The Wasp Woman

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1h 6m

Sci-Fi

Horror

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45%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

24%

Audience Score

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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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

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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

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 3/5

Apr 11, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 7, 2005

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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

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Georgan G

A more decent film from the 50 SciFi Classics, Wasp Woman, had an actual plot. And some dialogue & special effects that beat the pants off some of these old SciFi films. Even in color!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/02/23

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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

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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

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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

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Roger Corman

Director

Susan Cabot

Janice Starlin

Anthony Eisley

Bill Lane

Barboura Morris

Mary Dennison

Michael Mark

Eric Zinthrop

William Roerick

Arthur Cooper

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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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