanwhile, there's a subplot about harried storekeeper Dave Walker (Bruno VeSota), who has a trampy, unfaithful wife (luscious Playboy Playmate Yvette Vickers). Dave terrorizes her and her lover (Michael Emmet), and manages to glimpse the monsters responsible for the disappearances."Attack of the Giant Leeches" comes complete with an ever-so-slight cautionary bent (the giant leeches COULD be the result of mutations in the Cape Canaveral area), and possesses the typical efficiency one would see in B pictures of the era. By that, this viewer means that it tells its story (concocted by actor / screenwriter Leo Gordon) in a no-frills, cut-to-the-chase way, thanks to director Bernard L. Kowalski. (His other credits include creature features like "Night of the Blood Beast" and "Sssssss".) This viewer enjoyed the way that Gordon dropped those white-trash elements into his tried-and-true monster movie formula.Helping to give "Attack of the Giant Leeches" some stature is the presence of Vickers (also in the classic "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", previously), who is tantalizingly sexy in various scenes, and the fact that the Giant Leeches (who are covered with the kind of suckers one usually sees on an octopus) figure in some moments that are pretty creepy and nasty for a 1959 feature, attaching themselves to their victims and sucking out the blood. Atmospheric photography of the L.A. County Arboretum & Botanic Garden locations is effective, as is the ooga-booga horror movie music by Alexander Laszlo.The performances are fine, with Clark making for a studly hero, and Gene Roth scoring some laughs as the kind of cranky, incredulous lawman you'd expect to find in a tale of this sort.Alright, this is indicative of a very low budget. So what? The filmmakers clearly still went to some pains to make a halfway decent movie, and the results are solidly entertaining.Executive produced by Roger Corman, and produced by his brother Gene.Eight out of 10.

I have to say this film surprised me, it's better than I expected it to be. Believe it or not, this film actually has somewhat of a story which is saying a lot for a film of this type! What was interesting to me was the character interactions and relationships within the film - that is something I did not expect with this movie.The giant leech costumes are a little disappointing but really not all that bad for a 1959 b-rated flick - it is what you might expect. Not all of the giant leech scenes are disappointing in fact some scenes are quite good in costuming & effects.The film is b-rated but it's not a very cheap looking low budget flick like one would expect - like I expected. The "eerie swamp" horror films are quite fun and this one is definitely in that category.This movie would make a good double feature with a film like Strangler of the Swamp (1946) or even Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).6.5/10

Favorite Movie Quote: "Don't give me any of that crud about monsters."Ho-Hum. Yet more semi-hilarious Monster Movie Trash from the 1950s.A local, Florida game warden remains totally skeptical when confronted with tales of hideous, man-sized, blood-sucking creatures coming up from the swamp. Even the evidence of the bloodless bodies of some local yokels leaves him completely unconvinced.Only when he sees things for himself does he become a believer and decide to take matters into his own hands.Anyways - It's a good thing this flick was only 62 minutes long. I don't think I could have tolerated this junk for much longer than that.

The first third of this movie is worth watching for the lurid interactions between the sleazy slut played by Yvette Vickers and her wormy lothario."I didn't hurt you, did I?" he murmurs after sex on a blanket sprawled in the Everglades. (Couldn't this creep spring for a motel room?) Moments after hearing Vickers praise his muscles, he's blathering to her gun-wielding husband that she practically raped him! Vickers had an amazing body and pouty face that're used to great effect here. "No no -- please stay away," she tells the rapist-leech approaching her air pocket. She even manages to be sexy after death, in that rowboat. However, it seemed incredibly unimaginative to allow Ms. Vickers' character to die in this flick. (She seems to expire only moments after floating toward the surface.) How interesting it might have been to hear her account of her ordeal! Instead, the movie peters out on a dully anti-climactic note, almost as if Corman had run out of film. Though this flick was too long by half, I wanted more.Intriguingly, Vickers the actress died in a manner B-movie king Corman might have appreciated. Check her out on Wikipedia!