Sting of Death is a 1966 sci-fi horror film about a deformed man working for a marine biologist who takes revenge on the people that mock him by experimenting with a deadly jellyfish.
The movie was directed by South Florida maverick filmmaker William Grefé (Stanley, Impulse) from a screenplay written by Al Dempsey and actor William Kerwin (Playgirl Killer; Love Goddesses of Blood Island).
The movie stars Joe Morrison, Valerie Hawkins, John Vella and Jack Nagle (Mako: The Jaws of Death).
Sting of Death was released on 17 October 1966 on the drive-in circuit by regional distributor Thunderbird Pictures on a double-bill with Grefé’s torpid Death Curse of Tartu.
Plot:
In the Florida Everglades, marine biologist Doctor Richardson and his two aides, John Hoyt and Egon, are conducting experiments with Portuguese men-of-war.
Unknown to his associates, Egon, who suffers from a persecution complex because of his horribly disfigured face, has built an underwater cave laboratory in the hope that secrets learned from his studies of the Portuguese men-of-war might help to erase the scars that are driving him to madness.
Shortly after the arrival of Richardson’s daughter, Karen, and four of her college friends, Egon’s tests produce disastrous results, and he is transformed into a vengeful half-human, half Portuguese man-of-war.
Because he has learned to communicate with the men-of-war, he amasses a host of them and systematically attacks boats and their passengers; and he murders all the students except Karen, whom he loves. Eventually, he kidnaps Karen and takes her to his underwater laboratory…
“One of the most memorable scenes in this film is without a doubt the infamous ‘Jellyfish dance’ sequence with the extremely funky song by Neil Sedaka. For almost five minutes all the kids are dancing to this hilarious tune and Grefe keeps giving us close-ups of the girls doing their butt shaking. Beautiful! The horribly bad jellyfish effect, mostly made out of a diving suit and inflated plastic bags, just adds to the cheesy goodness of this film.” Repulsive Cinema
“The idea of a jellyfish man is so ludicrous that it’s hard to believe someone actually invested money in the idea, and it would have been ridiculous even had the monster costume involved been better. The costume, which consists of flippers, a wet suit, some mangy hanging stingers and a colored plastic bag over the actor’s head, looks like a kid’s Halloween costume.” Horror Digital
“Acting (especially timing) is amusingly awful and the script has lines like “I had to kill them – they were no good for you!”. A naked blonde can be glimpsed through a translucent shower door. Very few lulls and much better than Grefé’s next film, Death Curse of Tartu.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers book
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“The best thing is the Everglades footage, which gives the film a nice setting. On the downside, most of the scenes go on too long, and the conflicts that drive the story are labored and overdone, particularly the way everyone overreacts when they meet the deformed handyman. The costume of the creature is more apt to net laughs than to inspire terror…” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
DVD includes audio commentaries on both films by director William Grefé, plus cheesecake gore pic Love Goddesses of Blood Island
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Filming locations:
Rainbow Springs State Park, Dunnellon, Florida
Trailer:
The film features the Neil Sedaka song ‘Do the Jellyfish’:
Free on YouTube [1080p HD]:
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