Category: Alien monsters
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The Flame Barrier
The search for yet another lost husband in the Mexican jungles leads to a crashed satellite inhabited by a murderous alien blob. Gramercy’s 1958 SF jungle adventure has a good idea but lacks both script and interest. 2/10
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The Brain from Planet Arous
An evil brain from outer space with designs of world domination takes over the mind of a nuclear scientist. Neatly directed 1957 indie no-budget effort starring John Agar. Very silly and lots of fun. 5/10
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20 Million Miles to Earth
US astronauts bring back a creature from Venus to Italy, where it breaks loose, grows and runs amok in Rome. Ray Harryhausen’s memorable monster elevates this poorly written 1957 programmer. 6/10
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The Giant Claw
In essence, The Giant Claw from 1957 is a decent monster movie programmer. The ludicrous monster ruins the film – but it is also the only thing that qualifies this movie for the status of a cult classic. 5/10
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Invasion of the Saucer Men
Two teens run over a little green man. When the authorities refuse to believe them, they take on the alien invasion by themselves. AIP’s comedy from 1957 has a clever premise, but is marred by a messy script. 5/10
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Quatermass 2
Professor Quatermass investigates alien body snatchers that have secretly taken over the British government in this 1957 sequel. The script is original but sprawling, and lacks the original’s claustrophobic horror 6/10.
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Kronos
A giant alien machine descends to Earth and proceeds to drain the planet of energy in this 1957 Fox B-movie. The script is creaky, but this is a fairly original and well designed low-budget effort from the mind of Irving Block. 6/10
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Not of This Earth
An alien infiltrates Earth in order to collect blood for his race that is dying from anemia in Roger Corman’s well-crafted but somewhat uninspired urban thriller from 1957. 6/10
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Fire Maidens from Outer Space
This UK/USA clunker from 1956 is the weakest of all 50’s “Amazons in Space” variations. Astronauts chase a monster in black pyjamas through Surrey fields, pretending it’s the 13th moon of Jupiter, while maidens undulate to the music of Borodin. 0/10
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It Conquered the World
The ridiculous monster tends to get all the attention in Roger Corman’s 1956 alien body snatching movie. But with a clever script and good performances from Peter Graves, Lee van Cleef and Beverly Garland, it’s better than its reputation. 6/10 It Conquered the World. 1956, USA. Directed by Roger Corman.…
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Forbidden Planet
Based on Shakespeare, MGM’s 1956 epic starring Anne Francis & Leslie Nielsen is a landmark SF movie. The pulpy premise of space explorers saving a virgin from an alien monster hides surprisingly serious and adult themes. 9/10
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The Quatermass Xperiment
In 1955 Hammer kickstarted its legendary horror franchise with a dark and unsettling adaptation of a 1953 TV series. An astronaut brings back an unspeakable horror from space, which begins its invasion of Earth by mutating its host. 8/10
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King Dinosaur
Bert I. Gordon’s 1955 directorial debut sees four scientists completely uninterested in exploring a new planet and doing “darn science stuff”. After battling stock footage and superimposed insects, they detonate a nuclear bomb and go home. 0/10
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The Beast with a Million Eyes
Birds and cows attack the residents of a small desert community – mind-controlled by an invisible alien entity set to enslave the Earth. It says Roger Corman on the packaging, but this slow and shoddy entry lacks the magic Corman touch. 1/10
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This Island Earth
With a more adult angle than most fifties SF movies, Universal’s 1955 big-budget splash dazzles both with wonderful visuals and clever ideas. That the screenplay mismanages these ideas prevents its inclusion with the bona fide classics. 7/10