So much average

Redundant and unnecessary.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I really can't say I agree with the average rating of this film. Don't get me wrong, it's no masterpiece or anything, but unlike MANY films around this same era, it puts out and satisfies a lot more than some of the films of its kind. It's a good "defense" movie, a family or group are boarded up in their house, seemingly protected by the dangers that lurk outside, until things begin falling apart. The massive killer shrews are hungry, and what's worse, they can eat through walls, floors, and wood to get to what they want. Food. It's commonly paired up with "The Giant Gila Monster" on DVD releases, but I don't see why, because that film sadly doesn't hold a candle to this one. Wonderful film! Not a milestone, but well within pathway range.

"The Killer Shrews" - that has to be one of the most eye-rolling titles ever to be bestowed onto a movie, "Attack of the Killer Shrews" would have been an even better title. Anyway's - for as cheap and dispensable as this movie is, it's a very entertaining one. This flick often show's up in cheap, readily available box-sets that celebrate B-movies - in other words The Killer Shrews is never a hard find.Starring a young James Best (a full 20 years before The Dukes of Hazzard) who's easily the most talented and charismatic of an otherwise unremarkable cast. He's plays a boat captain who's making a supply run to a remote island, that's occupied by about half a dozen scientific researchers. Enroute, with stormy weather whipping up behind them, he and his mate motor to the island with the intention of waiting for the storm to pass through, however, that turn's out to be a very bad and fateful decision. As it so happens the scientist's on the island have been meddling in genetic research (so in that respect The Killer Shrews is a movie that's ahead of it's time), their subject of focus - the lowly and typically harmless shrew; however due to their scientific malpractice, the island's shrew population has suddenly undergone a most dramatic and unnatural of mutations - that eventually proves to be of dangerous and even "killer" proportions. This movie, as cheaply made and as stupidly ridiculous as it is (starting with it's title) is quite entertaining (especially the last 20 minutes), more so than most other low-budget horror film's of the 50's. I find The Killer Shrews to be a -perfect movie- to watch late a night and with a brisk running time of only 69 minutes it won't take you long, as it's a very compact and efficiently put together flick. Let's get into the effects of this movie, specifically the giant killer shrew's, undoubtedly what were are really looking at here are dog's that are wearing long, shaggy fur, with long hairless tails and masks with huge, nasty-looking teeth; and I think it works pretty damn effectively, surprisingly so, for a movie that was made with little money, over half a century ago - the giant killer shrew's simply look AND sound terrific. Getting back to the plot, with some reluctance the scientist's fill "Thorne Sherman" in on their dire predicament and it's during the ensuing stand-off, which one-by-one, see's the groups numbers whittled down, until their half the number they started at. They are actually up against two enemies: the shrews AND a hurricane that's blowing through (I for one have never been convinced that what blew through was a hurricane, a tropical storm at best - Tropical Storm "Timmy" perhaps). With up to as many as 200 to 300 giant killer shrews roving the island, the gang, held hostage in their little hovel are hopelessly out-numbered by the shrews, which eventually borrow into the house and that's when the movie really gets exciting. It's with the quick thinking of Captain Thorne Sherman that they devise a method of escape, not entirely unlike an ancient Roman military tactic, but instead of bronze shields they concoct something a bit more modern with galvanized steel tanks and a cutting torch. The gang of three, yes, several deaths have occurred, are constantly harassed by a rabid mob of killer shrews the entire way, as they find it's a long, slow and labored trudge to the beach, as the ocean is their salvation - onward's ho!Being a movie of such modest make, there's very little fancy stuff to comment about in this movie, the shrews being it's one and only strong visual, it's all together a very humble affair. To it's credit The Killer Shrews is certainly very tightly paced and efficiently plotted and thus it shouldn't bore anyone - who has an attention span that's longer then that of a bolt of lightning. And, as I think this movie proves, James Best was a great actor and he'd only get better.I find The Killer Shrews to be a fun fast-paced movie, made on a very tight budget, with a crazy, but well-explained story. With much glee you have at least two options available to you, you can watch either the regular version or it's funnier, satirized MST3K counterpart.

Ray Kellogg directed this horror film about a misguided scientist on a remote island who has developed a serum to bring growth to animals to deal with future overpopulation. Unfortunately, he experimented on tiny shrews that have grown to the size of dogs, and become vicious killers on the loose, just as a fierce hurricane threatens the island and the few survivors, who try desperately to escape before the shrews get them... Brought to you by the director of "The Giant Gila Monster" that same year, film is a bit better, with some surprisingly tense scenes, and fierce-sounding monsters. Still silly of course, but better than you would expect, and a definite cult item.

I got this movie from the 100 pack at Wal Mart. once I found out who was in it I just had to jump right in,, James Best.. Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain. apparently on an island somewhere, overpopulation has become a real problem, and these Giant Killer Shrews are taking over the population and the island. just imagine yourself on an island like that where you are being over run by these huge gigantic shrews, I thought James Best did a wonderful job in this.. he was very funny, and his acting was also pretty good,, I guess back in the late 50's you could say that the undertone to this movie was a warning about overpopulation and what it will mean in the future if we as humans try to take over a certain land mass or area... very decent film from the 50's that isn't Oscar material, but not bad either,, I would recommend it even if I never heard of James Best.