Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

d-millhoff Another 1950's "B" movie half-of-a-double-feature 'monster' movie. But different. The writing and acting isn't any better. The pseudo-scientific technobabble is even self-mocking - maybe an inside joke by a bored writer...One thing that makes this stand out is that the monster isn't some horrible creature, it is just a rock, a chemical-geologic process. Which not only means no bad make-up or guy in a rubber costume or clumsy stop-motion or composite photography that tended to be distractingly-bad in their day and just-plain-laughable by the late 1960's, but also that the 'monster' is a chemical process, mindless and relentless like a flood. It's scarier when you aren't laughing at the bad guy.Instead, we get some very-decent miniatures and effects (obvious, but they LOOK great), clear lighting and good cinematography. The "science" is of course pure claptrap, but it doesn't SOUND as ridiculous as the silly gobbledygook that's supposed to explain giant insects and green zombies from mars.Definitely one of the outstanding "B"-movies of its time. The producers appear to have gotten their money's worth in what was probably a low but well-managed budget.

dougdoepke Nifty little sci-fi from Universal's skilled production crew that includes ace craftsman and connoisseur of the desert, Jack Arnold, as one of the writers. So, how do you turn rocks into monsters since about everything else gets the monster treatment in the 1950's. Well, you start with the familiar visitor from outer space, in this case a meteorite with strange properties that crashes near a remote desert town. Then you have the rock chunks growing like weeds when in contact with water. In fact, they grow so tall, they topple over crushing everything beneath. Worse, each new chunk is like a seed from which new monoliths grow, spreading like a rocky army. So pray it doesn't rain. And, oh yeah, better not touch them or you turn to stone. Yikes! The little town is in big trouble.Williams again shows why he is more than just another pretty face as he tries to figure a way to stop the rocky onslaught. Ditto, leading lady Albright. In fact, it's a stellar lineup of familiar B-actors, making the whole tall tale halfway believable. Tension stays pretty much on high throughout as the battle intensifies. Shrewdly, the screenplay makes the struggle more personal by including the little girl's plight. Her struggle against turning to stone really involves us in a personal way.The 70-minutes may not be front-rank 50's sci-fi, but it's much better than you might expect, well-done in all departments, especially special effects. So, tune in, despite the comic book title. You might be pleasantly surprised.

AaronCapenBanner John Sherwood directed this surprisingly good science fiction story set in the Southwestern desert community of San Angelo, where a meteor shower of rocks turn some people to stone upon contact, but even worse, when they come into contact with water, start to grow into the title menace, which threaten to destroy the town, then engulf the world. Grant Williams and Lola Albright play the romantic leads. Well-directed and imaginative, with a most original and unusual threat working quite well here. The monolith rocks are both imposing and striking, and the model work used to bring them to "life" is excellent. A little-known thriller awaiting rediscovery.

bensonmum2 The residents of the small California desert town are under attack. The fragments of a meteor that struck nearby the community of San Angelo possess the strange capability of growing to skyscraper proportions when activated by water. The alien monoliths crumble under their own weight, shattering into even more pieces capable of growing and destroying everything in their path. But the danger goes beyond the destruction caused by the falling rock formations. Any living being that comes into contact with the monoliths is turned into stone. It's up to geologist Dave Miller (Grant Williams) and a band of plucky locals to find a way to stop the threat to San Angelo and, ultimately, the world.I just love these 1950s era Universal sci-fi/horror movies. They're so much fun to watch. From the steady, enjoyable cast (headlined by Grant Williams and Lola Albright) to the crisp, clean black and white cinematography to the familiar but effective stock monster music, The Monolith Monsters is the kind of movie that never fails to provide a great deal of entertainment value given its relative modest budget. I get a kick out of the number of Universal films from this era that take place in some small, remote South Western desert town like San Angelo (you can thank Jack Arnold for the desert setting). It's a perfect location or this kind of movie. The Monolith Monsters also features some nice special effects. I'm sure it was difficult task to make rocks look menacing. The scene where one towering rock formation after another rises from the desert floor and crushes a small farm is very effective. Another plus for The Monolith Monsters is the intelligent script (again, you can thank Jack Arnold for this). Sure, the movie is filled with a lot scientific mumbo-jumbo, but in this case, it actually has an air of believability to it. Finally, The Monolith Monsters benefits greatly from the steady hand of director John Sherwood. He may have only directed three movies, but he capably pulls all of the elements I've mentioned together with nice pacing and interesting camera shots to create a rock solid (pun intended) movie experience. Overall, it's a job well done.