The Creeping Terror (a.k.a. The Crawling Monster) is a 1964 horror–science fiction film directed and produced by, and starring, Vic Savage. The plot is centered upon an extraterrestrial, slug-like creature that attacks and eats people whole in a small American town.

It is considered one of the worst films of all time.|group=Note Although Robert Silliphant is the credited writer, the original story was written by his younger brother Allan. Silliphant's other brother Stirling was a successful television writer, having written extensively for shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason, and he cocreated Naked City and Route 66. Savage used this familial association to attract potential investors for the film. Savage reportedly offered these investors small parts in the film.

Principal photography began in late 1962, but instead of shooting at scenic Lake Tahoe as Silliphant had expected, a muddy pond at Spahn Ranch in Simi Valley, California was used. When the film's special-effects creator was not paid for his work, he allegedly stole the original creature costume on the day before shooting was to commence, forcing Savage and his remaining crew to assemble a poorly constructed replica. In John Stanley's Revenge of the Creature Features Movie Guide (1988), the resultant creature is described as "...an elongated alien monster resembling a clumsy shag rug..." Because of Savage's difficulties in securing financing, filming was episodic and did not conclude until 1963.

There is minimal dialogue in the film, with nearly all vocalization provided in expository format by a narrator. The exact cause of the missing dialogue is uncertain. Savage may have filmed scenes without regard to the professional quality of the sound, the sound might have been improperly transferred (or not transferred at all, as a cost-saving measure) to 35mm mag stock or the original soundtracks were lost. Unable to fund basic sound transfers or extensive post-production dubbing, Savage hired Larry Burrell, a radio news reader whose other film credits include They Saved Hitler's Brain and the nudie cutie Not Tonight Henry, to narrate the entire film. Although a minor amount of poor-quality redubbing was performed, the narrator speaks over most of the dialogue in the film, and long intervals devoid of dialogue have no narration, similar in style to many educational films produced in the 1950s and 1960s.

Release/Reception

The Creeping Terror was completed in 1964 and nominally distributed by Crown International Pictures. With Savage having disappeared, the main financier William Thourlby (who appears in the film as Dr. Bradford) acquired the remaining film stock and commissioned the creation of an edited version in an attempt to recoup some of his investment. As sound reels for a later portion of the film were missing, Thourlby added constant and occasionally intrusive narration.

Because The Creeping Terror would not be suitable for wide release and would, at best, have been relegated to drive-in theaters and second-run showings, it was sold in 1976 as part of a syndication package of films for local television stations. In 1994, The Creeping Terror was featured in Episode #606 of Mystery Science Theater 3000; the cast, crew and viewers of the program became noted critics of the film. TV Guide described The Creeping Terror as "pure camp," and claimed that it might be the second-worst horror film ever made, behind only Plan 9 from Outer Space. One review noted the film’s technical incompetence (like the carpet-like monster) and bizarre production history as sources of its morbid charm.

See also

  • List of films considered the worst
  • List of films featuring extraterrestrials

References

Explanatory notes

Citations

General and cited references

  • Beaulieu, Trace. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide. New York: Bantam Books, 1996. .
  • Medved, Harry and Michael Medved. Son of Golden Turkey Awards. New York: Random House/Villard Books, 1986. .
  • Smith, Michael and Eric Kasum. 100 of the Worst Ideas in History: Humanity's Thundering Brainstorms Turned Blundering Brain Farts. Chicago: Sourcebooks, 2014. .
  • Stanley, John. Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 2000. .
  • Wiseman, Lois A. Hollywood Con Man. Bloomington, Indiana: IUniverse, 2009. .
  • MST3K treatment on ShoutFactoryTV