Lower Decks

Watching this movie with the low expectation of a standard B-movie it actually was enjoyable. True, the odd musical interludes were unnecessary and the giant Gila monster itself was laughable, but the movie itself was generally a good watch. I can’t say I’d want to watch it again but it was certainly better than many of the other movies I’ve reviewed for Lower Decks. The black-and-white print I watched at Archive.org wasn’t perfect but it was certainly passable. I’ve read there is a colorized version available. I doubt color improves the movie at all.

My clearest memory of watching The Giant Gila Monster is the scene in which Chase Winstead and the sheriff jump in Chase’s car and head off for the scene of an accident (I believe it was Chase’s boss and his truckload of gasoline that had exploded). Chase asks if he can “open it up” and the sheriff agrees, so Chase floors it and the two fly off down the road. Don Sullivan gave a very fine performance as protagonist Chase Winstead.

Lisa Simone, who played Chase’s girlfriend, didn’t do all that much screaming in the movie, which is commendable. She wasn’t just a damsel in distress (which isn’t to say she had all that much of a role). Chase was the star of The Giant Gila Monster, bravely facing down the giant Gila monster in between songs, as numerous friends and fellow townsfolk are brutally killed.

It was interesting that the sheriff leans so heavily on Chase in times of crisis. He’s an older gentleman but even that doesn’t explain why he comes to Chase time and time again. Chase is the one who comes up with a way to kill the monster (nitroglycerin!) and he’s the one who drives the jeep loaded with said nitroglycerin into the monster, leaping out just moments before it collides.

It’s impossible to take The Giant Gila Monster but the climactic scene in which the giant Gila monster attacks a barn full of fun-loving teenagers was actually a little exciting. The monster pokes its head through the walls and the poor police officers fire at it uselessly with their rifles/shotguns. It then rambles off across a field. Chase and Lisa are soon speeding towards it, carefully holding the nitroglycerin, and before long the monster is burnt to a crisp. A happy ending.