Interesting 'B' horror pic from AIP about a carnival hypnotist (Chester Morris) who is able to use hypnotism to make a woman regress to her prehistoric self, a humanoid sea monster. Naturally he uses this amazing ability to have this she-creature kill people. Chester Morris has seen better days and appears to have a quart of oil in his hair, presumably to make him look younger. Tom Conway is well past his prime, as well. Both do fine for what kind of movie they're in. The rest of the cast is unremarkable, except for sexy Marla English who plays the woman who transforms into the title monster. She's the highlight of the movie, along with Paul Blaisdell's cool monster suit. I also thought a few scenes were genuinely atmospheric and impressive, so it's not all schlock. Undoubtedly this was trying to capitalize off of The Search for Bridey Murphy, a popular book in the '50s about hypnotic regression and past lives that had a film adaptation released the same year as this. It's not great but it is enjoyable for fans of old B horror movies. Certainly better than a lot of the other garbage AIP put out. Director Edward Cahn would reunite with stars Conway, English, and Lance Fuller the following year for Voodoo Woman, an uninspired effort that tries (and fails) to recapture this movie's charms. They even reuse the same monster suit.
Review of The She-Creature
