Revenge of the Creature (1955) dir. Jack Arnold, Universal-International Pictures
Universal Monsters had been firmly planted into the B side of things for a while, but the previous year's Creature from the Black Lagoon proved to be a big hit, so naturally a sequel must be made.
The Rita II slowly chugs into the familiar lagoon. Lucas (Nestor Paiva) got a new boat and crew and once again he's back in the place where he lost the previous ones.
This time out, the scientists are more commercially minded than the previous batch. Ferguson (John Agar) and Hayes (John Bromfield) want the Creature (Ricou Browning underwater/Tom Hennesy on land). Specifically, they want him for Ocean Harbor, a sea park. There will be scientific work, but if they sell some overpriced soda and popcorn? Why not?
So they blast him with enough explosives to knock him out and drag him back to be gawked at by tourists. Grad student Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson) is excited to study him, and Ferguson is excited to study her. The Creature, once awake, is excited by her too, but thankfully that chain at the bottom of the tank is unbreakable, right?
One monster rampage later, Helen is kidnapped. Can the police save her in time?
Bit of a let down. We go from isolated jungle to Jacksonville, Florida. I suppose this makes the Creature a sort of proto-Florida Man but honestly no one's heart seems to be in the production. They even reused the exact same ending shot from the first film.
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