The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews Blu-ray review

Sep 20, 2023- Permalink

Film Masters, founded by Phil Hopkins, is a new boutique label whose mission is the preservation and restoration of film. The Giant Gila Monster (and its companion release, The Killer Shrews) are the type of low budget films that were perfect for drive-ins or those late night horror shows on your local TV station hosted by some familiar personality in the community. Many of these films are in danger of being lost to the sands of time, but seeing Film Masters lovingly restore them and give them the full bonus materials treatment is a heartening example of preservation work. I had a chance to look at The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews.

Both of the films were directed by Ray Kellogg and produced back-to-back. The Giant Gila Monster follows Chase Winstead (Don Sullivan), a hot rod-obsessed teen who works as a mechanic to support his family. When the town is threatened by a giant lizard, the local sheriff (Fred Graham) knows he has to stop it before it kills again. Can our teen hero help him save the day? Will the sock hop be threatened?

The Killer Shrews stars James Best as Captain Thorne Sherman, who is tasked with dropping supplies off to a remote island where Dr. Marlowe Craigis (Baruch Lumet) has been conducting experiments on shrews. When a hurricane threatens the island, the Captain finds himself trapped there. Did I mention the shrews have escaped and that they’re aggressive, the size of dogs, and poisonous? The cast also includes co-producers Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon and Ingrid Goude, who was Sweden’s entry in the 1956 Miss Universe pageant. James Best would later go on to play Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazzard.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfers of both films are presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, while a 1.33:1 aspect ratio is also provided to give you that late night pre-widescreen TV experience. Both films have a pleasing grain and a good amount of detail. The Giant Gila Monster is from a 4K scan of the 35mm source materials and the black levels are nice and deep. The Killer Shrews is listed as coming from a restored HD print and is much darker in some scenes. While The Giant Gila Monster used an actual lizard on miniature sets, The Killer Shrews used puppets and dogs in costumes for the title characters, so the extra darkness was an artistic choice to help “hide” the talent.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The mono tracks service the dialogue and music well. I only noticed some occasional minor crackling in The Killer Shrews track.

The 2-disc Blu-ray set also features a 24-page booklet that has photos, posters and two essays by Don Stradley and Jason A. Ney. The Giant Gila Monster includes a trailer, a lengthy interview with Don Sullivan and audio commentary by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan and Matt Weinhold from The Monster Party Podcast. The Killer Shrews extras include an audio commentary by author Jason A. Ney, a featurette on director Ray Kellogg narrated by Larry Blamire and produced by Daniel Griffith’s Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, as well as radio spots for both films.

Film Masters debut offering preserves two drive-in / late night classics and helps provide historical context to the two films. Lovingly presented, this The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews Blu-ray double bill is recommend for fans of the genre or anyone who loves to see the preservation of a wide range of films.