I'm shocked by the low rating this movie has on here. I have to assume most of the people who voted don't watch many movies in the genre. I have seen more mutated animal movies than I can remember and this is better than most. The acting is good and the shrews don't look too bad. I mean they are just dogs with throw rugs on their backs and some fake teeth but they only attack at night(BRILLIANT!)and they move very fast so you can't see them very well anyway. The movie starts with two guys on a ship going to an island and knowing a hurricane is coming. When they get there, the captain is immediately and obviously suspicious. Other than the scientists making up a bunch of lies and having guns, there's not much of the usual giant mutated animal movie clichés. One thing you might consider a flaw is that ten minutes in, you will know who is going to die. I actually like that. This was the first time I correctly picked every character who would die. This is definitely worth seeing.
144 Reviews
So Bad It's Brilliant
reelreviewsandrecommendations5 September 2022
Long before Alexander Payne's 'Downsizing,' Ray Kellogg brought us this science-fiction epic about Baruch Lumet's cunning plan to curb overpopulation and its' effects on the world's resources by shrinking humans down to half their size. Sadly, before Dr. Lumet could save the world with his ingenious idea, the shrews he had been experimenting on mutated, growing to enormous sizes and becoming terribly ferocious (how his experiments yielded the exact opposite results that he was looking for is never explained). The creatures then broke loose, escaped his compound and fled into the forests of his isolated island. Now, they stalk the night, fangs bared, waiting to turn anyone they come across into mincemeat.
'The Killer Shrews' follows sea-captain Thorne Sherman- played by James Best- who is stranded on Lumet's island and- alongside the good doctor and his scientific accomplices- forced to battle the titular mutants for the sake of humanity itself. Trapped in the minimally decorated compound with shrews on every side, the gang drink endless martinis, rattle off ridiculous speeches and plot how to escape the island without becoming the ghastly creatures' next meal.
'The Killer Shrews' is a hilariously cheap-looking affair that is surely the prototypical film that's "so bad it's good." On every level the film is laughably inept, from the performances by the actors, to the set design and decoration and of course, the stars of the show, the shrews themselves. Although the coonhounds covered in shag carpet who play the shrews in long shots look better than the puppets used in close up, it's not by much. Kellogg designed the beasts himself, and he must have been drinking more martinis than his characters to be content with the finished product.
The cast have nothing to do but neck back martinis and recite ridiculous, poorly-written dialogue from Jay Simms's screenplay when they're not running from the shrews, so it's no wonder they all appear totally flummoxed. Lumet, who usually does fine work in small roles (see his brief appearance in his son Sidney's 'The Pawnbroker' for proof of this) here seems confused and a little scared by all the faux-scientific lines he has to spout throughout the film. Ingrid Goude, who plays his daughter, is just as out of her depth, with her wooden delivery and lack of screen presence betraying a dearth of acting talent.
James Best and Ken Curtis- who plays the alcoholic Jerry- come off the best, actually giving the film a bit of life and energy in its slower, martini-based moments between rampant shrew attacks. The other actors in the cast leave the same impression on the viewer as Lumet and Goude except they aren't nearly as memorable. The common denominator between them all is that they approach the material with an over-the-top earnesty and dead-pan seriousness that makes it all the funnier to hear lines like "those who hunt by night will tell you that the wildest and most vicious of all animals is the tiny shrew."
Then there's the set decoration- if it can even be called decoration- which is laughably sparse. Lumet's compound looks like a low-rent motel room from the 30's that someone stole all the furniture from; leaving only the bar in place. The laboratory where the shrew experimentations took place may be the least scientific-looking set ever captured on film, based entirely on the canny inclusion of a couple of microscopes and a few test tubes. Also, the score from Harry Bluestone and Emil Cadkin is so melodramatic and overblown it makes the music in your average soap opera seem practically subtle.
Everything about the film is funny because it's all so mediocre. Though there are a couple of half decent performances, the cast are generally hilarious, their dialogue ridiculous and the story they're trapped in completely fatuous. There is never any suspense in the film because the shrews are so obviously coonhounds and hand-puppets, not to mention the fact that Kellogg isn't a particularly talented director and would probably have struggled to create tension even if his shrews looked like the work of Ray Harryhausen.
'The Killer Shrews' is so entertaining because it's so Godawful, though people who don't find over-the-top ineptitude humorous might be left a little cold by the experience of watching the film. If you do find the awful and the melodramatic funny (like Claudio Fragasso's 'Troll 2') then watch 'The Killer Shrews.' It's not just so bad it's good; it's so bad it's brilliant.
'The Killer Shrews' follows sea-captain Thorne Sherman- played by James Best- who is stranded on Lumet's island and- alongside the good doctor and his scientific accomplices- forced to battle the titular mutants for the sake of humanity itself. Trapped in the minimally decorated compound with shrews on every side, the gang drink endless martinis, rattle off ridiculous speeches and plot how to escape the island without becoming the ghastly creatures' next meal.
'The Killer Shrews' is a hilariously cheap-looking affair that is surely the prototypical film that's "so bad it's good." On every level the film is laughably inept, from the performances by the actors, to the set design and decoration and of course, the stars of the show, the shrews themselves. Although the coonhounds covered in shag carpet who play the shrews in long shots look better than the puppets used in close up, it's not by much. Kellogg designed the beasts himself, and he must have been drinking more martinis than his characters to be content with the finished product.
The cast have nothing to do but neck back martinis and recite ridiculous, poorly-written dialogue from Jay Simms's screenplay when they're not running from the shrews, so it's no wonder they all appear totally flummoxed. Lumet, who usually does fine work in small roles (see his brief appearance in his son Sidney's 'The Pawnbroker' for proof of this) here seems confused and a little scared by all the faux-scientific lines he has to spout throughout the film. Ingrid Goude, who plays his daughter, is just as out of her depth, with her wooden delivery and lack of screen presence betraying a dearth of acting talent.
