{"id":33342,"date":"2026-04-20T16:10:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33342"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T23:10:40","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-creepy-creatures-double-feature-the-crawling-hand-1963-and-the-slime-people-1963","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33342","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: CREEPY-CREATURES DOUBLE-FEATURE: THE CRAWLING HAND (1963) and THE SLIME PEOPLE (1963)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray from VCI Entertainment is available for\npurchase on April 21st<\/sup>, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re like me, you grew up watching and enjoying\nlow-budget drive-in features. Admittedly, I didn\u2019t actually see a great many at\nthe drive-in, but rather on late-night television and video. Many of these\ntitles are what you might call flawed but fun, with rubbery-looking monsters\nterrorizing towns, and cast members delivering sometimes solid, but often stiff\nand unconvincing performances as they ward off the various threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crawling Hand<\/em> and The Slime People<\/em> are two\nindependent science-fiction\/monster movies from the same producer. They played\nas a double-feature at cinemas and drive-ins, slowly moving around the country\nfor two-plus years and generally playing to teenagers. Like many other titles\nin the genre, they have developed a cult following over the years after playing\non the big and small screen countless times and making an impression with\ntheir, well, unique approach to the monster movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VCI Entertainment is now releasing a set called the\nCreepy-Creature Double-Feature \u201cCollector\u2019s Edition\u201d Blu-ray, which features 4K\nrestorations of the movies and some entertaining extras. With a low\nprice-point, improved image quality and some nice bonuses, any monster movie\nfans should appreciate this release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crawling Hand<\/em> is perhaps the better known of the\ntwo movies. The story begins with space program scientists Steve Curan (Peter\nBreck) and Max Weitzberg (Kent Taylor) receiving a message from an astronaut\nreturning to Earth. They are told to destroy the ship by the pilot, and after\nsome debate, actually do it. Later, they determine that the astronaut was\ninfected by an alien. Oh well! Meanwhile in California, science student Paul\nLawrence (Rod Laurer) and his Swedish girlfriend Marla Famstrom (Sirry Steffer)\ngo running on the beach together and discover a severed arm. Paul decides to\nstudy the limb, sneaking it past the owner of the home he rents a room from.\nThe hand goes on the rampage, attacking those it comes in contact with, and\neventually possesses Paul. While trying to fight its influence over him, the\nscientists arrive and search for answers along with a local sheriff named\nTownsend (Alan Hale Jr.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is an entertainingly silly effort. The story logic\nmakes little sense and the performances vary from capable to amusingly awkward,\nbut it is a unique and creative effort, featuring plenty of memorable moments\nand a relatively quick pace. Some of the most amusing bits involve the hand\nmoving around the house and a character just moving every time she is about to\nbe grasped. It happens again, and again, and again becoming funnier and funnier\nas it progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The dialogue is hilarious and earned plenty of yuks, both\nintentionally and accidentally. There are two ambulance attendants (Jock Putnam\nand Andy Andrews) who make a lasting impression when they show up to the scene\nof the crime and make bizarre comments while dealing with a dead body (there\u2019s\neven some talk of raiding the fridge). They even appear again later in the\ntitle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was also amused by an elderly and very grouchy looking\nsoda-shop owner (Syd Saylor) who seems irritated by his young clientele and is\nfeatured prominently during the movie\u2019s most striking attack scene. The science\nbabble from the leads is hilarious, with their investigation techniques coming\nacross as less-than-smooth. And Alan Hale Jr. (Skipper from Gilligan\u2019s\nIsland<\/em>!) is always entertaining to watch. Interestingly, you\u2019ll also see\nAllison Hayes (Attack of the 50th<\/sup> Woman) appear briefly as the\nassistant to the scientists. It also made me laugh to realize that, for all the\nefforts of the characters hunting down the alien lifeform, they could have all\nstayed home and nothing different would have occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a really enjoyable B-movie for those who appreciate\nendearingly cheesy cinema. The picture quality is exceptional on this release.\nIt looks really sharp and clear, with only a minor scratch or two (that has\nlikely always been on the source material) appearing across the entire feature.\nIt\u2019s a great transfer and the extras are also good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a film historian commentary track that is very\ninformative and gives a lot of background information about the production, the\ncast and the producer. Indeed, the speaker informs viewers that, for some\nstrange reason, The Crawling Hand<\/em> has really made a lasting impression\non audiences (more so than the other title on the disc). They both did well at\nthe box office, playing together for several years, but this effort also ended\nup being aired a lot on TV (during this commentary, the historian even plays a\nradio commercial for its broadcast in Chicago on Svengoolie<\/em>). The\nauthority goes on to try to explain why people still remember it fondly and dos\nan excellent job of expressing its appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, there is a featurette about mid-century\nscience-fiction films. This is the only element of this Blu-ray release that is\nlacking and bothered me. It\u2019s quite short (less than five minutes) and generic\nin its explanation of the appeal of these kinds of features. And, at the end\ncredits, sharp-eyed viewers will note that it was generated entirely with AI.