The Giant Gila Monster With Bonus Film, The Killer Shrews [Blu-ray]

The Giant Gila Monster With Bonus Film The Killer Shrews Blu-ray brings together two quintessential drive-in creature features from the tail end of the 1950s monster boom. Originally released as a theatrical double bill, these no-budget cult favorites from producer Gordon McLendon capture the pure, scrappy spirit of regional horror cinema made to thrill teenage audiences under the open sky.

In The Giant Gila Monster, a small Texas town is terrorized by an outsized desert lizard, complete with hot rods, sock-hop energy, and rock n roll performances by star Don Sullivan. The Killer Shrews shifts the menace to a storm-lashed island where a riverboat pilot and stranded guests face mutated shrews the size of dogs, blending creature thrills with isolation-driven suspense. Together, the films form a perfect snapshot of late-1950s drive-in excess and ingenuity.

Presented by Film Masters, this Blu-ray edition features new restorations of both films, multiple aspect ratio presentations, and a strong slate of commentaries and archival extras that contextualize their place in genre history.

directed by: Ray Kellogg
starring: Don Sullivan, James Best, Ken Curtis, Ingrid Goude
1959 / 74 min (combined) / English

Number of discs: 2
Audio: English stereo