James Best and Ken Curtis- who plays the alcoholic Jerry- come off the best, actually giving the film a bit of life and energy in its slower, martini-based moments between rampant shrew attacks. The other actors in the cast leave the same impression on the viewer as Lumet and Goude except they aren't nearly as memorable. The common denominator between them all is that they approach the material with an over-the-top earnesty and dead-pan seriousness that makes it all the funnier to hear lines like "those who hunt by night will tell you that the wildest and most vicious of all animals is the tiny shrew."
Then there's the set decoration- if it can even be called decoration- which is laughably sparse. Lumet's compound looks like a low-rent motel room from the 30's that someone stole all the furniture from; leaving only the bar in place. The laboratory where the shrew experimentations took place may be the least scientific-looking set ever captured on film, based entirely on the canny inclusion of a couple of microscopes and a few test tubes. Also, the score from Harry Bluestone and Emil Cadkin is so melodramatic and overblown it makes the music in your average soap opera seem practically subtle.
Everything about the film is funny because it's all so mediocre. Though there are a couple of half decent performances, the cast are generally hilarious, their dialogue ridiculous and the story they're trapped in completely fatuous. There is never any suspense in the film because the shrews are so obviously coonhounds and hand-puppets, not to mention the fact that Kellogg isn't a particularly talented director and would probably have struggled to create tension even if his shrews looked like the work of Ray Harryhausen.
'The Killer Shrews' is so entertaining because it's so Godawful, though people who don't find over-the-top ineptitude humorous might be left a little cold by the experience of watching the film. If you do find the awful and the melodramatic funny (like Claudio Fragasso's 'Troll 2') then watch 'The Killer Shrews.' It's not just so bad it's good; it's so bad it's brilliant.
Not As Bad As All That
Wilber A Neil20 June 2005
Having seen any number of bad movies, I can state that this is significantly better than most of them, and even better in part than movies not considered bad at all. However, in those aspects in which this movie is bad it is not merely bad, it is awful.
We have the usual formula of two-fisted hero (James Best), damsel in distress (Swedish Ingrid Goude), the damsel's mad-scientist father (non-Swedish Baruch Lumet), and the villain (Ken Curtis). The formula in this case is less clichéd than usual. The hero is fairly articulate and the mad scientist is actually quite urbane, tossing off his creation of hundreds of giant, poisonous, man-eating shrews with the line "unusual experiments lead to unusual results". The dialog is competently written and the acting is above par (with the exception of the Swedish eye-candy, who is at least good eye candy).
The general concept is compact and dramatically efficient: a group of people are trapped first by a hurricane and then by an outside menace in a stronghold which gets less and less strong as time, ammunition and group cohesion all grow short.
However the execution is at times illogical. One problem is that the stronghold is made out of...adobe. On a rainswept island crawling with usable timber? The thrilling conclusion is also somewhat implausible.
The main reason for the film's abysmal reputation is the legendary and quite obvious use of ordinary dogs in bathmats to play the part of giant shrews. I suppose this just has to be overlooked.
As a sidelight, it is interesting to see Dukes of Hazard sheriff James Best tall and handsome as the hero, and it is apparent that producer/villain Ken Curtis labored long and hard in the trenches before gaining fame as Festus.
We have the usual formula of two-fisted hero (James Best), damsel in distress (Swedish Ingrid Goude), the damsel's mad-scientist father (non-Swedish Baruch Lumet), and the villain (Ken Curtis). The formula in this case is less clichéd than usual. The hero is fairly articulate and the mad scientist is actually quite urbane, tossing off his creation of hundreds of giant, poisonous, man-eating shrews with the line "unusual experiments lead to unusual results". The dialog is competently written and the acting is above par (with the exception of the Swedish eye-candy, who is at least good eye candy).
The general concept is compact and dramatically efficient: a group of people are trapped first by a hurricane and then by an outside menace in a stronghold which gets less and less strong as time, ammunition and group cohesion all grow short.
However the execution is at times illogical. One problem is that the stronghold is made out of...adobe. On a rainswept island crawling with usable timber? The thrilling conclusion is also somewhat implausible.
The main reason for the film's abysmal reputation is the legendary and quite obvious use of ordinary dogs in bathmats to play the part of giant shrews. I suppose this just has to be overlooked.
As a sidelight, it is interesting to see Dukes of Hazard sheriff James Best tall and handsome as the hero, and it is apparent that producer/villain Ken Curtis labored long and hard in the trenches before gaining fame as Festus.
James Best and the Killer Shrews
kairingler6 July 2013
I got this movie from the 100 pack at Wal Mart. once I found out who was in it I just had to jump right in,, James Best.. Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain. apparently on an island somewhere, overpopulation has become a real problem, and these Giant Killer Shrews are taking over the population and the island. just imagine yourself on an island like that where you are being over run by these huge gigantic shrews, I thought James Best did a wonderful job in this.. he was very funny, and his acting was also pretty good,, I guess back in the late 50's you could say that the undertone to this movie was a warning about overpopulation and what it will mean in the future if we as humans try to take over a certain land mass or area... very decent film from the 50's that isn't Oscar material, but not bad either,, I would recommend it even if I never heard of James Best.
A bad movie but the basic idea is not as silly as it sounds.
youroldpaljim11 August 2001
This is one of my favorite all time schlocky movies from the fifties. The shrews themselves look like...well what they are, collies (or is it greyhounds?) in fur coats. The acting ranges from good (James Best, Ken Curtis) to non-existent (Ingrid Goude, Gorden McLendon.) The dialogue is lame. The editing bad and music poorly inserted; ominous music plays when James Best goes to wash his hands! That being said, I have to take exception with those that say giant shrews are a silly idea. Shrews are primitive mammals with high metabolism rates. They consume their own weight in food every couple of hours. They are known to attack animals larger than themselves. At least one species is mildly poisonous. The great naturalist Roger Carras, in his book, DANGEROUS TO MAN, in the chapter on poisonous mammals and montremes, states that shrews the size of collies would wreck unthinkable ecological havoc. Now you just learned something new.
