Destination Inner Space (1966) (film review).
The Institute of Marine Biology is experiencing issues with their SeaLab. USN Commander Ed Wayne (actor Scott Brady) is dispatched to investigate and finds that they have been monitoring a signal from a mile and a half below. Actor Hugh Maddox (actor Mike Road) and photographer Sandra Welles (actor Wende Wagner) capture a few images of a non-terrestrial craft, but they receive an order to return to the SeaLab due to insufficient airspace to pursue it once it approaches their level. Maddox and Wayne have issues. Doctor LaSatier (actor Gary Merrill) is in charge of the lab, and Rene Peron (actress Sheree North) is the medic. Most of the rest become casualties.
The craft reappears in the vicinity, prompting Maddix, Welles, and Wayne to investigate. They discover the craft’s airlock is open, and they retrieve a capsule they discovered. The shell expands and explodes with a poisonous gas and releases a quickly growing beast, which attacks various crew members and prevents them from contacting the surface and cuts off its air link so they only have 12 hours of air left. The crew must then battle to survive against the amphibian and spoiler.
It’s very weird watching this film. The underwater diving effects are on par with ‘Voyage To The Bottom Sea,’ if not better. Plot-wise, I recognize elements from the later films ‘The Abyss’ and ‘Alien’. If anything, the disappointment lies in the appearance of the amphibian, which, in 1966, was expected to resemble a rubber suit. A vicious rubber suit marks you.
Despite the dated relationships, the monster movie holds up well for its age. The SeaLab must have been quite a place to work when you consider it even had its own chef, played by James Hong no less. It’s debatable how far down it is, given that none of the divers wore full-length rubber trousers. However, we now have a better understanding of the visibility and cold conditions at depth than we did in the past.
GF Willmetts
December 2024
(pub: Cheezy Flicks, 2011. 1 DVD 92 minute film. Price: varies, from them $14.99 (US). ASIN: B01M7WZBO6)
cast: Scott Brady, Sheree North, Gary Merrill, Winde Wagner and Mike Road
check out website: https://creepyclassics.com/destination-inner-space-1966-dvd/
