Gila the big bad monster
OK I agree with everyone else. This is basically a remake of “The Giant Gila Monster” except for a few changes. They added an unnecessary punk named “Waco”. They also don’t use as much Theremin as in the original movie. And I do love me some Theremin. Everything is in color. Also, in this movie we find out how the monster got so big. Can you say toxic waste?
Luckily some of the original images are the same. 50’s setting. Hot Rods. Some decent camp. Nitroglycerin. Best of all big monster.
The remake was OK but I’m an originalist at heart, so you have to go a long way before you’ll win me over. I loved the original movie. Yes, the original monster was a real Gila Monster with tiny sets for it to ramble over, but I liked that. The CGI monster in the new movie is alright but I have such a fondness for the original and this one is just not up to par with it. Say what you want, your first love is special. To be honest, if there had not been an original movie, I would have been more impressed and I would have liked this one a lot more.
A word about Don Sullivan; He was born in 1929 and died in 2018. As everyone who has watched the original movie knows, Don was the original Chase Winstead, and he wrote the songs he performed in the movie. Specifically, “My Baby She Rocks” and “The Mushroom Song” (AKA Laugh Children Laugh). He was also in a number of other “B” movies in the 50’s. He has a small role in the remade Gila. His character is listed as Dawes. I don’t recall anyone in the movie calling him (or anyone) Dawes, but I believe he is the professor that Sheriff Parker visits to find out about the saliva found at one of the crime scenes.
All in all, the movie was fine. I just can’t help preferring the original. Watch them both and decide for yourself.