30 Best Hidden Gem Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a milestone classic in the pantheon of Universal monster movies and an inspiration to a generation of filmmakers who followed. But did you know it has a sequel, and that it’s actually pretty darn good?

Subverting the premise of the first film, Revenge of the Creature picks up a year later with the creature captured by explorers and brought back to civilization, where it’s put on display in a theme park as a spectacle for American families. Things, predictably, don’t go well.

Genre veteran Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, Tarantula), director of the original, returned to the helm and delivered a movie that not only avoided simply copying the first but also offered clever social commentary well ahead of its time. Sure, Jurassic Park has done the theme to death in the modern age, but for the 1950s, this was surprisingly sharp and prophetic.

Alongside Arnold’s reliable direction, the cast provides the usual stone-faced delivery of expository dialogue (with an early Clint Eastwood comically cast in one scene as a scientist). Lead John Agar is solid, but the creature is the true star, serving as both villain and tragic hero. He’s no more to blame for lashing out than a lion taken from its habitat, frightened and confused.

If you’re in the mood for a classic-style monster movie overlooked by its contemporaries, Revenge of the Creature is a prime choice.