Not bad. James Best is underrated.
jeremy331 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen James Best in a few roles, and he is a great actor. I even liked him in the Dukes of Hazzard. He was hilarious. In this role, he is the exact opposite of Roscoe P Coltrane. He is a very rational, mature man, who essential saves everybody from their insanity. The movie starts with Best and an unknown black guy arriving on this island. I have to think about Dave Chappel or some other black comedian. You know that black character is going to be bumped off first. That's what happened. I guess that was 1959. The actors in the movie are really good. I can't believe that the bad guy is Festus Parker. He looks totally different than his TV show character. While the movie is silly, at least it is suspenseful. I don't know why people are so upset about the shrews looking like dogs. It was 1959, not 2006. It didn't seem to bother me. One thing that was interesting was the island not being tropical. It looked like an island in a temperate region. The trees were deciduous. I suspect it was filmed in an island off New York. James Best though is a really good actor. He holds one's attention and has a lot of presence. Now 80, he is an acting coach in Hollywood.
Hilariously bad!
FlickMan30 September 2003
I won't recount the plot - such as it is - of this campy classic, because several others have already done so. I'll just give a couple of reasons why it's SOOOO bad that it's hilarious ... which makes it good, or at least entertaining, in a perverse way. First, the "shrews" are quite obviously dogs wearing mop-like wigs and/or bathmats. Easily the worst "monsters" ever put on film. Second, it's clear that Ray Kellogg was on such a tight budget that they weren't going to waste film with reshoots no matter HOW badly a scene went. At one point, one of the actors obviously forgot his lines, so Ingrid Goude prompts him on-camera, saying "Aren't you wondering about my strange accent?" Truly a great moment in cheesy movie history!
Rated "straight" this movie gets about 2 points on a ten-point scale, just above the all- time stinkers like Plan 9 and Manos: Hands of Fate. As unintentional comedy, however, it's pretty entertaining and might rate 5/10.
Rated "straight" this movie gets about 2 points on a ten-point scale, just above the all- time stinkers like Plan 9 and Manos: Hands of Fate. As unintentional comedy, however, it's pretty entertaining and might rate 5/10.
The First Campy Scary Movie I Ever Saw.
rsartisttouch-130 September 2005
I saw THE KILLER SHREWS the first time on TV. Late every Saturday night, the local TV station played a horror film. We were alerted by a fellow junior-high student who saw the film in another city and his "word of mouth" was to run around the hallways at school pretending he was a shrew; so when it was on TV we all stayed home to watch and see what made our friend so crazily enthusiastic.
For the time it was original in concept as no one had seen "monster shrews" before. The shrews, looking like a bunch of German Shepards dressed up for a Halloween party, have large, saber tooth tiger-like teeth ... they're coming to get ya and eat you alive! Also, one of the main characters is played by Ken Curtis a.k.a. "Festus" from the TV Series "Gunsmoke". We found this a novelty after we read THE KILLER SHREWS was filmed entirely on location in Texas!
I have to make it a point to add THE KILLER SHREWS to my film library as a campy, low-budget, 50's monster movie!
For the time it was original in concept as no one had seen "monster shrews" before. The shrews, looking like a bunch of German Shepards dressed up for a Halloween party, have large, saber tooth tiger-like teeth ... they're coming to get ya and eat you alive! Also, one of the main characters is played by Ken Curtis a.k.a. "Festus" from the TV Series "Gunsmoke". We found this a novelty after we read THE KILLER SHREWS was filmed entirely on location in Texas!
I have to make it a point to add THE KILLER SHREWS to my film library as a campy, low-budget, 50's monster movie!
Their available food on ze island is nearing depletion!
lastliberal12 March 2008
Killer shrews! mad Scientists! Lover's quarrels! All this and more! I just knew that I have seen James Best somewhere before. He has been in 177 films and TV shows, but Istill didn't remember because I have only watched "The Dukes of Hazzard" once or twice. he's Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane! You just can't hide that face.
Here he is a simple boat Captain delivering supplies to an island with crazy scientists doing genetic experiments. They created some killer shrews that looked just ghastly. The teeth were four or five inches long! Worse than that, they used some poison that didn't kill them, but will certainly kill you with just a scratch.
A horrid night with the shrews attacking and the Captain trying to save sultry blonde Ingrid Goude, not only from the shrews, but from Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen from "Gunsmoke") who wanted her for his own.
Innovative escape and lots of rabid shrew action.
Here he is a simple boat Captain delivering supplies to an island with crazy scientists doing genetic experiments. They created some killer shrews that looked just ghastly. The teeth were four or five inches long! Worse than that, they used some poison that didn't kill them, but will certainly kill you with just a scratch.
A horrid night with the shrews attacking and the Captain trying to save sultry blonde Ingrid Goude, not only from the shrews, but from Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen from "Gunsmoke") who wanted her for his own.
Innovative escape and lots of rabid shrew action.
The shrews are headed this way, let's hit the bar
Chase_Witherspoon30 April 2011
"The Killer Shrews" is not so much a disaster as a by-product of its era, now dated and comical with audiences quite comfortable to enjoy such fodder in that context. With the passage of time, "The Killer Shrews" has achieved some measure of cult status. It's not as bad (technically) as its reputation anticipates; Kellogg's storyline is standard formula (experiments with a growth hormone result in mutated shrews that terrorise the inhabitants of a remote island, isolated by a hurricane), the acting is competent (particularly Best and Curtis), and the special effects are unintentionally funny.
