Cult Movie Preppers | The Killer Shrews (1959)

Watching apocalyptic movies during the actual Zombie Apocalypse! The Killer Shrews is a 1959 American independent science fiction horror film directed by Ray Kellogg, and produced by Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon. The story follows a group of researchers who are trapped in their remote island compound overnight by a hurricane and find themselves under siege by their abnormally large and venomous mutant test subjects. Shot outside of Dallas, Texas, it was produced back-to-back with The Giant Gila Monster. Leonard Maltin awarded the movie 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "an inventive but silly sci-fi tale". In a 1976 interview, rock musician Frank Zappa cited this film as one of his favorites. The sequel Return of the Killer Shrews was produced in 2012, again starring Best as Thorne Sherman. Bruce Davison took the role of Jerry. The movie also stars John Schneider and Rick Hurst, Best's co-stars in The Dukes of Hazzard. The length of time between the original feature's release and that of the sequel—more than half a century—marks one of the longest periods in cinema between consecutive films in the same franchise.