Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)

Director: Bernard L. Kowalski

Writer: Leo Gordon

Composer: Alexander Laszlo

Starring: Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Jan Shepard, Michael Emmet, Tyler McVey, Bruno VeSota, Gene Roth, Dan White, George Cisar, Guy Buccola, Joseph Hamilton, Walter Kelley, Ross Sturlin

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Massive Blood Sucking Monsters!

Plot: After local-moonshine swilling trapper Lem Sawyer sees a giant creature, people start disappearing. While searching for illegal traps Steve Benton and Nan Greyson, his girl-friend find Lem dying with giant sucker wounds on his body. One couple Liz Walker and Cal Moulton, forced into the water by her enraged husband Dave Walker, gets taken by the leeches. When police refuse to believe Dave's story, he hangs himself. Soon after this, 2 more trappers disappear, the local Game Warden Steve Benton gets involved. He and Nan's father Dr Greyson realize that the people were taken by the leeches and the leeches live in caves under the swamp. Using dynamite, the 4 missing bodies are discovered and the leeches are destroyed.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

Are these the giant leeches they're talking about?

Who'd 'a thought you'd get to see nads in a cheesy low budget horror movie like this?  Sure, you'd expect them displayed in a big time Hollywood period drama but not here.  This is a fun flick to watch with a crowd and by the time you think you might get bored, the hour has run out and you're done.  The acting and everything else is what you'd expect for a picture of this calibre.  The good guys go up against dudes in rubber leech suits, save the gals and kill the monsters.  I like the swamp location shooting and the underwater cave lair where the giant leeches store the meat.  The film makers get lots of points for even going there and making an underwater pantry for the added thrills.  The picture plays out exactly like you think it's going to so there aren't any surprises but it's still a fun watch and shouldn't be overlooked for fans of the genre.  It's also in the public domain so finding the film to watch online should be a snap.