Julian R. White I'm a scientist who deals with scorpions on a regular basis. I can tell you a few things in this movie that truly just made me laugh. First of all, common scorpions do not squeak like mice. Second, they do NOT drool constantly nor do they have faces like that. All that put aside, I really liked the concept of the film. Volcanic eruptions cause massive insects and scorpions living underground to surface and prey on human beings. I really loved the train scene, a wrecked train is a buffet for the giant arachnids. I do kinda feel like if more giant bugs were included besides just the scorpions, the film could be an instant masterpiece. Of course it would need a new title, but it could make a more interesting movie. Overall though, I love it, the scorpions are neat and I love how nature can really bite back. Would totally watch this one again.

JohnHowardReid A Frank Melford-Jack Dietz Production. Copyright 1957 by Amex Productions. Released through Warner Brothers Pictures: 19 October 1957. New York opening at the Paramount: 11 October 1957. U.K. release: floating from April 1958. Banned in Australia. 7,896 feet. 88 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Released from their nest by an earthquake, giant scorpions are on the march in Mexico, but an American geologist is quickly on the spot to help out. You just can't keep a good guy down! NOTES: Director Edward Ludwig turned to TV when this assignment was completed, working exclusively in that medium until his retirement except for The Gun Hawk (1963) starring Rory Calhoun and Rod Cameron. Shooting commenced 21 November 1956 at Estudios Tepeyac. Mexico City. COMMENT: A trite screenplay complete with dull characters, clumsy, instant-information dialogue and an absolutely pointless romance, contrives to work in loads of extended, ugly but none too realistic special effects involving giant scorpions. This plot ploy obviously owes a lot to Them! and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Those two pictures rate as superior offerings, but the monsters here not only look like models but are ineffectively disguised by a tendency to repeatedly over-use dead giveaway close-ups. There are lots and lots of them! Fans will doubtless relish this tide of abundance, but I felt sad to see capable players like Richard Denning and Mara Corday stooging for such obvious black crayon and pasteboard "monsters" while trying to make the best of an absolutely impossible script. They receive no help whatever from the tepid, totally lack-luster direction of Edward Ludwig, who made his entire career in low-budget movies like this one. Mind you, this effort does pack at least one big shock: What a jolt to find Lionel Lindon's name on the credits! Just the year before, he'd photographed Around the World in 80 Days for Michael Todd and carried off the world's most prestigious award for Cinematography from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Presumably the grainy, none-too-brightly lit camerawork from the special effects unit is not his, but even the main unit photography, whilst capable enough, seems hardly the product of a journeyman apprentice, let alone a master!

gavin6942 Volcanic activity frees giant scorpions from the earth who wreak havoc in the rural countryside and eventually threaten Mexico City.The man responsible for this film, Edward Irving Ludwig (1899–1982), was a Russian-born American film director and writer. He directed nearly 100 films between 1921 and 1963 (some under the names Edward I. Luddy and Charles Fuhr). And yet, despite this prolific output, you probably never heard of him because they were all these cheap films.What makes this film memorable at all is that Willis O'Brien, creator of the stop-motion effects for the original "King Kong", was the special effects supervisor, albeit on a smaller budget. Pete Peterson, who worked with O'Brien on "Mighty Joe Young", did most of the actual hands-on animation. O'Brien borrowed heavily from other previous movies he worked on for the special effects in this film. The models used for the trapdoor spider and the giant tentacled worm have been reported to be the same ones that were used in the famous "Lost Spider Pit Sequence" from the original "King Kong". So they were not wasted after all!

unbrokenmetal Scott (Richard Denning) and Ramos (Carlos Rivas) are geologists taking a closer look at an area in Mexico after a recent volcanic eruption. Near the village of San Lorenzo, they find an abandoned patrol car, a baby without parents and later a dead officer. There is some superstition around, a tale of a demon bull who may be responsible for killed and missing people, but the 2 scientists soon find there are gigantic black scorpions on the loose instead, released by the volcano from their underground hiding place. Scott descends into the cave where the came from, and there are so many scorpions down there in tunnels that stretch for miles that it seems impossible to kill all of the monsters...This is one of the great 50s monster movies that deserves to be listed shortly after 'Tarantula', 'Them!' and the like. First, there are great animated sequences from special effects master Willis O'Brien ('King Kong'). Scenes like the fight between scorpions and a worm in the cave or the train attack are great examples of his stop motion technique. Second, the movie was filmed near an active volcano with real smoke in the background, an impressive, rugged landscape. Third, the music contributes a lot to the tension, too. The whole atmosphere works. Unfortunately, the actors remain pale and deliver their lines like in a typical B movie rush, but otherwise it's a great movie for its time and genre.