Creepy Creature Double Feature: The Slime People & The Crawling Hand

The slime people attack and are pushed out of the survivor's shelter...
"Incidentally, my name is Calvin Johnson."

The only genuinely bad movies are boring movies. I say it this way because you can have a “bad movie” that stretches a low budget to the breaking point with amateur actors and hokey plotting - but it can still be incredibly entertaining. We just happen to be looking at two such films in one brilliant Double Feature package of The Crawling Hand and The Slime People. Both films happen to be produced by the legendary Joseph F. Robertson.

Perhaps the best way to describe Robertson is something along the lines of Roger Corman’s shadow. He dabbled in mainstream genre drive-in fodder, B-level horror and science fiction in the 1960s with one of my personal favorites - Agent for H.A.R.M. (I have an original half-sheet poster proudly displayed in my house!). He returned to these roots in the late 1980s and early ‘90s with Dr. Caligari and Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies. In between, he made more than a few adult features in the 1970s… 

I felt it was necessary to delve a little into Robertson’s past to shed some light on our main features today. Herbert L. Strock directed 1963’s The Crawling Hand with actor Robert Hutton assigned the duty for 1962’s The Slime People. Neither film is particularly “good” in the traditional sense, but damn, they are fun! 

The Crawling Hand features the remains of an astronaut (the titular hand) who died upon reentry and “infects” a local teenager, causing him to go insane and strangle people at the will of the weird space entity. There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the basic gist. It may be daffy, but it’s an inventive precursor to flicks like The Hidden, Jason Goes to Hell, Fallen or any other feature where the personality of a killer can transfer to someone else. Through the shoe-leather pacing, there is a great atmosphere and a couple of slickly shot sequences to enjoy. 

Then we come to The Slime People, a race of cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers who rise to the surface of Los Angeles to terrorize an entire city spreading a dome-like fog wherever they go. While our creatures certainly aren’t CHUDs, the idea percolates as to their origins and mission to kill humans through a thick vapor they’ve trapped the city inside. As they terrorize the streets, survivors hold up in any dwelling with a locked door as they try to find some way out of the city. While our Slime People may look more like ambulatory lizard snails with spears, you can see reflections of various creepy setups and scenarios in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and any number of other apocalyptic monster survival flicks. 

But, because these films were low-budget B-level genre features, we remember them better for their second life on late-night local horror host shows and, video tape, and of course, their iconic runs on Mystery Science Theater 3000. No lie, MST3k is how I found these films, and it’s because of the show that I love them to bits. Riffing or not, they’re wildly entertaining features - for good reasons and bad. Where many pieces of each film simply fail to work, there’s a lot that defies low-hurdle expectation. 

The concept and some of the lighting execution for The Crawling Hand is positively eerie, and it has a solid cast with Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, and mainland-bound Alan Hale Jr., with a fun spot for the 50ft Woman herself, Allison Hayes. The Slime People falls into what I like to think of as a good idea that simply didn’t have the budget to live up to its potential. While it didn’t have the most attractive cast, we get fun turns from Les Tremayne, Robert Hutton, and Susan Hart. Both films can fall into the “so-bad-they’re-good” category. When they work, they’re creepy and engaging; when they don’t work, they’re a true hoot. Now, if this release means we can possibly see Agent for H.A.R.M. on Blu-ray - sign me up for that tour of duty! 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
MVD Visual and VCI unleash the Creepy Creature Double Feature of The Crawling Hand and The Slime People to Blu-ray. As a single-disc release, both films are pressed on a Region Free BD50 disc. The disc is housed in a standard-sized clear case with reversible insert artwork and Robert Kelly slip cover artwork. At startup, the disc loads to a film selection sub-menu and standard navigation options from there.

So, it’s no real shocker to say that The Crawling Hand and The Slime People haven’t exactly enjoyed the best home video releases over the years. The MST3k episodes were watchable at best, and some of the straight, non-riffed home-video releases I’d seen were even worse. Didn’t think that was possible, but some were really bad. For this Double Feature disc, I am absolutely gobsmacked. As advertised, the films are both restored in 4K from their original 35mm negatives in 1.85:1 1080p, and I’m floored by the results. I’m not certain if the aspect ratio is “correct.” I’ve seen them in full frame and widescreen before; finding which is right has been a bit of a lost cause with all of the conflicting information, but regardless, they both look as close to flawless as you can get. There might be a small scratch here or there, or a small lingering anomaly, but otherwise the image is razor sharp with a cinematic grain presence. Makeup, costumes, and set design are all nicely on display. I didn’t know it was possible for these two films to look this good. Again, genuinely gobsmacked by the quality of the restoration effort for both features. 

Just as impressive as the video restoration, each film scores an excellent LPCM 2.0 mix. In past releases, like their video transfers, I never thought these films sounded good. Even with the MST3k versions, it took me a long time to get into and enjoy those episodes because the dialogue would be so muddy or near-incomprehensible that it diminished whatever joke Joel and the Bots lobbed at the film. Unriffed releases were often just as bad or worse. So, like being able to truly see and appreciate these films, I can actually hear them! Dialogue is generally clean without issue for both films. The only time there’s ever an issue is if it sounds like someone just wasn’t getting the mic or just slurred their way through their lines. Sound effects are well-appointed, and music cues for both films sound right on the spot without being too shrill or tinny.

Digging into the extra features, I wouldn’t call this selection “packed” exactly, but we’re getting some really quality and entertaining materials. The Rubber Monster featurette is a quick look at the genre; at three minutes, it’s a taster of how Hollywood took to the Science Fiction genre in the 1950s and 1960s. The Classic Drive-In / Sci-Fi Poster Gallery is a fun piece, nothing much “informational,” but it’s great to see the artistry in the marketing for these films, regardless of the budget. The best and meatiest piece is the Tom Weaver piece. Part mini-documentary, part phone interview with Susan Hart, it’s a great piece of information focused on The Slime People running almost an hour. For The Crawling Hand, there is a very fun and engaging commentary track from Rob Kelly that’s absolutely worth a listen. BUT I couldn’t find it in the main menu; if you go to your audio options through your remote, you can turn it on there. Overall, not an expansive collection, but points awarded for quality.

• The Crawling Hand Audio Commentary featuring artist/podcaster Rob Kelly
• Rubber Monster, Real Fears: Mid-Century Sci-Fi (HD 3:02)
• Classic Drive-In Sci-Fi Poster Gallery (HD 7:00)
• Unearthing the Slime People: Tom Weaver with Susan Hart (HD 54:49)

You gotta love it when a label drops a terrific double feature of classic schlock cinema. MVD and VCI went all-in for this great release of The Slime People and The Crawling Hand. Classics of the MST3k early years, the films certainly aren’t “the best” ever made, but they’re ridiculously entertaining. Now, thanks to a new 4K restoration effort for both films, they look and sound better than ever. It’s almost ridiculous how good these films look now, and compared to past releases I’ve looked at, it’s even better to be able to hear what folks are saying. There’s a ton of shoe-leather exposition in that dialogue, but at least it isn’t in the mud anymore! Completing the set is a small but quality selection of extras, and if you’re a fan, the Tom Weaver piece shouldn’t be missed. Granted, this title might have very limited appeal, but I’ve gotta call it Recommended, it's just too much fun and at the going price point, it's a steal.