DVD REVIEW: CALTIKI THE IMMORTAL MONSTER

Shane | 29 September 2017 | Reply

DVD REVIEW: CALTIKI THE IMMORTAL MONSTER
ARROW VIDEO
April 2017
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7/10

An almost-lost classic of B-movie schlocky goodness, Caltiki The Immortal Monster was made in 1959 by Italian cult legends Riccardo Freda and Mario Brava, and is finally getting a long-overdue remaster.

Definitely a curio amongst monster movies, Caltiki… centres upon an Italian scientific expedition to Mexico, where they discover treasure deep inside a subterranean lake. A diver is sent to retrieve the gold and jewels, only to encounter the first life on Earth – risen again: Caltiki!

Starring John Merivale as Professor John Fielding, Didi Sullivan as his wife Ellen and Gérard Herter and Max Gunther, Caltiki isn’t the best acted film of any generation by a long shot, but in the tradition of Hammer Horror films, they do a lot with not very much, and the blobs that are the ever-splitting Caltiki are at least as exciting and scary as the better Doctor Who monsters from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

The real appeal in Caltiki is to see Freda and Brava’s innovation when faced with a basic story and a microscopic budget. They borrow ideas from the likes of cult UK favourite Quatermass, and cobble together a film that is almost gripping in spite of itself.

Extras include an interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi about the genesis of Caltiki, a discussion of the connection between Quatermass and Caltiki with author and critic Kim Newman, an archival interview with Stefano Della Casa about Riccardo Freda, and two alternate audio commentaries.