Line #28 Film/TheBlackScorpion


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_black_scorpion_1957.jpg]]
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3	''The Black Scorpion'' is a 1957 [[{{Kaiju}} giant monster movie]] directed by Edward Ludwig.
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5	When a volcano in [[SouthOfTheBorder Mexico]] erupts, Dr. Hank Scott (Richard Denning) and his partner Dr. Arturo Ramos (Carlos Rivas) venture out to perform a geological survey. When they do so, they discover a destroyed house and police car, as well as an abandoned baby.
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7	Continuing on with the baby to the village of San Lorenzo, they learn that villagers have disappeared, that livestock have been killed, that homes have been destroyed and that strange roars have been heard in the night. The villagers suspect all this to be the work of demonic bulls. Scott also meets and falls in love with local rancher Teresa Alvarez (BMovie scream queen Mara Corday) and makes friends with a young boy named Juanito.
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9	One night, the cause of all the trouble is revealed; giant prehistoric scorpions that were released from the cavern they lived in by the volcano. Although the cave is successfully sealed after an expedition into its depths, the largest scorpion manages to escape, wherein it makes its way to Mexico City for a final showdown...
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11	The special effects, by Willis O'Brien of ''Film/KingKong1933'' fame, were considered cutting edge back in the day it was released.
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13	For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode see [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S01E13TheBlackScorpion here]].
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16	!!This film provides examples of:
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18	* AchillesHeel: The weak spot of the scorpions is in their throats.
19	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Scorpions do not roar, but it helps make these giant ones more menacing. The close-up shots of the scorpions' faces also look nothing like real scorpion faces, which is strange because the faces on the stop-motion models look fine.
20	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: The film features giant scorpions raiding farms and villages, and then attacking Mexico City.
21	* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Attack of the killer giant scorpions.
22	* BigBad: While there are several giant scorpions, the plot focuses on a particularly large one that ruthlessly kills off its smaller kin and becomes the main antagonist for the climax.
23	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The film has giant worms, spiders, and scorpions, all from prehistoric times.
24	* BMovie: Don't take this movie too seriously and you'll have fun with it.
25	* CoolBigBro: Hank to Juanito.
26	* GratuitousLaboratoryFlasks: The only thing Dr. de la Cruz uses ''his'' test tubes for is to make tequila.
27	* GratuitousSpanish: There's the occasional phrase like Teresa telling her co-workers "vámonos" to tell them to hustle to the volcano.
28	* ImmuneToBullets: The scorpions pretty much are. When the time comes to take out the huge one rampaging through Mexico, the only effective weapon is [[HighVoltageDeath a big spear connected to a lot of electricity]] (and it tears apart a lot of tanks and helicopters and soldiers to get it into position).
29	* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: A soldier fires a giant makeshift [[ShockAndAwe taser]] at the killer scorpion, and not only does he miss the target, he kills himself trying to reload the cannon. It's up to Dr. Scott, a ''[[ScienceHero geologist]]'', to finish the job.
30	* MonstrousCannibalism: The largest scorpion kills the smaller ones near the end, making the task of getting rid of all the scorpions a lot easier for the protagonists.
31	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Corday is supposed to be Mexican, and doesn't try any form of Spanish accent.
32	* PrehistoricMonster: A rarity among '50s giant monsters, the scorpions and other giant arthropods aren't mutations, just prehistoric animals released from underground by an earthquake (giant scorpions really did exist during prehistory, but obviously none got close to the size of the ones in the film).
33	* PrettyInMink: Teresa normally dresses in sensible ranch clothes, but when going to Mexico City, she dresses up, including a mink wrap and white fur hat.
34	* ScaryScorpions: Giant ones, that go after livestock and people.
35	* ShockAndAwe: The key to destroying the scorpions is to rig an armor-piercing shell with electrical cables and shoot it into the last scorpion's neck to electrocute it.
36	* SouthOfTheBorder: The film takes place around Mexico City. It's actually a US-Mexico co-production.
37	* TagalongKid: Juanito, who stows away with the heroes' expedition to find the killer scorpions; he even ''refers to himself'' as a stowaway. Ostensibly he's come along to help, although what exactly he thinks he can contribute is never brought up even to be dismissed. He graduates to full-blown [[TheLoad Load]] status when he stows away ''again'' with the heroes' expedition down into the scorpion cavern, where he is menaced by the monsters and must be rescued.
38	* TooDumbToLive: The army tries killing the scorpion with an electrified cannon shell (essentially, a giant taser). After it fails, a soldier reels the shell back by its cord, and then he holds it in his hands without first telling the team by the generator to turn the power off. He gets electrocuted.

Context Film / TheBlackScorpion