The Giant Scorpion

The Giant Scorpion boasts an entire cast and crew of three people. The four-minute short was written, directed, edited, shot, lit, and all that other good stuff by Ricca, who had a zero dollar budget. Then actor Ilaria Lamberti is the unnamed protagonist who must fight off the titular creature, and Giuseppe Cilli, did the special effects fluid simulations and dynamics; Ricca created all other effects. That is everyone who worked on the project.

Late one night, a meteorite hurls through space, into Earth’s atmosphere, rocketing through the clouds. It smashes into a nondescript suburban road that a scorpion just so happened to be crossing. Instead of crushing the predatory arachnid, the space radiation causes it to grow several times its normal size. The giant scorpion crawls into a random open window that happens to the bedroom of a young adult (Ilaria Lamberti).

Of course, a creature of humongous size rummaging about one’s house is going to wake anybody up. So now Lamberti must fight the scorpion to ensure her survival. Does she win and save all of humanity? Or does the might of the giant scorpion overpower her?

As a love-letter to 1950s b-films such as Them, Tarantula, and of course, The Black Scorpion, The Giant Scorpion is tremendous fun. While some of the special effects are not very good, more on that in a bit, it is evident that Ricca, Lamberti, and Cilli have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this passion project. That love and dedication help smooth over the minor flaws present. It also proves that there is no reason not to make the movie that is currently rattling about in your head with enough heart and grit.

“The giant scorpion crawls into a random open window…now Lamberti must fight…”

The scorpion itself is well-designed and moves fairly believably. The monster’s shadow is exceptionally well rendered and most impressive. Lamberti believably sells her interaction with the entirely CGI creation. It is integrated believably into most of the sequences and comes across as a credible threat.

As good as it looks, the few times the human becomes a special effect looks warped and odd. Lamberti must climb in and out of the house and falls toward the ground at one point. To keep the actor safe, Ricca chose to go the computer-generated effect route for the stunt. It’s understandable to be sure, but it looks a bit wonky, especially compared to how good the rest of the film looks.

The Giant Scorpion is dialogue-free, told entirely through its visuals, as Ricca keeps the camera roving and zooming about. This creates an authentic feeling of urgency when the young lady must fight off the beastie and ensure her survival. It is tense and fun and frightening all at the same time. In other words, it is the perfect tribute to the golden age of atomic radiation, giant creature b-movies Ricca so clearly adores.

The movie is four-minutes long and tons of fun. Why haven’t you watched it yet?