The Killer Shrews (1959)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Ray Kellogg

Writers:

Jay Simms (story)
Jay Simms (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 April 1962 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All that was left after...THE KILLER SHREWS! (Used in conjunction with a woman's pink pump and splattered blood)

Plot:

On an isolated island, a small group of people is terrorised by giant, voracious shrews in the midst of a hurricane.

Plot Keywords:

Shrews | Hurricane | Flesh Eating | Remote Island | Sidekick

Cast

James Best	...	Thorne Sherman
Ingrid Goude	...	Ann Craigis
Ken Curtis	...	Jerry Farrell
Gordon McLendon	...	Dr. Radford Baines
Baruch Lumet	...	Dr. Marlowe Craigis
Judge Henry Dupree	...	'Rook' Griswold (as J. H. 'Judge' Dupree)
Alfredo DeSoto	...	Mario

Also Known As:

The Attack of the Killer Shrews

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:PG (video rating) (1996) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #19311)

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures Corporation (II)

Trivia:

For its Germany release the film was titled Die Nacht der unheimlichen Bestien, which means "The Night of the Uncanny Beast."

Goofs:

Plot holes: At one point Thorne and Jerry walk past an apparently undamaged rowboat, which would get everyone off the island. When they return to the house they never mention it.

Quotes:

Jerry Farrell: Looks like a rat, smells like a skunk - some call them bone-eaters.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Rat Race (1960)

Danger, mutant shrews on the loose

I've seen The Killer Shrews several times and despite the low budget and reading bad reviews, isn't that bad. It was released in the UK on VHS as part the Screamtime Video series, long deleted but luckily I own a copy.

A small group of people on a remote island are stranded there by a hurricane. One of this group is a scientist who been doing experiments on shrews and as a result, these have turned into giant mutant monsters and have escaped and are hungry. They start trying to get into the house and gradually, members of the group are killed and eaten until there are three survivors and these escape to the sea by using old barrels welded together. Not surprisingly, two of the survivors declare their love for each other at the end.

The giant shrews in this movie are actually dogs with shaggy coats and large teeth.

The Killer Shrews's cast is mostly made up of unknown B-movie actors including James Best, Ingrid Goude and Ken Curtis, who also produced.

This movie is worth looking at, despite its low budget.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.