In point of fact, the shrews are ably played by small dogs, fitted with rodent suits, but still move and act like, small dogs. Watching the 'pack' gallop up to the compound in which the stricken sailors and scientists are holed up, and seeing them claw and gnaw at the timber and stucco as their tails wag in anticipation no doubt of meaty-bites on the other side, is always unintentionally hilarious. One can only imagine how Ken Curtis felt as he was being licked and nuzzled by the 'voracious shrews', who apparently need to eat their body weight every day just to survive.
Functional dialogue is delivered well by Best and Curtis, but there's no mistaking former Miss Sweden Ingrid Goude's lack of thespian skills as she inanely affects shock, fear and general anxiety throughout the often tense proceedings. There's also a lot of time spent standing around a well stocked bar, nimbly throwing down martinis as the onslaught amasses outside. Aside from professionals Best and Curtis, Lumet isn't bad as the chief scientist and father to Goude, lamenting the unintended consequences of his ground-breaking research. The climax is novel and was subsequently used by Irwin Allen in a scene from "The Swarm". Camp, low budget entertainment that overcomes its limitations and deserves the minor cult status it carries today.
In point of fact, the shrews are ably played by small dogs, fitted with rodent suits, but still move and act like, small dogs. Watching the 'pack' gallop up to the compound in which the stricken sailors and scientists are holed up, and seeing them claw and gnaw at the timber and stucco as their tails wag in anticipation no doubt of meaty-bites on the other side, is always unintentionally hilarious. One can only imagine how Ken Curtis felt as he was being licked and nuzzled by the 'voracious shrews', who apparently need to eat their body weight every day just to survive.
Functional dialogue is delivered well by Best and Curtis, but there's no mistaking former Miss Sweden Ingrid Goude's lack of thespian skills as she inanely affects shock, fear and general anxiety throughout the often tense proceedings. There's also a lot of time spent standing around a well stocked bar, nimbly throwing down martinis as the onslaught amasses outside. Aside from professionals Best and Curtis, Lumet isn't bad as the chief scientist and father to Goude, lamenting the unintended consequences of his ground-breaking research. The climax is novel and was subsequently used by Irwin Allen in a scene from "The Swarm". Camp, low budget entertainment that overcomes its limitations and deserves the minor cult status it carries today.
Pretty decent, low-budget critter flic
jamesrupert201413 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
OK, the titular shrews are thinly disguised dogs and the shoestring budget is apparent but this tale of people trapped on an island, in an increasingly shrinking safe-zone, surrounded by ravenous, poisonous shrews the size of wolves isn't all that bad. The characters and dialogue is typical for the genre but the quasi-scientific backstory is better than most (unusually, radiation is not involved), as metabolic manipulations designed to produce smaller shrews backfire. The growing tension between characters as the shrews close in is reasonably well done and the solution to their problem is novel (although a bit ridiculous). Not surprisingly given the title and content, 'The Killer Shrews', won't have many viewers outside of fans of the genre but for the most part, they will appreciate the film for what it is: a reasonably well done example of bargain-basement 1950's'nature-gone-wild' monster films.
Sadly overlooked by Academy Awards for Best Set Design...
james_cocos-snowboots29 August 2007
...Not that the Oscars are any indication of a film's greatness, and to prove that point this film was nominated for Worst Rodent Movie of All Time by the Golden Turkey Awards.
There are a pack of humongous starving shrews loose on a desolate island. A bunch of "scientists" travel to the island to be terrorized by the shrews.
Okay, so the dogs yowling because they have wet bathmats appended to their backs, and masks to their faces, are hilarious, I mean terrifying; the attempts made to conceal their caninity are also veeeery clever; Thorn Sherman is heroically disinterested; the music is horrifyingly melodramatic; hackneyed theories involving the shrews abound; and the method of escape is one of the most laughingly novel ever recorded on film. All of this, and the realization that these people spend most of the film living in paralyzing fear of the silliest monsters ever created make this film great.
The interior shots are filmed inside the greatest cabin ever. It is difficult to discern whether the walls are decorated with wallpaper, or are just supposed to be extremely filthy. The mantel features a haphazardly placed set of candle holders, a beer stein, a clock set horizontally on the edge, and all to emphasize the focal point of the room- a picture hanging above the mantel of horse legs beside a lake. The perfect, nay the only, setting for bloodthirsty shrews to terrorize scientists and their lackeys.
"It's alright, doctor, he just ripped my trousers. That's all." Never underestimate a killer shrew.
There are a pack of humongous starving shrews loose on a desolate island. A bunch of "scientists" travel to the island to be terrorized by the shrews.
Okay, so the dogs yowling because they have wet bathmats appended to their backs, and masks to their faces, are hilarious, I mean terrifying; the attempts made to conceal their caninity are also veeeery clever; Thorn Sherman is heroically disinterested; the music is horrifyingly melodramatic; hackneyed theories involving the shrews abound; and the method of escape is one of the most laughingly novel ever recorded on film. All of this, and the realization that these people spend most of the film living in paralyzing fear of the silliest monsters ever created make this film great.
The interior shots are filmed inside the greatest cabin ever. It is difficult to discern whether the walls are decorated with wallpaper, or are just supposed to be extremely filthy. The mantel features a haphazardly placed set of candle holders, a beer stein, a clock set horizontally on the edge, and all to emphasize the focal point of the room- a picture hanging above the mantel of horse legs beside a lake. The perfect, nay the only, setting for bloodthirsty shrews to terrorize scientists and their lackeys.
"It's alright, doctor, he just ripped my trousers. That's all." Never underestimate a killer shrew.
Fun, entertaining 1959 low budget B Horror movie.
