‘Crawling horror… rising from the depths of Hell… to kill and conquer!’
Attack of the Giant Leeches is a 1959 sci-fi horror film about a game warden and a doctor who suspect giant leeches are responsible for deaths in a local swamp. However, the local police don’t believe them.
The movie was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski (Night of the Blood Beast; Sssssss) from a screenplay written by Leo Gordon.
The movie was produced by Gene Corman and uncredited executive producer Roger Corman and released by American International Pictures (AIP). Also released as Attack of the Blood Leeches, Demons of the Swamp, She Demons of the Swamp and The Giant Leeches.
The movie stars Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers (Evil Spirits; The Dead Don’t Die; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), Jan Shepard, Michael Emmet, Tyler McVey, Bruno VeSota, Gene Roth, Dan White, George Cisar, Guy Buccola, Joseph Hamilton, Walter Kelley and Ross Sturlin.
The soundtrack score was composed by Alexander Laszlo (The Atomic Submarine; Beast from Haunted Cave; Night of the Blood Beast; The Amazing Mr X).
A loose remake, also titled Attack of the Giant Leeches, was directed by Brett Kelly (Ouija Shark; Ghastlies; My Fair Zombie; Raiders of the Lost Shark) in 2008.
Plot:
In the Florida Everglades, a pair of larger-than-human, intelligent leeches live in an underwater cave. They begin dragging locals down to their cave, where they slowly feed on them, draining their victims of blood. Two of the first victims of the leeches are local vixen Liz Walker (Yvette Vickers), who has been cheating on her husband (Bruno VeSota), and Liz’s latest paramour.
Game warden Steve Benton (Ken Clark) sets out to investigate their disappearance. Aided by his girlfriend, Nan Grayson (Jan Shepard), and her father, Doc Grayson, Benton discovers the leeches’ underwater cavern. The creatures are destroyed when Steve, Doc and several state troopers blow up their underwater cavern using dynamite.
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Choice dialogue:
Dave Walker: “Someday I’m gonna give that a whappin’ she’s been askin’ for.”
Filming locations (shot over eight days):
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden – 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California (swamp)
Chaplin Studios – 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (studio)
Studio City, Los Angeles, California (underwater scenes; shot at a private home)
Technical specs:
1 hour 2 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Audio: Mono
Related:
Trailer:
Free online on YouTube [4K HD]:
Tom Weaver’s audio commmentary:
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