After delivering supplies to a desolate but inhabited island, Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) wisely decides that with a threatening hurricane about to make landfall, it would make sense to stick around at least for one night until things blow over. However Dr. Marlowe Craigis (Baruch Lumet) and his daughter Ann (Ingrid Goude) seem intent on the Captain sailing, an ominous feeling in the air punctuated by an effective musical score. It won't be long before we learn that the island is home to a science experiment gone wrong, giant mutant shrews with grisly fangs and covered with dreadlocks running amok on the island. They run free because the alcoholic assistant to the doctor left a door open by which a few of the creatures made their escape, and with their prolific reproductive prowess, have turned into a couple hundred ravenous killer shrews.<br /><br />This film is not so much bad as silly, almost as if the story was made up on the fly by giving each actor a piece of the puzzle and then telling them to wing it to see what happens. This is never more apparent than in the survivors' getaway using overturned metal oil drums strapped together to shuffle their way down to the captain's boat. It struck me as quite convenient that the scientific arsenal on the island included welding equipment just when it was needed.<br /><br />The film overdoses on a lot of goofy close up shots of hideous fangs and eyeballs peering through holes in the wall. Speaking of which, the joint the good doctor and his staff inhabited was a venerable piece of architecture. At one point it was mentioned that the walls were made of adobe, so biting their way through at will was not really a problem for the "shrews". The animals themselves more closely resembled African jackals to my mind, canine in appearance with the aforementioned fangs and hair gone wrong problem. To add a touch more menace, their mutation included a high degree of poison in their saliva, so the mere break of skin meant you were a goner - nice touch! <br /><br />Some otherwise fairly respectable character actors got mixed up in this turkey of a movie; James Best appeared at least once in virtually every TV Western of the 1950's and 60's. I always thought he had just the right look for beach movies as the hustling wise guy. Handling double duty as producer, Ken Curtis portrayed drunken Jerry Farrell, responsible for the escaped shrews in the first place. You just knew he was going to get his before it was all over. Funny, but he looked much more appealing as the bearded drawling deputy Festus Hagen on "Gunsmoke".<br /><br />Hey, it's got excitement, it's got drama, it's got fun, it's got killer shrews! You owe yourself a screening if for nothing more than to see how far we've come with movie making technology. In fact, treat yourself to a double feature as intended by the Texas film company that produced this saga, you can do worse than a double header of "The Killer Shrews" and "The Giant Gila Monster"!