ChuckStraub29 June 2004
The Killer Shrews is a low budget B horror movie from 1959. Are there problems with it? Does it seem simple and not as scary as modern horror films? Yes and yes, I just said it was a low budget B movie from 1959. Don't expect too much. Considering this, I've watched this movie several times over the years and find it to be a fun, suspenseful, and entertaining movie. I also believe it to be under rated and well worth viewing. Being under rated, it also is very reasonably priced. You just have to sit back, relax and enjoy it. This type of movie however could not stand up to a close examination. If it's taken too seriously or is put under a microscope, it just won't be able to stand the inspection.
I found this film entertaining, you should to
mnguyen099918 March 2013
Of course this wasn't a master piece, it was a b movie. But as far as b movies go, it was entertaining, it was relatively clever, and I enjoyed the acting, again not the greatest acting ever, but I enjoyed it. The shrews were just dogs in a costume, but it's better than the cgi sequel return of the killer shrews. Some down sides of the film is because the effects aren't great, almost every b movie cliché has been followed, such as the Black man dying first, and the jerk in the film dies off around the end. This would be a great movie to show at horror themes parties, watching a movie during Halloween. I have given it the title of the best b movie I have seen. Give it a watch.
I Can't Help It, I Love These Shrews
Michael_Elliott12 October 2015
The Killer Shrews (1959)
*** (out of 4)
You'd think a hurricane coming through would be the most dangerous thing for a small group of people on an island but it isn't. No, it's the giant killer shrews that are going to be the most dangerous for the people who soon find themselves trapped inside a house with the creatures trying to get it.
This film was shot around the same time as THE GIANT GILA MONSTER from the same production company who planned on using them as a double feature. I will gladly hold my head up high and admit that I really love both of these pictures. Yes, both are extremely low- budget pictures that has countless flaws but at the same time both of them are so darn entertaining that I can't help but have a good time with both of them.
THE KILLER SHREWS is notorious for the fact that the giant shrews are actually played by dogs with costumes. These costumes look incredibly fake and more times than not they're crooked on the dogs or falling off all together. I'm sure you could cry foul at this but if you do so then you'd be taking the film way too serious. These types of movies were meant to fill up drive-in screens so they weren't meant to be Oscar-winning movies.
One thing I really like about this film are some of the performances. While there are many issues with some of them, the cast is still quite likable and that includes James Best as the leader, Ingrid Goude as the semi love interest and Gordon McLendon and Baruch Lumet as the doctors. At just 68 minutes the film moves at a very good pace and even the dialogue is slightly entertaining in its own way. Still, the main reason to watch THE KILLER SHREWS is for its "dogs/shrews" and they are worth the price of admission alone.
*** (out of 4)
You'd think a hurricane coming through would be the most dangerous thing for a small group of people on an island but it isn't. No, it's the giant killer shrews that are going to be the most dangerous for the people who soon find themselves trapped inside a house with the creatures trying to get it.
This film was shot around the same time as THE GIANT GILA MONSTER from the same production company who planned on using them as a double feature. I will gladly hold my head up high and admit that I really love both of these pictures. Yes, both are extremely low- budget pictures that has countless flaws but at the same time both of them are so darn entertaining that I can't help but have a good time with both of them.
THE KILLER SHREWS is notorious for the fact that the giant shrews are actually played by dogs with costumes. These costumes look incredibly fake and more times than not they're crooked on the dogs or falling off all together. I'm sure you could cry foul at this but if you do so then you'd be taking the film way too serious. These types of movies were meant to fill up drive-in screens so they weren't meant to be Oscar-winning movies.
One thing I really like about this film are some of the performances. While there are many issues with some of them, the cast is still quite likable and that includes James Best as the leader, Ingrid Goude as the semi love interest and Gordon McLendon and Baruch Lumet as the doctors. At just 68 minutes the film moves at a very good pace and even the dialogue is slightly entertaining in its own way. Still, the main reason to watch THE KILLER SHREWS is for its "dogs/shrews" and they are worth the price of admission alone.
I can't recommend it but I really enjoy this movie.
john_vance-208069 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Make no mistake, you'll find no great cinema here. The acting, dialog and special effects are very B-grade. Yet I find it compellingly fun to watch.
Perhaps it is the non-stop drinking that occurs throughout the film that makes me want to join in. Such drab, dour characters sipping martinis in such a drab, dour location fascinates me. One would think scientists would want to be a little more alert in a dangerous situation but apparently they prefer to be well-lubricated. There is one scene that makes me think of "synchronized swigging" and always makes me smile.
The stunning Swedish beauty who should be prancing merrily in heels walks about all droopy and slack-shouldered. Almost as though totally bored with the whole idea that they may all be devoured by ravenous beasts before the break of dawn.
The grim scientist who appears blinded to all but his work only brightens when he holds a tiny shrew in his hand - not with a look of curiosity and fascination, but with a lip-smacking leer suggesting he is ready to gobble it up in one bite.
I pull this out at least once a year with a full supply of my own favorite mind-altering beverage to join in the fun. It makes me wonder if I need to look into AA.
Perhaps it is the non-stop drinking that occurs throughout the film that makes me want to join in. Such drab, dour characters sipping martinis in such a drab, dour location fascinates me. One would think scientists would want to be a little more alert in a dangerous situation but apparently they prefer to be well-lubricated. There is one scene that makes me think of "synchronized swigging" and always makes me smile.
The stunning Swedish beauty who should be prancing merrily in heels walks about all droopy and slack-shouldered. Almost as though totally bored with the whole idea that they may all be devoured by ravenous beasts before the break of dawn.
The grim scientist who appears blinded to all but his work only brightens when he holds a tiny shrew in his hand - not with a look of curiosity and fascination, but with a lip-smacking leer suggesting he is ready to gobble it up in one bite.
I pull this out at least once a year with a full supply of my own favorite mind-altering beverage to join in the fun. It makes me wonder if I need to look into AA.
Great cheap, throw-away entertainment from the 50's. The perfect late-night movie.
