[6]

The first sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon finds the Gill Man captured and put on display in a Florida theme park. There he’s studied by a couple of smitten scientists (John Agar and Lori Nelson) who want to ascertain how intelligent he is. Well, turns out he’s smart enough to escape and steal Agar’s girl. The third act has the community on alert while Agar joins the police in a hunt for the creature, who’s determined to keep Nelson all to himself.

Away from the darkness and depths of the Black Lagoon, the Creature is a bit less intimidating. The reworked Creature mask is also a slight downgrade. But Revenge of the Creature is otherwise better paced than its predecessor and still delivers most of the requisite ingredients for a moderately entertaining drive-in movie. The underwater sequences are a visual treat, especially in 3D, as fish and particulate matter pass through the foreground. Highlights include the Gill Man’s brazen kidnapping of Nelson from a crowded lobster restaurant, and perhaps the most upsetting kill scene in the franchise — when the Creature makes Nelson’s protective German Shepherd one of its victims.

Atomic-age stalwart Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man) returns as the film’s director, along with Ricou Browning as one of the actors performing the Creature. Nestor Paiva also returns as the ship captain who takes Agar and Nelson to the Black Lagoon at the start of the film, where he gives them a prompt warning about the eponymous monster. Look for none other than young Clint Eastwood in his first (albeit uncredited) film role, as a scientist looking for a missing rat early in the movie.

With John Bromfield, Grandon Rhodes, and Dave Willock.