\nHeck, you guys should have just sent a message my way and I would have been\nhappy to narrate and give my impressions on drive-in sci-fi monster movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Slime People<\/em> is the second title on the set, and\nit isn\u2019t as strong as the first title, but does make an impression with its\nunique, lumbering monsters from underground. The film begins with pilot Tom\nGregory (Robert Hutton) landing in Los Angeles with engine trouble and finding\nthe metropolis completely deserted. The city is encased in an inescapable cloud\nof fog and it is soon revealed that subterranean, spear-brandishing, bipedal\nreptile-creatures have risen to attack after being disturbed by underground\natomic tests. Tom encounters science-authority Professor Galbraith (Robert\nBurton), his daughter Lisa (Susan Hart), her younger sister Bonnie (Judee\nMorton) and a marine (Les Tremayne). They all try to find a way out and stop\nthe monsters while they are being pursued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are some fun moments here as well, as the group take\nrefuge in a Los Angeles movie theater (where a pair of drunks seeking refuge\nalso attack them), a television studio, and a butcher shop. The latter bit,\nwith the characters running down a street and taking refuge in the building,\nmight remind viewers of The Mist<\/em> from Stephen King. It\u2019s all absurd. The\nmonsters are original and look interesting, but those suits are rather bulky\nand much of the film involves a lot of struggling and pushing the creatures\ndown. There is also an odd segment in which Bonnie ends up being kidnapped by\nthe creatures, and all of the protagonists, including her immediate family,\ndon\u2019t really seem as panicked as they should be given the circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This one isn\u2019t as effective, but certainly features enough\nover-the-top material to make it worth watching. The image restoration is also\nvery clear on this disc, but not quite as impressive as the previous title.\nIt\u2019s all because several sections of the film feature heavy fog. Some sequences\nlook great and anything without mist is wonderful, but a few of the foggy ones\nhave a pixilated and blocky appearance. At least, for the most part, most of it\nlooks great and this is a strong upgrade over previous titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bonuses include an excellent audio interview with a film\nhistorian and co-star Susan Hart (she later appeared in Ghost in the\nInvisible Bikini, Pajama Party, Ride the Wild Surf, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini\nMachine<\/em>). She discusses being cast in the film and her excitement working\nwith Robert Hutton, who had been in a lot of pictures in the 1940s and early\n50s. She notes her surprise when she realized he was also directing the movie\n(it was his lone effort behind the camera, and she suggests that he realized\nthat this position didn\u2019t suit him, but that he was kind and determined to have\na good time making it regardless). There is also a recollection shared that\nwhile everyone got on well, co-star Morton did not like her co-star Tremayne,\nwhom she referred to as a bit arrogant and self-obsessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hart also discussed seeing the picture for the first time\nwith her brother, and how he helped her cope with the unusual experience. The\nactress goes into how unsettling it is to see yourself projected on a giant\nscreen and how hyper-critical you are about yourself. She notes that she looked\nlike she was trying to act in the picture, and that she at least took away the\nidea of trying to be more authentic and naturalistic in future roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disc also contains a nifty poster gallery with some great images. And the sleeve for the disc is reversible. Early editions also comes packaged in a nice slipcover, although it lists the official title as Creepy Creature Double Feature\u00a0<\/em>(and not Creepy-Creatures Double-Feature).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a B-movie enthusiast, I had a lot of fun revisiting The\nCrawling Hand<\/em> and The Slime People<\/em> in the Creepy-Creature\nDouble-Feature<\/em> Blu-ray. While I have noted a couple of caveats about the\nrelease, these are fun movies from a different era that offer a few memorable,\nstandout moments and the disc provides a much stronger picture (definitely in\nthe case of The Crawling Hand<\/em>). Fans of these titles should pick it up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray from VCI Entertainment is available for purchase on April 21st, 2026. If you\u2019re like me, you grew up watching and enjoying low-budget drive-in features. Admittedly, I didn\u2019t actually see a great many at the drive-in, but rather on late-night television and video. Many of these titles are what you might call flawed but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[93,2125,2939,3073,4903,4904,4905,5910,6292,14198,17776,20355,20356,20357,22228,22229,22230,23692],"class_list":["post-33342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-93","tag-b-movies","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-creepy-creature-double-feature","tag-creepy-creatures-double-feature-review","tag-creepy-creatures-double-feature","tag-disc-review","tag-drive-in","tag-monster-movies","tag-science-fiction-2","tag-the-crawling-hand","tag-the-crawling-hand-blu-ray-review","tag-the-crawling-hand-review","tag-the-slime-people","tag-the-slime-people-blu-ray-review","tag-the-slime-people-review","tag-vci-entertainment"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}