DESTINATION INNER SPACE (1966)
Article #970 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-10-2003
Posting Date: 4-8-2004
Directed by Francis D. Lyon
Featuring Scott Brady, Sheree North, Gary Merrill

Inhabitants of an underwater sea lab are threatened by an extraterrestrial aquatic menace.

You know, I have to admit to having liked the title to this one; because I wasn’t sure what “Inner Space” meant or why we’d want to go there, I though I’d find a movie that would explain what it was and take us there would be at least a little interesting. Unfortunately, it turned out that “Inner Space” was merely an enticing term for the ocean depths, and what we have here can be summed up as simply a cross between THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD), THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. This in itself isn’t a bad idea, but everything about this one is hackneyed and uninspired; you’ve seen these conflicts a thousand times before, the monster suit is fairly lame, and there isn’t a single real surprise to be found during the length of the movie. And though it doesn’t appear to be a TV-Movie, between the connect-the-dots storytelling and the perpetual edge-of-your-seat soundtrack, it sure feels like one. It’s not awful, but it never rises above the merely competent, and my primary feeling at the end of this one is that I hope everyone got their paychecks for this.