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The Wasp Woman

Play trailer Poster for The Wasp Woman Released Nov 2, 1959 1h 6m Sci-Fi Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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45% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 24% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A cosmetics queen is transformed into a murderous monster after she uses an insect chemical to preserve her beauty.
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The Wasp Woman

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Rob Humanick Suite101.com From the perspective of a 21st Century ... The Wasp Woman is a downright revolutionary act of scathing commentary. Rated: 4/5 Oct 21, 2011 Full Review Mark Bourne DVDJournal.com It's poorly written, cheesily acted, low-budget, and completely camp, but because it's Corman it's a touch ahead of its ilk thanks to some clever lines and flavorful directing. Utterly ridiculous but lovable. Sep 18, 2007 Full Review Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com Definitely a 1950's style horror flick, yet released in 1960. Surely the last of its hive. Rated: 2/5 Apr 30, 2007 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 3/5 Apr 11, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 7, 2005 Full Review James O'Ehley Sci-Fi Movie Page A cheesy 1950s Black & White horror movie, which is prime MST3K fodder. However, it needn't have been this way since actress Susan Cabot sure is one classy dame . . . Oct 12, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (122) audience reviews
Dave S Like most bottom of the barrel monster movies from the ‘50s, Roger Corman's The Wasp Woman is ruined by murky visuals, muddy audio, cheesy special effects, inane dialogue, and a ridiculous plot. This time around, the owner of a cosmetics company tries to reverse the aging process by injecting herself with copious amounts of wasp enzymes. Before you know it, she's turned into some sort of vampire-like killing machine, replete with a silly wasp head and a bad attitude. Despite its short running time, things drag on for what feels like an eternity. The only thing that makes this worth watching is the irony of the death in the final scene. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/20/23 Full Review Roxie R. H I love the story, It's a old movie so yea the effects aren't going to hold up to the standards of today. I wish the dialog was more substantial but the storyline is great. It's been years since I've seen this movie and I still think about it, I wish someone who really respects the horror genre will remake it, this story has so much potential Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/06/23 Full Review Monsol E A monster movie where there isn't any antagonist or real evil-doing, everything just went wrong until someone became a man-eating bug. Kinda felt bad... Was a fun watch tho. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Are you looking for something utterly ridiculous? Congratulations! You found it! "The Wasp Woman" is quite possibly one of the corniest monster movies ever made and I loved every second of it. From the dubious entomology (wasps don't make royal jelly, for a start) to the preposterous sight of Jennifer Rubin's cosmetic executive jabbing what look like half a pint of mysterious fluids into her arm in her quest for youth, not one part of this film makes coherent sense. If you're a fan of cheesy films and want something entertainingly rubbish, stick this on and have yourself a laugh. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Janice Starlin sees that the sales of her cosmetics company are slumping as her customers see that she appears to be (shock horror) getting older (!) Dr Eric Zinthrop, a scientist, finds that he has been able to extract chemicals from royal jelly that can reverse the ageing process. Starlin agrees to become a human subject regarding this but when progress is too slow for her liking she takes additional doses of the chemical. This has disastrous results as she starts to transform into a half-woman, half-wasp type hybrid. This 1959 film is a fantastic piece of Roger Corman goodness. It's also a film that I had seen the poster for many many times but had never actually seen. Until now. I'm pleased to say that it was worth the wait. Not only is it a fantastic piece of 50's horror that must have truly shocked and astounded audiences when it was released but it also has some perceptive things to say about the role of beauty, youth and cosmetics particularly regarding women who are held up to more stringent standards regarding these issues than men. The film's commentary reminded me of Georges Franju's masterpiece Les Yeux San Visage and also the episode of the TV show Tales of the Unexpected and the episode called Royal Jelly. A brilliant time capsule of 1950's drive-in Americana that tackles wider issues that are more than still relevant today. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review deke p Low budget everything. and campy 1960 music. AWFUL. BUT ROGER CORMAN! & remember, talkies were less than 4 decades old then. I wouldn't pay much to see this movie, then or now. But it seems to be a typical hard to take seriously monster costume movie of the time. & the basic plot seems interesting. BUT laughable how the boss lady could transform into a Wasp head almost instantly, , then back again. And the whole thing takes place in offices, with a quick disappointing ending. saw it on tv again 10.2021 Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Wasp Woman

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A cosmetics queen is transformed into a murderous monster after she uses an insect chemical to preserve her beauty.
Director
Roger Corman
Producer
Roger Corman
Screenwriter
Leo Gordon
Production Co
Santa Cruz Productions Inc., The Filmgroup
Genre
Sci-Fi, Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 2, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 8, 2017
Runtime
1h 6m
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