The Monster of Piedras Blancas Is A Decapitating 1959 Cult Classic

I recently wrote about the 5 horror movies I watched as a kid that stayed with me into adulthood. I cannot believe I forgot to include The Monster of Piedras Blancas. My childhood bedroom had sliding closet doors. I could not sleep without them pressed closed. If there was even a small space between them, some figment of my nightmare would come out and slaughter me. The monster of Piedras Blancas ranked high on the list of usual suspects because of its tendency to rip victims’ heads off. After many years, I decided it was time to revisit this blast from the past.

Story

The Monster of Piedras Blancas takes place in the seaside town of Piedras Blancas, California. The town experiences a slate of gruesome killings with victims decapitated and drained of blood. Constable Matson and Dr. Jorgenson’s investigation of the incidents leads them to local stories of a monster living in the caves near the town’s lighthouse. Unfortunately, Sturges, the lighthouse keeper is unconscious from an apparent accident and unable to provide any insight. The doc’s examination of clues left by the killer lends some credence to the story. A search of the sea caves uncovers a stash of severed heads belonging to the murdered townspeople. The killings extend into the heart of the town, including the beheading of a young girl.

Sturges recovers and confesses knowing of the creature to his daughter, Lucy. He had been feeding it fish and raw meat for years, hoping to keep it away from the town. With its food source disrupted, it ventured out to hunt. Now that it has tasted human blood, it will not stop.

The final showdown with the creature takes place at the lighthouse where it all began. Sturges dies defending Lucy from the monster, thrown from the lighthouse’s peak. The monster soon suffers the same fate at the hands of Lucy’s boyfriend, Fred.

Production

Released in 1959, The Monster of Piedras Blancas grossed $110,000 at the box office on a budget of $29,000, making it a modest box office success. Haile Chace wrote the scrip and Irvin Berwick directed. Irvin would direct other B-movies such as Hitch Hike to Hell (1977) and Malibu High (1979). Jack Kevan was the movie’s producer and created the special effects.

Kevan employed some guerilla filmmaking during production. When the Coast Guard denied his request to shoot inside the Point Conception lighthouse, he spent a night drinking with the lighthouse guard. This allowed the crew and actors to slip inside and shoot the needed scenes. The rest of filming was completed at Cayucos, a town located 30 miles south of the actual Piedras Blancas. Filming at a real coastal location instead of backlots and sound stages added depth to the movie’s atmosphere and a degree of authenticity to the story.

The monster stands out as the most enduring aspect of the movie. Kevan designed the monster and any resemblance with the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) may not be surprising as he worked on the classic film. To save money, the costume included elements from other movies. The claws belonged to The Mole People (1956) and the feet to the Metaluna Mutant in This Island Earth (1955). Making the suit out of foam rubber and latex gave it a high level of detail, but not without costs. Pete Dunn who played the monster could only wear it ten minutes at a time and was replaced in the last days of filming after suffering from heat exhaustion.

Fun note: Pete also played townsperson Eddie, so when Eddie was killed, Pete carried his own severed head cast out of the meat cooler.

Cast

Pete Dunn (The Monster, Eddie) – Pete appeared in small and uncredited roles through the 60s and 70s, including Gunsmoke (1964), Bonanza (1965), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972).

Les Tremayne (Dr. Sam Jorgenson) – Les’s impressive career spanned five decades of film and television. His classic sci-fi appearances included The War of The Worlds (1953), The Monolith Monsters (1957), and uncredited voice roles in Forbidden Planet (1956), and King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963).

Forrest Lewis (Constable George Matson) – Forrest performed numerous bit roles during the 50s and 60s, including spots on Dragnet (1952), The Loretta Young Show (1954), and Dennis the Menace (1960).

John Harmon (Sturges) – John was a well-known television actor who appeared on Star Trek (1967), I Dream Of Jeannie (1968), and Land of the Giants (1969), to name a very few.

Jeanne Carmen (Lucy) – Jeanne was a dancer, hung out with Las Vegas mobster Johnny Roselli, and made good money as a trick shot golf hustler being heading to Hollywood. Her television and film roles included Have Gun Will Travel (1959), The Devil’s Hand (1961) and the George Michael’s music video “Outside” (1998).

That’s A Wrap

The Monster of Piedras Blancas is not a great movie, but it holds a special place in my heart reserved for creature features. It is currently streaming for free on Tubi. Nuke up some popcorn and check it out.