User blog:ShawnCognitionCP/Shocktober: The Phantom from 10,000 leagues

Hello, Creepypasta Wiki community, and welcome to Shocktober. We will be stepping away from the modern horror for a short while, and will instead be focusing on a movie from the 50's today. You may have heard of it, you may have not, but it certainly belongs. Today, it's The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues.



Released in 1955, this black and white science fiction horror film was made with a budget of approximately 75,000$ USD, and was released in theaters as a double feature with another film, The Day the World Ended, and earned nearly 500,000$ USD within two months as a result.

Directed by Dan Milner, I found myself unable to find any more information on him. I did find that this film was released/created under the American International Pictures, whom had a strong liking for b-movies, yet information of the exact director is sparse.

The plot focuses on Ted Baxter, whom is attempting to get a small sample of some sort of radioactive rock. After being attacked by the monster of the film, he finds his way to the beach. Coming back later with another biologist, William Grant, they meet a man called Dr. King. Together, they must survive the monster's assaults, and find out the origins of the beast.

The effects are what you would expect. A man in a suit as the monster, underwater cameras to imitate swimming, et cetera. Over all, they pull through for the age of the movie, and capture the interest of the viewer.

The film, like most other films from this decade, touches on nuclear radiation and the result of animal testing, speaking about monsters and other terrors created by man. Though the surface is cloudy, the topics are quite deep once you dive into the waters.

The acting and directing is pretty good, with only a few flaws. Sometimes the film does seem a bit wonky, and the b-movie magic certainly shows in some portions, but the rest overcomes this.

I should point out, suspense is a major point of this film. If you are easily bored, this is not the film for you. You have to invest yourself into it.

Over all, this film is another b-movie from the golden age of low budgets, that capitalizes on the b-movie category very well. It does succeed in what it wanted to do, and for that, I recommend it.