Dear Traumameisters: I don't scare easy. Most horror stuff bores me or makes me laugh. Even back in the day. But there was this one thing on TV… Don't ask me what the show or movie was. I googled and found a couple old movies from the '50s, one by Corman, about octopi that went postal. But all they did was get big and beat on stuff. This was different. I was no more than ten, probably, which puts this event in the late '60s. Broad daylight, some black-and-white movie or show is on.
SCENE: Underwater. Several divers confront a big octopus. Octopus TALKS! Something like "What the hell are you doing in my domain?" or "I rule your sh%t!" Octopus points a tentacle at one diver and shoots LIGHTNING! The man melts to a sizzling skeleton before my unbelieving eyes. Graphic detail. Smoke coming out of eye sockets, if I remember correctly. Octopus says something like "See what happens when you F with me?" All I can tell you is that I went ape and begged my mother to change the channel and make that nightmare go away. I have never seen anything scarier, except maybe ALIEN. Good thing I was 20 when that came out. If I had seen ALIEN when I was ten, I would probably have put out my eyes.
UNKLE L. SEZ: I am stumped to say the least. Does anyone out there have any idea what our pal Tom is talking about? Is he insane? Is he trying to drive me crazy? Is it a waking nightmare or reality that he has witnessed? Please help Tom. I know I can't!
KINDER UPDATE: Our Genius reader Grokenstein solved the mystery!!! The movie has got to be ATOMIC SUBMARINE (1959)! The movie is in black and white and features a squid like underwater alien that shoots lightening and smoke, all while talking smack to his prey. In fact, some believe that the one eyed bully may have been an inspiration for the aliens KANG and KODOS from THE SIMPSONS! Thanks Grok, for being the smartest guy in town and I think I owe our pal Tom an apology for implying that he had lost his marbles!!!! Get ready folks here is a picture of the dreaded creature!!!!
Holy Mackerel ! He kinda looks like this guy:
All I know is this: I was drinking water while I read his post and it almost shot out of my nose when I read the quotes the octopus ALLEGEDLY said. Too f*****' funny!
If this movie is real and not the result of Tom drinking too much cough syrup as a child, then I do have to see it! It sounds like it may be the best movie ever made and there just aren't enough good roles for octopi these days. I think the last really good octopus performance was in POPEYE.
I'm betting it's The Atomic Submarine. From the Stomp Tokyo review (with pics):
As 50's sci-fi monsters go, this one is pretty goddam cool: unlike most of its filmic ilk, it is determinedly unhumanoid Рwe're talking about tentacles, a long hairy stalk of a neck, and a single hairy eyeball atop that stalk. Seems Sir Ian knew what he was doing when he named the enemy the Cyclops (him being a science professor and all). The alien apparently hails from the Clich̩ Galaxy, as his mission is to find suitable worlds for conquest, and Earth is predictably the coolest planet he's found. Red Shirt takes a few shots at Popeye, and gets microwaved for his troubles. This Evil Eyeball tells Reef that he, and a few other Earthlings, will accompany it back to its home planet as Test Subjects.