Review: Spawn of the Slithis

Spawn of the Slithis (1978)
A drive-in sea monster flick that takes heavy, ahem, inspiration from Jaws and The Creature From the Black Lagoon. The film starts off with the beast terrorizing the coastal community of Venice, California including dogs, bums, disgruntled husbands, etc. The plot, or at least the parts with talking revolve around a journalism teacher trying to figure out what's going on with all these strange attacks, he eventually meets up with various scientists who have discovered this stuff they call Slithis. Slithis is not the monster (that would be the spawn of Slithis, duh), the Slithis is organic "mud" brought to life from radioactivity leaking from the local power plant. Supposedly this sludge while feeding on other trash and dead fish started to form itself into a more stable structure taking on the characteristics of the stuff its been eating. What we get is a rubber fish-monster suit attacking folks in really poorly lit shots. Also there are a lot of goofy POV shots that I think were filmed with a bottle against the camera lens. The monster suit definitely takes some inspiration from Creature From the Black Lagoon but a little more bulky and slimy, it's one of the highlights of the movie for me personally. Eventually the reporter guy meets up with a fisherman who has a weird way of talking. I think they play it off with him being Jamaican but he doesn't have an accent, really its more like he just uses phrases I would expect from a beatnik, stoner-psuedo-intellectual. His is one of the few memorable performances along with the crazy, over-acted mayor. We get see the monster kill some people, a car driven off a dock, some boobies, and an awful lot of bad cinematography and editing. If you could somehow sit in your parked car at home and watch this, well without driving it into your living room, I think that would go a long way to enhancing this movie, its the kind of schlock that begs to be half-viewed through a steamed-up windshield or at least through beer-goggles. It is available on youtube so feel free to give it a shot, if any of this sounds appealing.

On a scale of radioactive chum sludge to fish head soup, I give it two dead dogs on a beach.

I'm also going to start suggesting alcohol pairings for these movies
Enjoy with a "Slithis":
1 can Shlitz lager (a shandy size is best)
1 tin of sardines
sea salt
Open the sardines first then rub rim of the can with juice from the sardines, then throw the sardines away or give them to your cat because no one really eats that shit, then roll the edge of the can with sea salt like a margarita glass. Open the beer, and place it in a brown paper bag and enjoy.
A beverage with all the greasy, salty charm of a fishing trawler, equally enjoyable by both dockworkers and hobos watching the drive-in from the edge of the woods.