Monster (1980 film)

Monstroid is a 1980 American monster movie produced and directed by Kenneth Herts [1] (as Kenneth Hartford), co-written with Herbert L. Strock, and starring James Mitchum and John Carradine. Strock later claimed he co-directed the film uncredited [2]. It was originally to be titled Monster when the film was first announced in 1975, and again in 1977, and suffered numerous cast changes (Keenan Wynn was still billed on some of the early video releases). The film was eventually released in 1980 as Monstroid, and is also known as Monstroid: It Came from the Lake (American DVD box title) and The Toxic Horror (American alternative title). A novelization written by Peter Crowcroft was released concurrently with the film. Hartford had his own children (Glen and Andrea) play the two teenagers in the film.[3]

For the film directed by Barbara Peeters, see Humanoids from the Deep.
Monster
Original theatrical one-sheet poster
Directed byKenneth Hartford
Produced byKenneth Harftford (producer)
Garland Scott (producer)
Written byKenneth Hartford
Walter Roeber Schmidt
Garland Scott
Herbert L. Strock
StarringJames Mitchum
John Carradine
Philip Carey
Anthony Eisley
Music byGene Kauer
CinematographyArt Fitzsimmons
J. Wilder Mincey
Edited byMichael Johnson
Production
company
Academy International
Distributed byM & M
Release date
  • 11 July 1980 (1980-07-11) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish, Spanish

The film billed itself as being based on a true story that took place in "Chimayo, Colombia" in 1971.[4]. However, the film was actually shot in Chimayo, New Mexico and Ambalema, Colombia. Some of the film was actually shot in the Santuario de Chimayo, with John Carradine playing a priest[5].

Plot

One night in the fishing village of Chimayo, Colombia, María Reyes witnesses a monster devouring her husband José. Some years later, the American cement manufacturer Durado Cement dispatches troubleshooter Bill Travis (James Mitchum) to Chimayo to restore order to their manufacturing plant there: an anti-corporate activist named Víctor Sánchez has been exploiting the villagers' fear of the monster to stir up hostility against Durado, which has been polluting their fishing waters in Lake Chimayo. In the process, María has become ostracized from the villagers: a group led by a man named Carlos calls her "la bruja" ("the witch"). In addition, Travis must silence an American TV reporter named Patty Clark who has been exposing the pollution of the lake.

In Chimayo, children Andrea and Glen Anderson observe strange ripples in the lake. Glen claims they belong to an animal he has been sighting in the lake for some time. Their father Pete (Anthony Eisley), administrator of the Durado plant, is introduced to Mayor Montero and his daughter, helicopter pilot Juanita. Sánchez meets up with Carlos in a church, and together they plot to drive out the Americans and the monster he thinks was created by the pollution of the lake. When María goes to visit José's grave, Carlos's men attack her.

Juanita picks up Travis at the airport. When he gets to Chimayo, he is accosted by Clark, and curtly refuses any interviews. Meanwhile, Pete is trying to break up with his secretary Laura to pursue a new affair with Juanita, but can't bring himself to do it. He visits her again that night when she is skinny dipping in the lake, and successfully breaks up, but the monster emerges from the lake and kills Laura after he leaves. The town is busy celebrating its 200th anniversary and the body goes undiscovered until the next morning.

Travis and the plant doctor investigate the killing and link it to José's death. Glen tells Travis about the animal he saw, convincing Travis that there is something in the lake. Soon afterwards, Sánchez meets Travis and threatens violence against Durado. Travis and Montero confront Clark about her reporting, and they negotiate exclusive rights to the pollution story in exchange for her temporary silence. Travis also calls his boss Barnes (Philip Carey) to request sonar equipment with which to track the monster. Determined to prove the monster's existence, Glen decides to stake out the lake at night. He drags Andrea along, and they manage to take some photos of the monster before it attacks some drunken fishermen.

They present their evidence to Travis while the village continues celebrating their anniversary. Simultaneously, Sánchez sets some plastic explosives to blow up the plant. However, he gets trapped after lighting the fuse. Meanwhile, a party of men chases María, whom they blame for all their troubles. The town priest (John Carradine) claims that he can exorcise her, but the men are unconvinced and burn her at the stake. Sánchez's bomb goes off, and the next day Travis reveals that the plant has been badly damaged and María severely burned. Consequently, she is airlifted to a Panamanian hospital in Chimayo's only helicopter to get treatment.

Travis comes up with a plan to kill the beast: he stuffs some explosives into a goat carcass, which he will hang by the detonator cord from a helicopter. In order to obtain a new chopper, Juanita lures some rescue workers with a fake mayday and hijacks their craft at gunpoint. They get to the lake and the Nessie-like monster takes the bait, but Travis loses the detonator and dives in after it. A local policeman distracts the monster by circling it with his boat, and thus buys Travis enough time to retrieve the detonator and blow the creature to pieces.

However, some time later the Andersons are down by the lake again, and their German Shepherd finds a large egg. A reptilian creature hatches out of it, and the film ends as the camera pans over a clutch of dozens of similar eggs.

Cast

Release

Home media

The film made its debut on DVD by Shout Factory on September 25, 2007 as a part of its Elvira's Movie Macabre double feature with Blue Sunshine. (Although the video case says Monstroid, the film's on-screen title reads Monster. Elvira however verbally refers to the film as Monstroid.)

It was later released by Substance under the title Monstroid: It Came from the Lake on January 15, 2008. On May 6th, that same year, it was released by Televista as It Came From the Lake[6].

It was last released by Mill Creek Entertainment on August 17, 2010 as a part of Pure Terror: 50 Movies pack.[7]

Reception

Monster received mostly negative reviews from critic upon its release. Joseph A. Ziemba from Bleeding Skull! panned the film, calling it "a mess", criticizing the film as being endlessly talkative. Ziemba also criticized the film's acting, "cut ‘n’ paste exploitation plot", phony monster design, and poor video quality.[8] Octavio Ramos from Axs.com gave the film a negative review, writing, "Monstroid: It Came from the Lake is perhaps only of interest to residents of Northern New Mexico or anyone interested in the Santuario de Chimayo. There are actual filmed scenes of the interior of the Santuario with John Carradine, which is worth gold to some viewers. Otherwise, don’t bother with this movie. It is in all ways a disappointment."[5]

References
  1. https://www.allmovie.com/movie/monster-v33150/releases
  2. http://www.moriareviews.com/horror/monster-1979.htm
  3. http://www.moriareviews.com/horror/monster-1979.htm
  4. video credits
  5. Ramos, Octavio. "Review of 'Monstroid: It Came from the Lake'". Axs.com. Octavio Ramos. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  6. https://www.allmovie.com/movie/monster-v33150/releases
  7. "Monster (1980) - Kenneth Herts, Herbert L. Strock". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  8. Ziemba, Joseph. "Monster (1979)". Bleeding Skull.com. Joseph A. Ziemba. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
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