Idiot-Deluxe29 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"The Killer Shrews" - that has to be one of the most eye-rolling titles ever to be bestowed onto a movie, "Attack of the Killer Shrews" would have been an even better title. Anyways - for as cheap and dispensable as this movie is, it's a very entertaining one. This flick often show's up in cheap, readily available box-sets that celebrate B-movies - in other words The Killer Shrews is never a hard find.
Starring a young James Best (a full 20 years before The Dukes of Hazzard) who's easily the most talented and charismatic of an otherwise unremarkable cast. He plays a boat captain who's making a supply run to a remote island, that's occupied by about half a dozen scientific researchers. Enroute, with stormy weather whipping up behind them, he and his mate motor to the island with the intention of waiting for the storm to pass through, however, that turns out to be a very bad decision. As it so happens the scientist's on the island have been meddling in genetic research (so in that respect The Killer Shrews is a movie that's ahead of it's time), their subject of focus - the lowly and typically harmless shrew; however due to their scientific malpractice, the islands shrew population has suddenly undergone a most dramatic and unnatural of mutations - that eventually proves to be of dangerous and even "killer" proportions.
This movie, as cheaply made and as stupidly ridiculous as it is (starting with it's title) is quite entertaining (especially the last 20 minutes), more so than most other low-budget horror film's of the 50's. I find The Killer Shrews to be a -perfect movie- to watch late a night and with a brisk running time of only 69 minutes it won't take you long, as it's a very compact and efficiently put together film. Let's get into the effects of this movie, specifically the giant killer shrews, undoubtedly what we are really looking at here are dogs that are wearing long, shaggy fur, with long hairless tails and masks with huge, nasty-looking teeth. All in all I think it works out pretty damn effectively, surprisingly so, for a movie that was made with little money, over half a century ago - the giant killer shrews simply look and SOUND terrific.
Getting back to the plot, with some reluctance the scientist's fill "Thorne Sherman" in on their dire predicament and it's during the ensuing stand-off, which one-by-one, see's the groups numbers whittled down, until their half the number they started at. They are actually up against two enemies: the shrews AND a hurricane that's blowing through (I for one have never been convinced that what blew through was a hurricane, a tropical storm at best - Tropical Storm "Timmy" perhaps). With up to as many as 200 to 300 giant killer shrews roving the island, the gang, held hostage in their little hovel are hopelessly out-numbered by the shrews, which eventually borrow into the house and that's when the movie really gets exciting. It's with the quick thinking of Captain Thorne Sherman that they devise a method of escape, not entirely unlike an ancient Roman military tactic, but instead of bronze shields they concoct something a bit more modern with galvanized steel tanks and a cutting torch. The gang of three, yes, several deaths have occurred, are constantly harassed by a rabid mob of killer shrews the entire way, as they find it's a long and labored trudge to the beach, as the ocean is their salvation - onward's ho!
Being a movie of such modest make, there's very little fancy stuff to comment about in this movie, the shrews being it's one and only strong visual, it's all together a very humble affair. To it's credit The Killer Shrews is certainly very tightly paced and efficiently plotted and thus it shouldn't bore anyone who has an attention span that's longer than that of a bolt of lightning. And, as I think this movie proves, James Best was a great actor and he'd only get better.
The Killer Shrews is a fun fast-paced movie, made on a very tight budget, with a crazy, but well-explained story. With much glee you have at least two options available to you, you can watch either the regular version or the funnier, satirized MST3K counterpart.
Starring a young James Best (a full 20 years before The Dukes of Hazzard) who's easily the most talented and charismatic of an otherwise unremarkable cast. He plays a boat captain who's making a supply run to a remote island, that's occupied by about half a dozen scientific researchers. Enroute, with stormy weather whipping up behind them, he and his mate motor to the island with the intention of waiting for the storm to pass through, however, that turns out to be a very bad decision. As it so happens the scientist's on the island have been meddling in genetic research (so in that respect The Killer Shrews is a movie that's ahead of it's time), their subject of focus - the lowly and typically harmless shrew; however due to their scientific malpractice, the islands shrew population has suddenly undergone a most dramatic and unnatural of mutations - that eventually proves to be of dangerous and even "killer" proportions.
This movie, as cheaply made and as stupidly ridiculous as it is (starting with it's title) is quite entertaining (especially the last 20 minutes), more so than most other low-budget horror film's of the 50's. I find The Killer Shrews to be a -perfect movie- to watch late a night and with a brisk running time of only 69 minutes it won't take you long, as it's a very compact and efficiently put together film. Let's get into the effects of this movie, specifically the giant killer shrews, undoubtedly what we are really looking at here are dogs that are wearing long, shaggy fur, with long hairless tails and masks with huge, nasty-looking teeth. All in all I think it works out pretty damn effectively, surprisingly so, for a movie that was made with little money, over half a century ago - the giant killer shrews simply look and SOUND terrific.
Getting back to the plot, with some reluctance the scientist's fill "Thorne Sherman" in on their dire predicament and it's during the ensuing stand-off, which one-by-one, see's the groups numbers whittled down, until their half the number they started at. They are actually up against two enemies: the shrews AND a hurricane that's blowing through (I for one have never been convinced that what blew through was a hurricane, a tropical storm at best - Tropical Storm "Timmy" perhaps). With up to as many as 200 to 300 giant killer shrews roving the island, the gang, held hostage in their little hovel are hopelessly out-numbered by the shrews, which eventually borrow into the house and that's when the movie really gets exciting. It's with the quick thinking of Captain Thorne Sherman that they devise a method of escape, not entirely unlike an ancient Roman military tactic, but instead of bronze shields they concoct something a bit more modern with galvanized steel tanks and a cutting torch. The gang of three, yes, several deaths have occurred, are constantly harassed by a rabid mob of killer shrews the entire way, as they find it's a long and labored trudge to the beach, as the ocean is their salvation - onward's ho!
