Mutated to enormous size by - what else? - errant atomic testing, the proverbial Death Lizard rages war on the stilted denizens of the 1950's; munching backseat lovers, roasting tanks, even kidnapping a pretty lady. Oh, the horror! Only a generic white guy, his damsel-in-distress, and a wandering possibly LGBT boychild dare challenge the Lizard's mighty reign.
The Lizard of Death is - thank Heavens!- an earnest, loving, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the creature features of the mid-20th century; Godzilla meets The Giant Gila Monster, with every bastardized B-movie banger between... though, it is worth noting, director Ben Heck has described the film as "emulation... not homage or parody".
As far as emulation goes, it's more sort of lighthearted, and, inherently, modern than it's inspirations - it could've generally looked a bit older, the effects were self-aware, plenty of ironic and campy little lines - yet, still, it comes reasonably close to the real deal, especially for an amateur thing. Which i mention in a good way! Squint your eyes, maybe watch it off a CRT... it's a familiar lil' thriller, if you're a public-domain-sci-fi freak such as I. You can tell everyone involved was a real horror nut, likewise, and surely had nothing short of a blast! Like the toxic doom which mutated our star Lizard (of Death), the pure fun behind the project simply radiates off the screen.
Should you be seduced by the slimy slither of the Lizard of Death, details on the production are still available on Heck's wicked old-school website - including the microscopic production photos I've so savagely stolen, above.
The Lizard of Death is among the finest kaiju flicks of the west; incredible effects rivaling that of Tsuburaya + flawless use of stock footage + conspicuous Canadians + Skeletons = Based. In Honor of our newest child, the holy Deathlizard, I've created... what may well... be the creature's first fan art. Amen. Or, Ahh-Men, for all you weirdos out there.
"Get married to a Girl! Ew!"
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