It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955)

Alternating between grinding boredom and thrilling monster packed action, It Came from Beneath the Sea is worth the slog for the special effects genius of Ray Harryhausen.

A start-of-the-art submarine goes out of action in mysterious circumstances. Fishing boats disappear in Japan and Siberia. The evidence starts to point to a massive creature, disturbed from it's deep sea slumber by atomic testing. Can it be stopped before it destroys San Francisco?

There is far too much talking, whether is exposition, or typical 1950s sexist leering. There's a subplot of a relationship between the submarine commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey, largely reprising his turn in The Thing From Outer Space) and the lead scientist Professor Lesley Joyce. According to her colleague, Joyce is one of those new breed of women "who feel they're just as smart and courageous as men".

But these quibbles are soon forgotten once the creature itself appears. Harryhausen shows his usual attention to detail and fluidity of movement. His creations are as lifelike as the humans on screen.

Atom Age Vampire (1960)

The title Atom Age Vampire is only 50% correct, as atoms and radiation play a big part in the plot, but there is no sign of a vampire.

The plot borrows from both the mad surgeon part of Eyes Without a Face and man / monster elements of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. After a car accident leaves stripper Jeanette Moreneau (Susanne Loret) horribly scarred, a brilliant scientist Professor Alberto Levin (Albert Lupo) falls in love with her. Levin has created a treatment that uses radiation to restore her beauty, but to preserve it he must use glands taken from murdered women, for some reason. He can also only murder said women after taking a potion that turns him into a hideous monster, for some reason.

It's a mixed bag, with the flat lifeless direction draining any genuine horror or tension from scene after scene. But, the photography is surprisingly imaginative, with a use of shadows that gives the film a gloomy, creepy look.

The premise is a little confused, but the over the top twists and turns, coupled with low budget effects and make up (especially Levin's werewolf-like alter-ego) means enough trashy campy fun to make Atom Age Vampire worth a look.