Dr. Basso (Les Tremayne) is a hypnotist specializing in the hypnotic regression of subjects and bringing out past lives. Basso also claims to by a clairvoyant and able to predict the future. His assistant is a beautiful young woman named Doreena (Pat Delaney). Basso is in love with Doreena and, in Svengali-style, keeps her with him by hypnotizing her. Basso has the ability to hypnotically regress his assistant over a million years and manifest an ancient reptilian evil creature, which he uses to kill people.
Wealthy, retired entrepreneur, Sam Crane (Neil Fletcher) hires Basso, on his wife’s (Annabelle Weenick) behalf, to entertain guests at his Tanglewood Country Club and Resort. During the performance Basso predicts that something terrible will happen along the beach. Later that night, a young newlywed couple is violently killed. Mrs. Crane tells police Lt. Blake (Roger Ready) about Basso’s prediction. Blake questions Basso but there is no evidence that he was involved. Crane sees dollar signs and, firmly believing it is all an act, wants to partner up with Basso.
As the killings continue, Air Force psychologist Captain Ted Dell (Aron Kincaid) is recruited to find out if Basso is a fake or is actually conjuring up ancient evil creatures.
“Creature of Destruction” was released in 1967 and was directed by Larry Buchanan. It is a remake of the Samuel Arkoff film “The She-Creature” 1956. Buchanan’s film company Azalea Films did, in conjunction with AIP’s television division, eight made-for-TV films. AIP’s orders were to make them low budget with some standard horror movie stars. The films had to be eighty minutes long and they had to be done quickly. “Creature of Destruction” was one of them.
The "Creature" in the film was comprised of a green wetsuit with a Kermit-the-frog ping pong eyeballs and fanged head mask. Buchanan later used it for one of his other low budget films “It’s Alive” 1969. The film is slightly less than average, entertainment wise, with mostly bad acting, but Les Tremayne is nice and campy. As with most of Buchanan’s films it is a little on the boring side, but the opening scene was actually almost creepy. But then it was repeated as one of the closing scenes. By then it had lost its appeal.
Texas Rockabilly singer Scotty McKay, in addition to being one of the "Creature's" victims, sings three of his songs in the movie, including “All Around the World” and “Here Comes Batman”. Scotty, whose real name was Max K. Libscomb, was almost devoid of talent but was really good at marketing himself.
Aron Kincaid, who plays Captain Ted Dell had agreed to do the film as part of an out-of-court settlement with AIP. Once his contract was completed, he left. Realizing that Kincaid was needed for additional scenes Buchanan went with him and recorded his additional dialogue in the cab to the airport. The dialogue was used as voiceover in the film’s epilogue.
The quote that begins and ends most prints of the movie, "There is no monster in the world...so treacherous as man", is attributed to Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne was a 16th century French Renaissance writer and the inventor of the essay. My favorite quote by him is “When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me?”
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Scotty McKay Here Comes Batman