Queen Crab (Movie Review)

Natural Horror films have proven to be a popular, albeit campy, sub-genre that has existed since the beginning of cinema. Movies such as Frogs (1972), Lake Placid (1999), and Zombeavers (2015) show that nature is to be feared and any creature is capable of becoming a cold-blooded killer. Written and directed by Brett Piper (Muckman2009, Bacterium 2006), Queen Crab will join these ranks upon its release on September 29, 2015 by Wild Eye Releasing. The movie will be available on VOD and DVD and features a colossal-sized crab that goes on a rampage in a small town.

Melissa Webber (Liberty Asbury) is a young girl living in the country with her father (Mark Polonia: Splatter Farm 1987, Bloody Mary 3D 2011), a scientist with an in-home laboratory, and her mother (S. Simone Miller). Melissa spends most of her time playing around the pond on their property and finds a small crab that she adopts as a pet. She goes to her father in search of crab food and he explains that crabs eat anything, so Melissa helps herself to berries in his lab. She is unaware that these particular berries have been exposed to a growth serum that her father has been working on. The crab continues eating the modified food until a freak accident in the lab kills both parents, leaving Melissa an orphan. She gets adopted by her uncle and town sheriff, Sheriff Clarke (Ken Van Sant: Muckman 2009, Splatter Beach 2007).

Fast forward to current times, Melissa (Michelle Simone Miller: YouStar: Road to Fame 2014, The Unwanted 2013) is an adult living on her own land, complete with a large pond. She stays secluded and will not allow anyone on her property, including the mailman. On a nearby farm, Sheriff Clarke and his deputy Sonny Huggins (Richard Lounello: Cold Bloods 2015, The Loop 2010) are looking into a situation involving dead cattle and a destroyed barn on a farm. They notice odd tracks and send samples to the State Wildlife Commission, who promptly send agent Stewart MacKendrick (A.J. DeLucia: Far from the Heart 2014) to further investigate. Upon examining the land around the farm, Stewart discovers large eggs that have hatched and a crab exoskeleton the size of a vehicle. Later that night, the local bartender has an unfortunate run-in with the mutant babies and gets brutally killed. When the smaller crabs are run over by a driver who witnessed the incident, Mama Crab gets angry and goes on a murderous attack on the town. As the townspeople take matters, and weapons, into their own hands, Melissa is still devoted to her dear pet crab and tries to save her before it is too late.

Brett Piper is known for making B Horror movies using older-style effects, and Queen Crab is no exception. It is a perfect example of the type of movie Piper sets out to create. The crabs are all animated using stop-motion. Backgrounds and other effects are created with the use of matte paintings and miniatures. To make an entire creature film without any CGI is impressive because so many modern filmmakers utilize it.

Queen Crab is not a movie that takes itself seriously, and a cheese factor is expected when a mutant crab is involved, but the lack of experience from much of the cast was too obvious. Although it features old-school effects and amusing concepts, the poor acting gets very distracting. Cryptic Rock gives Queen Crab 2 out of 5 stars.

Purchase Queen Crab on DVD on Amazon