THE MONOLITH MONSTERS is one of my favorite ‘monster’ movies from the 1950s. I put monster in quotes because the film doesn’t sport the usual kind of beast or killer expected from a science fiction thriller from the period. Here the menace is a black rock like substance that crashes to earth as a meteorite. At first harmless, once the stuff comes in contact with water it grows out of control crushing or killing everything in its path. In a way its a little like THE BLOB except I really like this film a lot more. Well produced, well acted and quickly paced the film also has some great miniature special effects. The shots of the black crystal spires rising into the sky only to crack and fall across the landscape are wonderful and look great in the crisp black & white photography. The movie generates some great tension as the deadly moisture draining mass inches closer and closer to the small desert town in its path.
I suspect one of the reasons THE MONOLITH MONSTERS is very little seen is that there are no big names in the cast- not even a John Agar or Richard Carlson. If you’re a fan of good 50s science fiction this is one to try. It’s not nearly as well known as others of the period but it is an effective stand out SF entry.
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