Being a movie of such modest make, there's very little fancy stuff to comment about in this movie, the shrews being it's one and only strong visual, it's all together a very humble affair. To it's credit The Killer Shrews is certainly very tightly paced and efficiently plotted and thus it shouldn't bore anyone who has an attention span that's longer than that of a bolt of lightning. And, as I think this movie proves, James Best was a great actor and he'd only get better.
The Killer Shrews is a fun fast-paced movie, made on a very tight budget, with a crazy, but well-explained story. With much glee you have at least two options available to you, you can watch either the regular version or the funnier, satirized MST3K counterpart.
An Entertaining 1950s B-Movie
bigbadjohn-460343 June 2019
Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane's First Starring Role
PCC092120 September 2020
James Best, known as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane of Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985), fame, gets the starring role in this Ray Kellogg-directed film. Believe it or not, but the Killer Shrews (1959), is not a Roger Corman film. However, the budget on this film is incredibly low. The special-effects for the large shrew-creatures, are real dogs covered in really bad costumes. The technical staff also used hand puppets for the giant killer shrews as well. That is why this is a tediously boring film. Most of the film takes place in a large house in one room, with bad dialogue, just for killing time, until the costumed dogs and hand puppets make their appearances. The stupid attack scenes are few and far between, because, let's face it, costumed dogs and hand puppets, shouldn't be on the screen too much. I mean, you don't want the movie to look too stupid, do we?
I did watch a colorized version recently of the Killer Shrews (1959), on Amazon Prime, that helped enhance the production a little bit more. I'm not condoning colorization, however I have also seen the black and white version, a couple of times, over the years, so I think I have enough information about the Killer Shrews (1959), to garner an opinion on the whole thing, but if you need extra sparkle, in order to watch this movie, maybe the colorized version is for you. Besides, this film needs all the help it can get. This film is a failure, but there is just enough to it to still find some fun. I still recommend seeing the Killer Shrews (1959), mostly to support Roscoe, but really, you have to see the film to believe this film.
PMTM Grade: 3.2 (F-) = 4 IMDB.
I did watch a colorized version recently of the Killer Shrews (1959), on Amazon Prime, that helped enhance the production a little bit more. I'm not condoning colorization, however I have also seen the black and white version, a couple of times, over the years, so I think I have enough information about the Killer Shrews (1959), to garner an opinion on the whole thing, but if you need extra sparkle, in order to watch this movie, maybe the colorized version is for you. Besides, this film needs all the help it can get. This film is a failure, but there is just enough to it to still find some fun. I still recommend seeing the Killer Shrews (1959), mostly to support Roscoe, but really, you have to see the film to believe this film.
PMTM Grade: 3.2 (F-) = 4 IMDB.
Bad but VERY watchable
planktonrules13 December 2006
James Best and his friend arrive by boat at a small island in front of a storm. The island is the home to a scientist and his assistants who are working on prolonging life but accidentally create a race of giant shrews(?). Interestingly enough, these shrews look pretty much like dogs with cheesy costumes when they are shown walking or running, and in closeups they resemble nothing from this planet--they are just too weird to explain. Although all this was really cheesy, what I thought was funniest was when people were holding normal shrews and playing with them, as in real life, shrews are insane and would have probably torn them to pieces. If you look closely, these are actually mice (and it's a good thing for the "actors").
This is one of 10 movies that come on a public domain DVD collection of horror films. Pretty much all the films stink, but at least this one is very watchable but bad--sort of like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. The campiness and silliness of the whole thing hooked my attention. The acting was generally pretty bad, though Best wasn't too bad. However, if you are NOT a fan of bad but fun movies, avoid the film--it certainly ISN'T Shakespeare!
This is one of 10 movies that come on a public domain DVD collection of horror films. Pretty much all the films stink, but at least this one is very watchable but bad--sort of like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. The campiness and silliness of the whole thing hooked my attention. The acting was generally pretty bad, though Best wasn't too bad. However, if you are NOT a fan of bad but fun movies, avoid the film--it certainly ISN'T Shakespeare!
Shrewd...but fun.
suspiria1023 January 2005
When will the doctors learn? On a desolate and exotic island a doctor with a heart of gold screws up and damn near destroys the world. Am I referring to Fulci's Zombie, no? How about that island with Marlon Brando? Nope, wrong again.
In the Killer Shrews this tome around on that deserted tropical island as seen a hundred times we have mutated shrews threatening to chomp down on our trapped scientists and a boat crew unlucky enough to be carting supplies to the island. Poisonous and hungry these shrews are gonna clean the island and suck the marrow from your bones burp.
This fun little clichéd cheese fest moves along are a pretty quick pace. The acting is on par with the era, a bit over blown, but who cares. You have to love those shrew monsters. The effects are a bit *ahem* shrewd and laughable. Not to mention the long shots of the animals that appear to be dogs or maybe pigs dressed up in costumes, complete with tail. Good fun to be had by all with a hankering for b-grade sci-horror.
In the Killer Shrews this tome around on that deserted tropical island as seen a hundred times we have mutated shrews threatening to chomp down on our trapped scientists and a boat crew unlucky enough to be carting supplies to the island. Poisonous and hungry these shrews are gonna clean the island and suck the marrow from your bones burp.
This fun little clichéd cheese fest moves along are a pretty quick pace. The acting is on par with the era, a bit over blown, but who cares. You have to love those shrew monsters. The effects are a bit *ahem* shrewd and laughable. Not to mention the long shots of the animals that appear to be dogs or maybe pigs dressed up in costumes, complete with tail. Good fun to be had by all with a hankering for b-grade sci-horror.
No Taming These Shrews
bkoganbing31 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Another group of scientists on a deserted island have yet let another experiment go horribly wrong. These scientists Baruch Lumet, Ingrid Goude, Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon have been experimenting with raising and lowering metabolism as a way of staying the aging process.
