Movie Review: The Deadly Mantis (1957)
Synopsis: A giant, prehistoric ancestor of the praying mantis is released from an iceberg in the Arctic. After attacking a military-run early warning radar system, the bug flies south and attacks both New York City and Washington D. C. while military officials and scientists try to figure out a way to stop it.
Who's in it? The movie stars Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Phil Harvey and Donald Randolph.
Review: I like most classic monster movies, but giant bug movies are admittedly my favorite. So, since it had been nearly a decade since I last watched The Deadly Mantis, I decided to take time this morning to see it again.
My opinion of it was pretty much what I remembered it being the last time I saw it - It's a film with good things going for it but falls short of what it could be.
The overall plot of the film is OK. Many movies like this have bugs that are abnormally large because of a science experiment or exposure to nuclear radiation but, in this case, it was simply a big bug from another time. This, I thought, added some unique challenges for the protagonists because there were things about the bug they could only speculate on, versus facing a bug that they understood.
Plus, I did like the fact it could fly as fast as a jet. It was a unique ability that both meant it could attack just about anywhere and could also escape easier.
As far as the special effects go, they were as I would expect from the time period. There were times when the limits on technology made the bug look clearly fake but enough times where it looked reasonably realistic enough for me to be able to buy into the fantasy.
My biggest problem with this film is it doesn't really take full advantage of the mantis' potential. As I said, it had a lot of things going for it, including the ability to fly, but the destruction it caused was somewhat limited because it would attack and then go into hiding for long periods of time. As a result of this, the movie was much more about chasing the bug than the bug itself.
The first few minutes of the movie also weren't high on my list. It felt a lot like I was watching a documentary about early warning systems, and I remember that making me pause the first time I saw the film, thinking I picked the wrong movie. It's something the film just didn't need.
Final Opinion: As I mentioned before, it's a movie that had quite a bit of potential because of the title monster's abilities. However, because the movie doesn't take advantage of that, there are also admittedly many other giant bug films that are better.
My Grade: C
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Here are some reviews of other movies featuring giant bugs:
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