Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

jaguiar313 I love a 'so bad it's good' movie just as much as the next movie geek but, this 1978 "gem" is just all round bad. I had the misfortune of catching this in a theater back in '78 and let's just say it hasn't gotten any better with age and it's still so bad that 70s nostalgia just doesn't help. The movie tells the story of a school teacher who (for whatever reason) is trying to solve the mystery of some animal mutilations and later human murders around a Venice California cove. The police think it's a serial killer or a cult and forensics can't seem to tell animal bites when they see them. He discovers that a leak from a nearby nuclear plant created an organic sludge called "Slithis" (never explained) which takes on characteristics of what it absorbs and it is now a humanoid fish monster craving food. From it's awful dialog to it's even worse delivery of that dialog (an actor playing a police chief seems to think he's playing a bad guy on a Sid and Marty Kroft show.), Slithis is mind numbingly bad. Half the films shots are in slow motion for no reason, including the opening scene of a fat kid playing Frisbee, which means it's scant 80 minute running time would be less then an hour without them. The Slithis creature costume is okay but it looks like a pudgy Creature From The Black Lagoon and the human eyes are just too nice and blue to illicit fears. And as a horror film, fear is something this completely lacks. From the easily telegraphed attack scenes, where most of the carnage is off camera, to the tone , which goes from serious to oddly whimsical at times ( What kind of film where they trying to make?), Slithis can't generate any suspense or tension whatsoever. There is some blood but, with a PG rating, Slithis is rather tame and there are only a few attack sequences as the film is very talky for an 80 minute creature feature. An awful film that somehow has garnered a bit of a reputation but, after revisiting it, I can only guess it was from lack of availability as the film has very little to recommend even to fans of bad movies.

cartoonlizard When I first saw this movie I went to a midnight showing of it to a theater that was a walking distance away from my home, I was 14 at the time and back then the streets were a bit safer but I was so freakin' scared that I had to call a friend to come pick me up. Starting with the opening scene where the creature goes inside a home and kills the couple living there, I've seen movies involving home invasions but there was something about this one that had me with my feet off the floor. I don't know if I saw it again today it'll have the same effect on me, the parts I remember now seem to be cheesy as hell but it really managed to leave a lasting impression on me.

tbyrne4 "We catch that mean mother!" What a piece of 70s tripe this movie is. Bad on many different levels. Not totally inept. It actually could've been a fairly decent little movie, but the biggest problem is just how BORING it is. Why are these movies so BORING! I start to watch them and after a half hour my eyes start drooping. I can't help it. I think it would have helped if they had shown Slithis in the light more often. We keep seeing him in the dark and apparently they couldn't afford LIGHTS on this movie so he basically just looks like a big shadow. But then, on the flip side, when we do get a good look at him, the Slithis costume looks pretty lame, so I guess you just can't win.It also might have helped to actually have a few more scenes of Slithis killing people or doing things. Or just a few more scenes of Slithis in general. The characters are flat out dull, so that doesn't help. It's a bad sign when you start thinking "wait a minute, isn't this a monster movie?!" because you can't remember the last time the monster was On screen!!!!!The movie isn't totally without interest. But I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. And I'm certainly not going to sit through the freakin thing again (I don't think I'd be able to without falling asleep)POINTS OF INTEREST:the hero who has a girlfriend named "Jeff" the first five minutes of the movie (why exactly are they in slow-motion?) Dr. John's jaw-dropping scientific explanation of what Slithis is (even the actors look bored). the turtle race peopled by throngs of shouting fans (definitely my idea of killer Friday night entertainment). Also note the girl who kisses her turtle after it wins. Yuck. the guy who takes his date back to his boat where he has a shrine to himself complete with photograph and candles (also, why in the world does this scene go on for fifteen minutes? I thought I was in a different movie)The funky "Slithis cam" apparently achieved by taping a balloon over the camera. the police chief who looks like Ron Jeremy and acts like Peter Lorre after 100 cups of coffee.

drsmcduncan This amateur movie, which somehow made it to late-night TV is without a doubt the worst monster movie I have ever seen. The story is incoherent and the main characters overshadowed by long sequences dominated by one-dimensional minor characters. I am sure that it is no coincidence that all but a few of the actors in this film never appeared in another and for all but a couple of those who did, Slithis was their final effort. The monster is ridiculous but not as ridiculous as the story or the acting. I hesitate to call it the worst monster movie ever only because I cannot claim to have seen every monster movie ever made. So bad it's really just bad.