A group of scientists working in an undersea station discover an alien spacecraft. They, quite naturally, investigate. They discover a cylinder shaped object and bring it to their station for further testing. Before you can say "guy in a rubber suit", the thing hatches an amphibious type creature who immediately goes on a rampage. The good guys must try to stay alive and destroy the alien craft before any more of these things show up.Admittedly, there are a lot of problems with Destination Inner Space. It's goofy, features from ridiculous acting, and has obvious budgetary limitations. But despite all that, there is a good deal of fun to be had. Fans of monster romps should find something to enjoy. I found the monster suit surprisingly effective. It's a unique design quite a bit different form what I've seen before. I especially enjoyed the use of color. Makes it look a bit like the sunfish I used to catch as a child when I went fishing with my grandfather. A decent amount of action, some scientific mumbo-jumbo, and some cheap, but fun miniatures are other highlights. Overall, a decent amount of entertainment despite the weaknesses.Two other things worth mentioning:1. I got a real unintended laugh out of star Scott Brady. First, he's a complete fish out of water. He has no business being in this movie. Second, just watching him try to buckle his diving vest over his pooch is a hoot. 2. I'm not sure I've ever actually seen Mike Road in a movie, but I knew that voice as soon as I heard it - Race Bannon. Too cool!

Destination Inner Space is our own Earth's oceans and some folks from another planet are showing an interest in it as a place to live. A group of scientists headed by Gary Merrill who live in an under water sea lab discovers a phenomenon of incredible size and the Navy sends Commander Scott Brady to investigate.The usual conflict between scientists and the military plays out with Brady and Merrill. In addition Brady has a conflict with another of the of the sea lab's crew Mike Road.The phenomenon turns out to be a space ship that settles in one of the crevices under the ocean and it's containing pods that are in a deep freeze. Stupidly the crew takes one aboard and it hatches into a cousin of the creature from the black lagoon though light years smarter. After that the film becomes almost a rerun of the classic, The Thing.Serving as decoration are scientists Sheree North and Wende Wagner. That's for the male audience to get them to the film if they're not science fiction fans. Destination Inner Space though the science may not be creditable it's still good fodder in the fiction department.

Watching "Destination Innerspace" again after so many years, one instantly notices how low this film's budget must have been. Also upon re-inspection, a few new qualities emerge. Namely, the unintentional laughs. Previous reviews have already noted the outrageously tiny-looking miniatures, and how some of the music cues (borrowed from the B-classic "Angry Red Planet") are not exactly subtle. Oh, and the sight of Gary Merrill trying to subdue a big, walking large-mouthed bass is certainly hard not to find amusing now. Such sad but funny indicators of low budget film-making aside though, what does still seem to work about this little movie is the premise: a monster preying on humans trapped in a confined space, which is basically how "Alien" works. Only here, we have an underwater facility "subbing" for the space tug Nostromo and being stuck on the ocean floor is not a bad setting if you're making a claustrophobic thriller. One sequence to admire is the alien ship's arrival on the scene. Watching as it soars directly over the sea lab, with the addition of sound effects giving voice to it's engines the space craft actually becomes kind of impressive. It's rather neat the way it "buzzes" the installation with it's nervous crew watching from inside. Clearly, they had the right idea here, and with a little more money this could have been a first rate sci-fi thriller. One can also definitely defend the sequence where the crew attempt to lure the alien creature into a booby trap of spear guns. It's rather suspenseful as the hero, Commander Wayne, using himself as bait, bangs on a metal door and waits forcing the viewer to sit and wait there with him for the monster's inevitable appearance. Speaking of Commander Wayne, this guy emerges as quite an enjoyable hero, and playing him like John Wayne underwater, Scott Brady is so well cast in the role that he really elevates the occasionally soggy proceedings to a level it never would have achieved without his capable presence. His smart alec, tough guy lines are funny, too like when he tells a cynical female marine biologist, "You listen to me, beautiful. I grew up with a couple of sisters, and let me tell you something: a brother doesn't always tell a sister "everything". Shove that under your microscope and study it awhile." In fact, Commander Wayne has a snappy answer for just about everyone on board: Dopey scientist: "do you realize the importance of this, Commander?"Wayne: "I realize the danger we're in." Dopey scientist again: "We've been cut-off from topside. Something must have happened to their communication equipment." Wayne: "More likely something happened to them.It's not a great script, nor is it brilliantly directed, and there are sure lapses in the pace here and there. All quite true. Still, this ancient sci-fi flick does achieve a modest measure of suspense. With the addition of an appealing star, some very funny lines and some unintentionally funny fx's, well, you could do worse than introduce your child to this enjoyable little monster movie.

While the movie offers many standard Sci-Fi,B-Movie moments, several good aspects are evident. The action sequences, especially underwater scenes were filmed well,and diving enthusiasts may notice Wende Wagner's performance as vital to their success. Wende had appeared in a "Flipper" episode around same time frame, and her scuba performances are excellent. While I haven't seen this movie in many years(can't find it anywhere);the diving scenes still are memorable.