But what they've done is blown up their lab rats or in this case their lab shrews to the size of a German Shepherd. And the few hundred that are now on the island have eaten all the other animal life and are ready to start feasting on the humans.
Good thing hero sea captain James Best has come along with his boat delivering supplies. Otherwise these scientists would be in a terrible fix. They all don't make it out alive in any event.
I still have memories of those good people with metal tubs over them for protection, duck-walking to the beach. It's one hilarious hoot from a science fiction camp classic.
But what they've done is blown up their lab rats or in this case their lab shrews to the size of a German Shepherd. And the few hundred that are now on the island have eaten all the other animal life and are ready to start feasting on the humans.
Good thing hero sea captain James Best has come along with his boat delivering supplies. Otherwise these scientists would be in a terrible fix. They all don't make it out alive in any event.
I still have memories of those good people with metal tubs over them for protection, duck-walking to the beach. It's one hilarious hoot from a science fiction camp classic.
The best film about killer shrews ever!
BA_Harrison20 October 2010
James Best (Rosco P. Coltrane from TV's The Dukes of Hazzard) plays Thorne Sherman, captain of a boat delivering supplies to a group of scientists working on a remote island. When a hurricane whips up, Sherman is forced to wait out the storm at the boffins' abode, which is laid siege during the night by a pack of over-sized man-eating mutant shrews, the unfortunate result of the scientists' experiments.
With the possible exception of the giant rabbits from cult classic Night of the Lepus, shrews have got to be the most ridiculous choice ever for a killer animal in a cheesy B-movie horror film, even if they are over-sized, poisonous shrews. It's this patently ridiculous concept, along with the terrible realisation of the creatures themselves (dogs dressed in rodent costumes and a manky model shrew head for close-ups) and some cheesy dialogue, that helps make The Killer Shrews one of the most entertaining 50s monster movies I've seen.
But although it is undoubtedly good for a laugh, believe it or not there is more to the film than just scientific hogwash, doggies in disguise, and clumsy conversation: the film's basic siege set-up proves to be extremely effective (so much so that it most likely provided inspiration for George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead), Best puts in a pretty good performance as the film's hero, and director Ray Kellogg somehow manages a fair amount of tension and one or two decent scares, the shrew in the kitchen being an absolute corker!
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for Thorne's ingenious escape plan, the likes of which wouldn't have been out of place in an episode of The A-Team.
With the possible exception of the giant rabbits from cult classic Night of the Lepus, shrews have got to be the most ridiculous choice ever for a killer animal in a cheesy B-movie horror film, even if they are over-sized, poisonous shrews. It's this patently ridiculous concept, along with the terrible realisation of the creatures themselves (dogs dressed in rodent costumes and a manky model shrew head for close-ups) and some cheesy dialogue, that helps make The Killer Shrews one of the most entertaining 50s monster movies I've seen.
But although it is undoubtedly good for a laugh, believe it or not there is more to the film than just scientific hogwash, doggies in disguise, and clumsy conversation: the film's basic siege set-up proves to be extremely effective (so much so that it most likely provided inspiration for George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead), Best puts in a pretty good performance as the film's hero, and director Ray Kellogg somehow manages a fair amount of tension and one or two decent scares, the shrew in the kitchen being an absolute corker!
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for Thorne's ingenious escape plan, the likes of which wouldn't have been out of place in an episode of The A-Team.
Better Than You'd Think
twanurit30 September 2002
The story is intriguing: a scientist experiments with rodents, who turn into giant mutants, running loose on a island of seven people, including his daughter. When their food supply runs out, the creatures turn cannibalistic. Ingrid Goude is good as the lone female, while James Best is best as a seaman who tangles with a drunkard (Ken Curtis) for her affections. But the romantic entanglements soon dissipate when the giant shrews, seeking food, start gnawing at the house of the islanders. This theme predates "The Birds" (1963), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), even "Signs" (2002).If the monster costumes disappoint, the music, sound effects, performances, atmosphere and pacing more than compensate.
Sniffing out the Shrews.
morrison-dylan-fan22 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Having the 1971 Shaw Brothers Musicial Caper The Venus Tear Diamond waiting to be viewed,I went in search of a short and sweet flick to watch for the ICM Sci-Fi Challenge. Finding a flick which sounded a perfect fit from a Mill Creek box set a fellow IMDber had kindly sent me,I unleashed the Shrews.
View on the film:
While sadly keeping to the cliché of him being the first to die, the screenplay by Jay Simms actually allows for some moments of friendship to be shown between Sherman and African American "Rock", (played by a good Judge Henry Dupree) with Rock being treated as a equal. Holding the wolves at the door, director Ray Kellogg & cinematographer Wilfrid M. Cline rub some Texas heat over the gang trying to survive in a cabin, with scratches, howls and heads of the Shrews popping out of the woodwork increasingly pushing the gang into a corner. Going from doing visual effects or second unit for likes of The Seven Year Itch, Kellogg actually gives the Shrews a sizeable amount of time on screen, thanks to the hand puppets for the faces giving the fangs a real snap, and the wide-shots turning the killer Shrews into charmingly naff dogs wearing carpets.
View on the film:
While sadly keeping to the cliché of him being the first to die, the screenplay by Jay Simms actually allows for some moments of friendship to be shown between Sherman and African American "Rock", (played by a good Judge Henry Dupree) with Rock being treated as a equal. Holding the wolves at the door, director Ray Kellogg & cinematographer Wilfrid M. Cline rub some Texas heat over the gang trying to survive in a cabin, with scratches, howls and heads of the Shrews popping out of the woodwork increasingly pushing the gang into a corner. Going from doing visual effects or second unit for likes of The Seven Year Itch, Kellogg actually gives the Shrews a sizeable amount of time on screen, thanks to the hand puppets for the faces giving the fangs a real snap, and the wide-shots turning the killer Shrews into charmingly naff dogs wearing carpets.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
