There is no doubt that there are some bad 50's sci-fi creature features, but "The Deadly Mantis" is definitely not one of them.
You know the plot - strange disappearances and damage are happening, big bug shows up to cause havoc, then finally perishes in the big city (New York). It does have a lot of the clichés you'd expect in a flick like this; military guys and scientists having meetings on what is going on, screaming girl, military guys whose jaws drop at the sight of a woman (along with the 'wolf whistle') and more. But really, in this case, it's all actually pretty interesting, even scenes where there's a good deal of chatting.
The girl is pretty, and she ends up with this lame military guy seemingly out of nowhere, whereas beforehand she seemed pretty interested in her partner, the guy who figured out it was a giant mantis doing all the mysterious damage. They had some good flirting scenes early on so her changing interests so easily seemed a bit odd.
And the Mantis itself - despite the cheesy video cover, the Mantis is actually *very* cool looking and just kinda pops up at one point out of some ice, then it's action all the way. The FX are pretty darn good for the time, especially when the Mantis flies and attacks various vehicles. And the roar is killer - this is one of the best monster roars in any movie. And the music is pretty spectacular, always laying strong emphasis on the happenings on screen.
After various attacks, the Mantis makes its way to New York City, and is smart enough not to go in the subway so he takes a car tunnel instead. One reviewer asked about a possible missing scene as we never actually see the Mantis enter the tunnel - it's the same on the DVD release. My guess is that they never filmed it. Truthfully, the Mantis never really does much in NYC, if anything at all - but my guess is probably that's because of budget restraints, because really, every scene with the Mantis is darn good, why else would they seem to skimp.
If you are fan of this stuff and have never watched The Deadly Mantis yet, you won't regret it. BUT - if you get the DVD (part of a great set of old sci-fi movies), don't watch the trailer first! It shows way too much!
You know the plot - strange disappearances and damage are happening, big bug shows up to cause havoc, then finally perishes in the big city (New York). It does have a lot of the clichés you'd expect in a flick like this; military guys and scientists having meetings on what is going on, screaming girl, military guys whose jaws drop at the sight of a woman (along with the 'wolf whistle') and more. But really, in this case, it's all actually pretty interesting, even scenes where there's a good deal of chatting.
The girl is pretty, and she ends up with this lame military guy seemingly out of nowhere, whereas beforehand she seemed pretty interested in her partner, the guy who figured out it was a giant mantis doing all the mysterious damage. They had some good flirting scenes early on so her changing interests so easily seemed a bit odd.
And the Mantis itself - despite the cheesy video cover, the Mantis is actually *very* cool looking and just kinda pops up at one point out of some ice, then it's action all the way. The FX are pretty darn good for the time, especially when the Mantis flies and attacks various vehicles. And the roar is killer - this is one of the best monster roars in any movie. And the music is pretty spectacular, always laying strong emphasis on the happenings on screen.
After various attacks, the Mantis makes its way to New York City, and is smart enough not to go in the subway so he takes a car tunnel instead. One reviewer asked about a possible missing scene as we never actually see the Mantis enter the tunnel - it's the same on the DVD release. My guess is that they never filmed it. Truthfully, the Mantis never really does much in NYC, if anything at all - but my guess is probably that's because of budget restraints, because really, every scene with the Mantis is darn good, why else would they seem to skimp.
If you are fan of this stuff and have never watched The Deadly Mantis yet, you won't regret it. BUT - if you get the DVD (part of a great set of old sci-fi movies), don't watch the trailer first! It shows way too much!