INKTOBER 2025 Day #4: MURKY.

INKTOBER 2025 Day #4: MURKY.

“I can’t claim to be one of those people that’s super into monster movies, but there are a handful I watched in my childhood that have a special place in my heart. One of my favorites that I always looked for on the ‘Creature Double Feature’ on whatever channel that was on the weekends was ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (and its sequels). I don’t remember anything about the movies other than the look of the creature, which was iconic and just plain cool (even then, I think I was drawn to the little details and textures). I’m pretty sure I had an action figure of him at one point.
Generally, there’s just something about old black and white movies that I find really appealing, they are entirely different from modern films. I think a lot of it is technology (and being not far removed from stage performances). In the early days of film, they had to rely more on compelling narratives and characters. They had to be more creative/innovative with the special effects (which they also used more sparingly due to cost, but their infrequency heightened the tension and added a lot more impact to them). Modern films, with some exceptions of course, tend to lean into over-the-top effects and seem to spend less time developing stories. They are visual spectacles. The pacing of old movies is noticeably different as well, which is probably due to our decreased attention span over the generations.
Anyway, I love good, old, practical effects and costumes. I like the longer, more drawn-out stories and character development. I even enjoy the sound quality with its little pops and hisses every now and then. I’m generally not much of a fan of movie reboots, where studios and executives are looking for a quick cash grab with surface level regurgitations of known, safe, money-making properties, but I kind of would like to see a reboot of ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’. Well, with the caveat being they keep the same pacing and story telling and it’s still a dude in a suit and not CGI. Practical effects have come a long way since 1954 (when the movie was released), so I bet the wizards at ILM and the Henson creature folks could come up with something amazing. In the meantime, I really should track down a copy of ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (and a few other old films).”

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