The Horror of Party Beach (1964)

"It's the voodoo, I tells ya!", 1 April 2007

When radioactive waste is dumped in the ocean, the consequences prove deadly. The waste animates a few long dead corpses at the bottom of the sea and mutates them into "fish monsters" with a taste for human blood. In no time at all, Party Beach becomes Death Beach.

Trying to decide the worst aspect of The Horror of Party Beach is a daunting task. It's a laundry list of "badness":

1. The nonsensical plot. I realize that this kind of movie often has a few plot holes, but this is ridiculous. For example, exactly how many bodies are at the bottom of the ocean where the radioactive waste was dumped? And how did they get there? No one seems the least bit concerned that there appears to be a graveyard just offshore.

2. The creature effects. There are a lot of candidates for the worst monster effects in the history of movies. Some claim it's the Eye Creaures or the Giant Leeches or the Creeping Terror or the Killer Shrews. But the "fish monsters" in The Horror of Party Beach give any of these a run for their money. They look like large paper-mache hats worn by people in silly looking costumes. There is absolutely no animation or life to the heads at all. And what's with the mouthful of hot-dogs? What is that supposed to be?

3. The acting. The acting in The Horror of Party Beach is horrendous. And I'm talking Ed Wood/Ray Dennis Steckler/Al Adamson bad. I'm not at all shocked to see that most of these people (I refuse to call them actors) ever did much other than their work for director Del Tenney.

4. Del Tenney. The direction in The Horror of Party Beach can best be described as amateurish. There's no flow or pace to any of the movie. Everything comes across as "staged". And Tenney's use of closeups of the monster is pointless as the viewer has no idea what they're looking at. The fact that Tenney directed four movies is a minor miracle in itself. Who was financing this guy?

I could go on and on, but there's really no point. The movie is as bad as they come. The only reason I haven't rated it lower is, of all things, The Del-Tones. Yes, that annoying little band that plays on the beach during the movies opening scenes. While they may not be the best band you'll ever hear, they do give the film a little energy and the appropriate feel. Unfortunately, it's too short lived and we're left with the rest of Tenney's disaster.

2/10