The Beach Girls and the Monster (1965)

User Rating:

2.1/10   

Director:

Jon Hall

Writers:

Joan Gardner (screenplay)
Joan Gardner (story)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Go! Go! Go! The Coolest Monster Shindig of Chicks and Chills!

Plot:

Surfers are being brutally murdered. Is the culprit a sea monster or just one of the teens' jealous parents?

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Beach | Surfing | Murder | Stepmother

Cast

Jon Hall	...	Dr. Otto Lindsay
Sue Casey	...	Vicky Lindsay
Arnold Lessing	...	Richard Lindsay
Elaine DuPont	...	Jane
Walker Edmiston	...	Mark
Read Morgan	...	Sheriff Michaels
Carolyn Williamson	...	Sue
Gloria Neil	...	Bunny
Kal Roberts	...	Brad (as Tony Roberts)
Clyde Adler	...	Deputy Scott
Dale Davis	...	Tom
Kingsley the Lion	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Invisible Terror
Monster from the Surf (USA) (TV title)
Surf Terror

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | USA:Unrated

Company:

American Academy Productions

Trivia:

Most of the interior shots were filmed at Jon Hall's house.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Otto/the monster kills Bunny, he heads back into the tunnel. However, the footprints he leaves behind point in the direction of the ocean.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Monster from the Surf (1965) (#1.99)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Dance Baby Dance

"The Horror of Party Beach" it isn't

MST fans are familiar with the classic episode whereby Mike and the 'bots turn their comedic talents on the East Coast beach movie "The Horror of Party Beach". Like "Horror", "The Beach Girls and the Monster" takes place on a beach and features a monster, but that's where the similarities end.

"Beach Girls" tells the story of Otto, who is a scientist. Otto is a control freak who can't control anyone in his life. You see, Otto has a trophy wife by the name of Vicky who likes to cheat on him and a son who has been neglecting his work in the family's sea lab. The son carries some guilt over being involved in an accident which gives his friend a limp. Seeing that he's been living life way too seriously, the son has taken to the beach life, surfing and dancing with pretty girls. This does not please the father at all.

Otto's son and his friends party like it's 1999, but a monster is killing them one by one. Why them and no one else? Why are we never shown the origin of the monster? Well, after about the 2/3 mark of this movie, it becomes very apparent what the answers to these questions are. This movie is not so much a horror movie per se, but rather a drama involving a dysfunctional family that just happens to have a monster in it.

One little item might escape you on first viewing it. In one scene, the son and his friend are viewing a movie of surfing in Hawaii, which really lends nothing to the movie except to pad it out so it runs at least an hour. The movie is shot in black and white, but the inserted footage is in that washed-out 60s color. Watch for it.

Sterno says catch this wave and ride it in to shore.