Directed by Darin Wood
Review by David Carter

Released by Trash Film Orgy
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Color format: Color
Audio/Subtitles: 2.0 English
Region Code: 1, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
16:9 Enhanced: No
Special Features: None
Trailer Online: Yes

Short Version: Go-go dancing horror throwback

A giant green sea monster is eating the scantily clad partiers that flock to Bikini Beach in Cameroville. The creature devours everyone in his path but takes the time to pull the tops off of women before he begins feeding. The local authorities think the murders are the work of a serial killer much to the consternation of tabloid reporter Scoops, who tells anyone who will listen about the semi-aquatic menace. He’s able to convince reporter Roxy that his theory is at least somewhat plausible and the pair sets out to gather information on the creature. The police are otherwise occupied during this time, particularly the lead on the case Det. Sammy. Sammy has gotten himself into a bit of trouble with the local mob and is looking to make some quick cash to head out of town. When he hears that a huge stash of drugs has gone missing, he devotes all his energy into finding it before the mob does. Unknown to everyone, the drugs have made their way to the monster’s lair and all the parties end up on the hunt together. Too bad the monster has other ideas – ones that involve an all-night go-go competition and all of the tasty victims he’ll find.

MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH is from the genre of insta-cult films; movies that try to become cult films by design rather than by chance, as is the usual. Much of the film is cheesy but intentionally so. This makes it difficult to judge the merit of the film itself – telling the difference between the intentional and unintentional shortcomings of the film is nearly impossible. Much of the cheesiness in MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH is well done and entertaining. The interplay between Roxy and Scoops, the acting high-water mark for the film, is nicely done and feels natural. Compare their interaction to the usually stilted and flat dialogue in most low budget horror movies and you’ll find that this pair is miles ahead of the competition. They eventually fall in love with each other and even though you’ll see it coming from a mile away it manages not to feel silly or unnecessary.

Also well done are the occasional gore scenes. While the film is a little short on horror – more on that momentarily – the head-smashings and gut-rippings are nicely executed. Like the acting, the gore effects are a bit above par and are portrayed seriously most of the time rather than for comic effect. The monster costume is done for comic effect, however; it’s a joke but at least it’s a funny one. Fans of man-in-suit monsters will get a kick out of the Bikini Beach behemoth.

When MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH falters it does so to a distracting degree. As hinted above, a good chunk of the film is dedicated to Det. Sammy rather than to much more entertaining subject of the monster and his love of half-naked women. Sammy’s story is told in a psuedo-noir style which fails to be entertaining regardless of whether it was intended as a spoof or not. These scenes drag on and have little payoff, particularly considering this is a film most viewers will be expecting to be a light-hearted horror-comedy.

These parts of the film excluded, most of MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH is pretty fun. There are lots of go-go dancing sequences that thankfully don’t overstay their welcome as they have in other films. MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH has a handful of amusing moments spread out evenly enough in the film as to hold your interest throughout. Again, it’s intentionally cheesy in the Troma style, so if that’s not your thing you probably won’t find much to like here. I see a lot of this type of film and I found it to be pretty entertaining despite not particularly enjoying this genre, so you might want to give it a chance regardless. No Amazon.com link for this one; if you want a copy you'll need to visit the Trash Cinema Orgy page by clicking the trailer link.