31 Days of Horror: Day 3 - Octaman (1971)

 

I’m a sucker for man-in-a-rubber-suit creature features, and tonight “Octaman” reminded me why.

 

The action begins when scientists studying the effects of nuclear contamination on the Amazon discover what they claim are mutated octopuses.  It’s unclear how they know the octopuses are mutated because they look just like rubber octopuses to me.  However, research on a few specimens they take confirms that the octopuses have human cells.  Before long, Octaman comes looking for them. 

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, he’s part man, part Octopus, and all terror.  He walks on two legs, and smacks people around with his many limbs like an eight-armed professional wrestler, but he prefers squeezing them to death.  He has large red eyes, and several shots from his perspective enable us to experience Octavision.  Surprisingly, the eyes actually move.  Unfortunately, the same isn’t true of his mouth.  It remains perpetually open revealing sharp teeth that never have the opportunity to tear open human flesh. 

Two common complaints I have about creature features are that it takes too long for the creature to appear and when it does I don’t get to see it enough.  Neither of these is a problem in “Octaman.”  He makes his first appearance less than ten minutes into the movie, and we never have to wait more than a few minutes to see him again.  The rubber suit must have consumed most of the movie’s budget, and writer/director Harry Essex ensured it was money well spent. 

A few scenes feature the scientists trying to explain the existence of Octaman, but Essex doesn’t waste much time having characters talk about the creature.  He knows we’d much rather see it lumbering around in pursuit of its prey.  He was also sure to include the obligatory scene of the creature carrying away a woman, albeit clad in jeans and a sweater rather than a bikini.

Like his distant cousin in "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," Octaman falls for the woman and this ultimately leads to his downfall, but not before we're treated to a chase scene in which he outsmarts his pursuers by leading them into a cave and then hiding out in their trailer.  If you have any appreciation at all for creature features, "Octaman" will keep you entertained for an hour and twenty minutes.