''The Milpitas Monster'' (alternately known as ''The Mutant Beast'') is a 1976 independent

monster movie A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under ...

directed by Robert L. Burrill.

Plot

When a landfill is overfull, and

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

reaches its maximum, a monster is born. Made from garbage, and bearing a resemblance to a giant

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

, the Milpitas Monster has an uncontrollable desire to consume large quantities of garbage cans. Some high school students find out about the monster and attempt to destroy it.

Release

Theatrical release

''The Milpitas Monster'' premiered in

Milpitas, California Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Mar� ...

on May 21, 1976.

Reception

''The Milpitas Monster'' was largely ignored by mainstream critics upon its release. Jeffrey Frentzen of ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...

'' wrote in his review of the film, "Despite its inverse homages glorifying the grade-Z monster flicks, ''The Milpitas Monster'' is still more than just another lousy horror show." However, also noted the film's inherent charm, calling it "An offbeat, welcome diversion". Joseph Ziemba from ''Bleeding Skull'' gave the film a negative review, writing, "Crude effects, both visually and audibly, walk hand-in-hand with people just hanging out and being themselves. Boredom sets in…then disappears…then sets in again. Beyond all of that, ''Milpitas'' is an earnest portrait of an entire community having good clean fun in Smalltown, USA during the mid-1970s."

References

External links

* * * http://www.milpitasmonster.com/ 1976 films 1976 horror films 1976 independent films 1970s monster movies 1970s science fiction horror films American independent films American monster movies American science fiction horror films Films shot in California 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{sf-horror-film-stub