Coleen Gray

Grant Williams

Phillip Terry

Gloria Talbott

John van Dreelen

Estelle Hemsley

Kim Hamilton

Arthur Batanides

Edward Dein

Milton Carruth

Ben Pivar

Francis Rosenwald

Joseph Gershenson

Ellis W. Carter

Bill Thomas

Alexander Golitzen

Hans J. Salter

Irving Gertz

Robert Clatworthy

David Duncan

Henry Vars

Horror

Science Fiction

The Leech Woman

Universal International Pictures

United States of America

Old women always give me the creeps!

What do you expect from a film called The Leech Woman? It is by definition one of those sci-fi "B" movies strung together as a support feature that played whilst theatre patrons were still necking, chatting and eating etc.

Plot follows in the tradition of something like The Wasp Woman (1959), that plays on the theme of a woman striving to stay young as the advent of time catches up with her. Cue bonkers science, where here it involves a trek to the jungles of Africa to unearth the secret of eternal youth. Naturally things get very bent out of shape and pain and misery are sure to follow.

Thematically it has mixed messages, on one hand it dares to say, unappealingly so, that a woman is only viable for love and happiness by being young and beautiful. On the other hand it is possibly having caustic observations on the dangers of vanity? The makers intentions are not clear so really the viewers are left to their own devices on that one.

It's never scary and some of the latex effects work is poor and befitting the minuscule budget. While the first half hour feels awfully padded out. But all things considered it's not a bottom feeder of the genre, and actually would make a nice companion piece with The Wasp Woman. 5/10

English

The Leech Woman Official Trailer #1 - Murray Alper Movie (1960) HD