The Monster That Challenged the World

Well, my first two movies this year were beachy,  so I decided to keep with that theme, so tonight I went with a little twist:  it's an inland beach on a salt lake- California's Salton Sea.

Honestly, the story is secondary to me for that.  I mean, yeah, killer mollusks are pretty cool.  And yes, it's nifty having Disney's Captain Hook, Hans Conreid, play the wise older scientist. (Seriously, in my head, I'm hearing him scream at a boy in an elfsuit).

And as a kid, watching this on a weekend creature feature, one of the monsters got a spear through it's eye and that was...impressive.

The monster is hunted by the Navy, who had a base on the sea til 1978.

But their trips off base, to the vacation destination to close the beach, was what really got me as an adult.

Because of agricultural run-off, the lake became... post-apoclayptic.  Algal bloom, fish die offs, things became unpleasant.  Life on the shores ceased to be as vacationy and things went to Hell in a handbasket.

This movie provides a snapshot of "before".  KQED produced a fascinating documentary, narrated by director John Waters. 

KQED has made available online- enjoy!