Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Creature from the Haunted Sea Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 13, 2024

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the two disc The Devil's Partner release from Film Masters.

Film Masters is continuing with its curation of some early and perhaps arguably lesser known Roger Corman or Corman adjacent offerings (courtesy of his Filmgroup production entity founded with his brother Gene), having already served up Beast from Haunted Cave and Ski Troop Attack, along with what is probably a better remembered Corman effort, The Terror (that release also included The Little Shop of Horrors). Though The Devil's Partner (or just Devil's Partner, as its actual title card reads) was evidently shot in 1958, according to the back cover of this release it really didn't get exhibited until 1961, when it was frequently paired on a double feature with Creature from the Haunted Cave. The first tale is a twist of sorts on a kind of quasi-Faustian conceit, whereas the second is a somewhat daffy offering that followed in the darkly comedic footsteps of A Bucket of Blood and that aforementioned Corman effort "starring" an out of control house plant.

This is another kind of gonzo combo platter of genres, somewhat like another cult item Film Masters released, the probably not so coincidentally similarly named Beast from Haunted Cave. On one level, this is an "old fashioned" monster movie (albeit with a deliberately self aware, winking approach), but like that other effort, there are a whole host of arguable other idioms stuffed into this enterprise, including (rather incredibly) a Cuban counter revolutionary scheme (remember the time frame of the film in the late fifties), a spy caper, and (in what is probably a blatant carbon copy of the earlier film), a hunt for gold.

Also as with Beast from Haunted Cave, Creature from the Haunted Sea has a laughably inept looking monster at its core that is probably unavoidably going to provoke more laughs than scares. In the unbelievable but true trivia department, while many will no doubt know of Roger Corman's rather famous mentoring of any number of notables both in front of and behind the camera, including such icons as Francis Ford Coppola and Jack Nicholson, some may not be aware that among his acolytes was one Robert Towne, who of course is remembered for having won an Oscar for writing Chinatown, but who is on hand here as both an actor and narrator.

Creature from the Haunted Sea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Creature from the Haunted Sea is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Masters with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in either 1.85:1 or 1.37:1 (I've included screenshots from both aspect ratios so that those interested can contrast and compare). Unlike The Devil's Partner, this presentation comes with a prefatory text card that states:

Creature from the Haunted Sea has long been in a state of poor condition as a public domain film. We were fortunate to find a rare surviving 35mm print, which was scanned in 4K and has undergone a tremendous amount of restoration. Unfortunately, as is the case with physical assets, some sections were simply too degraded to repair. Consequently, parts of this presentation use a restored HD 16mm print inserted in order to present the most complete, true to original viewing experience possible.

This is another presentation were what look to be heroic restoration efforts have yielded rather commendable results, but where the final product is still probably going to leave diehard videophiles wanting. The biggest issue here is simply the wide variance in everything from detail levels to grain structure to contrast and even occasionally damage that has managed to escape the restoration gauntlet. At its best, this is a very appealing looking transfer easily meeting "3.5 standards", and judging by what even the 35mm source element looked like (according to the restoration featurette on this disc), the fact that it even looks this good is something of a minor technological miracle. That positive is probably counterweighed by the smaller millimeter format inserts, where image quality is decidedly rougher, and detail levels can lag.

Creature from the Haunted Sea Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Creature from the Haunted Sea probably fares at least a bit better in the audio department with its DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track, at least when compared to the video side of things, but there's still some of the same sorts of boxiness and occasional high end brightness that I mentioned with regard to the audio on The Devil's Partner . This film has a few more goofy sound effects courtesy of the underwater sequences and its patently ridiculous monster, and those resonate reasonably well. Fred Katz's occasionally hyperbolic score suffers from some of that high end stridency, but doesn't have any major issues. Dialogue and narration are both offered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Creature from the Haunted Sea Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical (HD; 1:00:26) and TV (HD; 1:14:53) versions are accessible under the Play Menu. The TV version adds quite a bit of padding, including an introductory vignette.


• Original 16mm trailer of Creature from the Haunted Sea (HD; 1:00)


• 2024 re-cut trailer for Creature from the Haunted Sea (HD; 1:25)


• Before and after restoration video for Creature from the Haunted Sea (HD; 2:36) shows quite convincingly how horrible some of the source elements utilized for this transfer were.


• Commentary for Creature from the Haunted Sea (Theatrical Version Only) features Tom Weaver, Roger Corman, Kinta Zertuche and Larry Blamire and is accessible under the Setup Menu.

Creature from the Haunted Sea Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a whole lot of mugging and other quasi-desperate maneuvers to eke a few laughs out of this tale, and some of the gags admittedly provide a guffaw or two, if not outright hilarity. Still, anyone who is even slightly frightened by the bug (actually evidently ping pong ball) eyed "creature" in this film may need some kind of therapy. There is an unavoidably heterogeneous look to this presentation, but considering what they had to start with, the results are frankly kind of amazing. Supplements are very enjoyable for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.