The Last Woman On Earth (1960)

Delving back into the bottomless pit of the extremely low grade Mills Creek 250 Horror Collection (half of which are a stretch to even be in this set, being far from horror) another above average jewel of low budget entertainment can be found.  One of the more enjoyable films in this collection was Roger Corman's Creature From The Haunted Sea, a film that does a nice job of mixing cornball comedy of the 1960's with bad horror.  It was part of what's known as The Roger Corman Puerto Rico Trilogy, three films shot back to back in a period of five weeks... yes I said weeks.  Included in this trilogy was The Last Woman On Earth, a film that was shot on the same location with the same three lead actors.

Wealthy business man Harold Gern is vacationing with his newly acquired bride Evelyn in Puerto Rico.  They set out on a boat trip and go deep sea diving with Harold's attorney and friend Martin, but when they surface they discover they're the only ones left alive.  It appears some deadly toxin has penetrated the atmosphere, removing the oxygen and killing all those on the island and possibly the rest of the world.  With the prospect of being the only humans left alive on Earth, Harold and Martin begin to vie for the companionship of the lovely Evelyn whose relationship with her husband (Harold) was already strained prior to the worldwide disaster.

Unlike Corman's Creature From The Haunted Sea, The Last Woman On Earth is more of a apocalyptic drama which surprisingly turned out to be quite enjoyable.  It's a grand example of how Corman was able to take a simplistic story on a poor man's budget and make something that's not only watchable but quite entertaining, with the cast providing a little better performance with a more serious storyline.  If you're a Roger Corman fan or looking to get your feet wet this is definitely a good place to start, and it ranks among the more worth while films I've viewed from this Mills Creek collection.

7/10