Review by Gary Tooze

NOTE: Screenbound DVD added - March 2016: Just a short note, yes the Anolis Blu-ray seems like it is out-of-print. We had some interest in this title by the UK distributor since our reviews of their The Atomic Submarine and Monster on the Campus. The new Screenbound SD is 1.33:1, single-layered, PAL, and only has a trailer as an extra. It's image is a shade weaker than the Universal SD - but quite comparable. Nice cover, too.

Theatrical: Universal International Pictures (UI)

Video: i-catcher Media (Anolis Film Entertainment)

• Advertising Gallery (7:45)
• German Trailer (2:03)
• English Trailer (2:02)
• Poster and Stills Gallery (1:49)

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Description: In some ways, the coming-attractions trailer for The Monolith Monsters is more exciting than the picture itself. The plot gets under way when a meteor crashes in the desert, leaving behind huge black chunks. While being analyzed in a science lab, the crystaline stones are accidentally drenched with water, whereupon they begin to grow to gargantuan dimensions. In a twinkling, these monster monoliths are running amok, "petrifying" whomever and whatever gets in their way. A sudden rainstorm further exacerbates the situation, causing the monoliths to grow to hitherto unimagined heights. Can the world be saved by the saline solution which the scientists are hurriedly developed in the lab? The notion of killer rocks was certainly a novelty: it would have been nice if Monolith Monsters had consistently lived up to the promise of its premise.

 

 

The only movie about killer rocks you'll ever see. It's hard to believe such a story pitch was ever greenlighted, and just as unbelievable to see that it actually works. Concept is similar to that of J.G. Ballard's creepy novel 'The Crystal World', and execution follows the pattern of other more well-known genre films of the time: it has an ominous opening narration (usually a prerequisite for these films); a desert setting (always popular, since this gives the monster more time to roam about killing wayfarers before it reaches the already-alerted community nearby); a hero who works for the government with some military/scientific background; his girlfriend (subject for possible paper: Why are the leading couples never married in 1950s SF/horror films?); a quasi-scientific rationale for the monster's creation; and a race against time to find a means of defeating the invading creature.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

Audio :

Not much - a couple of slideshow galleries and two trailers. I'm sure there is something to be said about the film - but it we have to suffice with the interesting 'Advertising', 'Posters' + 'Stills' images.

BOTTOM LINE:
If I don't say it enough, I'm a huge fan of the 50's science-fiction films. This has some Jack Arnold hokiness and cheese but that only adds to my appreciation.  While this isn't a creature-feature per-se it does have extraterrestrial meteorite fragments that expand and kill - so it gets honorary status, IMO. Not only does The Monolith Monsters have Grant Williams - notable for sword fighting spiders in The Incredible Shrinking Man, but the same "California Medical Research Institute" is cited in both films! <chuckle>.  I love the tight widescreen ratio on the Blu-ray, and I loved seeing the film again. Granted this is not a polished feature but it is part of one of my favorite genre-periods and I'm very pleased to own it in the higher resolution.