They’re big. They’re bad. They scuttle along in caverns miles beneath the Earth – until an earthquake opens paths to the surface. Now, these monsters of genus Arachnida are invading our world with deadly force! With top special effects co-designed by King Kong’s Willis O’Brien, The Black Scorpion is horror with a sting more lethal than the king-sized ants that overran Los Angeles’ sewers in the classic Them! Can humankind survive these invincible juggernauts? That fate rests on the shoulders of Hank Scott (1950s monster-movie stalwart Richard Denning) as the creatures rip a train from its track, snatch a helicopter from the sky and, in the film’s most gripping sequence, battle each other in their subterranean lair. Watch out!

For thoughts on The Black Scorpion, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Warner Archive brought The Black Scorpion to Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer back in 2018 sourced from a 2K scan of the Fine Grain Master Positive. This low-budget effort is not one that was ever going to be a shimmering beacon of beauty, but the team at the label made sure to put forth a first-rate transfer. Given the limitations of the source, this transfer is quite lovely. Print damage has been nearly eradicated which shows the dedication the label has for preservation. The frame has a worthwhile amount of depth to it including in the shadows of the creature’s lair where there is no evidence of any black crush.

This black-and-white feature retains the natural film grain throughout which provides a respectable amount of detail to the image. The portion of the presentation audiences may not view as perfect is the heavy use of opticals during the special effects which causes a downshift in quality including heavy grain that is less refined. This is inherent to how films were assembled back in the day, and it is authentic to how it is supposed to look. The film features numerous visual effects shots that are not exactly the most convincing, but the effects were terrific for the time. Warner Archive delivered an excellent effort for a film that many likely write off due to the genre.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that holds up favorably given the aforementioned limitations in the surviving source materials The dialogue comes through clearly with distinction even in the somewhat chaotic moments. None of the sound effects or the dramatic score ever overshadow exchanges on this release. This is not the most dynamic soundscape, but it holds up without many complaints. There does not appear to be much in the way of damage or age-related wear and tear to the track. This is a perfectly fine audio presentation that fans should appreciate. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are available on the disc for those who need them.

Special Features

Stop Motion Masters: A three-minute archival interview with Ray Harryhausen who discusses his early fascination with King Kong and how he broke into the field of animation.

The Animal World: A nearly 12-minute look at the sequence created by Harryhausen and Willis O’Brien for Irwin Allen’s 1956 documentary, The Animal World, with pre-roll footage of Harryhausen discussing his work.

Las Vegas Monster and Beetleman Test Footage: A nearly five-minute look at stop-motion animation test footage from Pete Peterson that never made it into a finished feature.

Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

The Black Scorpion is not going to go down as a particularly “important” piece of cinema, but it is one that is a charming example of B-movie monster madness. The reason to come for this one is the delightful stop-motion special effects work that still holds up as an amazing viewing experience to this day. The narrative is as thin as you would expect from the genre, but it gives you what you want if you are seeking out a movie such as this. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a solid A/V presentation and a handful of fun special features. If you appreciate cheesy creature features, this should be on your list. Recommended

The Black Scorpion can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.