The prehistoric menace in "The Beast From 20000 Fathoms" has to be counted as one of Ray Harryhausen's greatest creations. This movie is considered a Sci-Fi classic and it deserves that praise. One of the hard things about watching almost any classic Sci-Fi movie is the long wait before you actually get to see the monster. That however is not the case in this movie. Ten minutes in the beast is encountered in a pretty neat scene that takes place in the Arctic. There is also a great scene at a lighthouse and of course the sequences in New York are wonderful stop-motion treats. The thing I've always enjoyed about this movie is that the beast is so wild. It doesn't smash and destroy everything in sight. Instead it does what I imagine any animal would actually do if turned loose onto city streets. The beast itself is disposed of rather simply but that adds to the movie's charm. The biggest problem here is that a respected scientist reports that he's seen a prehistoric monster. His report is routinely dismissed by a hospital psychiatrist his friend who is a military officer and the world's leading paleontologist. I thought this guy was a respected scientist? Everyone except a love interest simply dismisses his report as a hallucination or shock induced. I've read that this movie influenced the original "Godzilla" film and I can easily see that as being a fact.

Rhedosaurus rampage as Harryhausen genius starts to work.

Nuclear testing out in the arctic rouses a prehistoric Rhedosaurs from its icy incarcerated sleep. It promptly lays waste to everything that gets in its path, and its next stop is New York City.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms stands as one of the most important of the 50s sci-fi/creature feature films that filled the screens during that particular decade. Notable for being the first picture where Ray Harryhausen had total control over the effects (and thus setting his career on an upward route), it is also one of two pictures from 1953 that would be the first adaptations of the gifted writings of Ray Bradbury (the other being It Came from Outer Space).

Watching it now you can see just what a template movie it was to be for the genre, the perils of nuclear testing a vivid jolt of paranoia, the rugged alpha male, the svelt sexy strong lady, and of course the creature to terrify all who come into contact with it, yep it's safe to say that this picture has all the trademarks. The Rhedosaurus (completely made up name) is a wonderful creation from Harryhausen, a giant stalking lizard who sinks ships for fun, pulls down lighthouses, and has no problems about feasting on local police officers, it's safe to say that since being woken from his sleep he is in a very bad mood! While the ending is wonderful, as the giant beast finds himself cloaked in a roller-coaster with mankind fighting the good fight, a perfect finish to a hugely enjoyable picture. 8/10