When I was a kid I couldn't get enough of Sunday afternoon television. I loved the old creature feature's from the 50's and 60's they showed all day long. I was at the library, and there it was with that fabulous retro cover screaming at me to rent it. The copy we rented was from Criterion and was excellent; crisp and clear. There were some really fun extras on this disc including some great 1950's movie trailers, newspaper ads etc.
The story takes place on an American military base in Manitoba, Canada. In actuality it was filmed in London England. The base is not popular with the locals. They are concerned about radiation and the jets fly far too low to the ground and frighten the livestock. When some of the locals are found dead their first instinct is to point fingers at the military. When a major is assigned to investigate he quickly discovers that a scientist living in the area may know more about the incidents then he let's on.
It really offers you everything you could want in a Sci-Fi horror from the period. There is a hero, a lovely gal and a monster that sucks out peoples brain and spinal cord. The "fiends" in fact are gelatanis brains that push themselves along via their spinal cord. There is even some gore when the brains get shot. They were definitely the films main source of entertainment. In the extras they talk about some of the ways they promoted the film back then. In New York they actually had a "fiend" in a glass box on the sidewalk in front of the theatre. They hooked it up to some wires and the spine would move randomly. It garnered such huge crowds that the police asked them to remove it, citing it as a public nuisance. The cheesy dialog is delivered with conviction by the actors. Sometimes to the point of hilarity. The scene where the scientist explains how it is that the fiends came to be is not to be missed! One of the last lines of the film comes from the sergeant who slyly says to the major "Call me when you have the situation well under hand" with a wink wink and a nod nod towards the gal at his side. This is just good, campy, clean fun! It's not going to rock your world by any means but it sure as hell will entertain you. Absolutely worth a viewing!
The story takes place on an American military base in Manitoba, Canada. In actuality it was filmed in London England. The base is not popular with the locals. They are concerned about radiation and the jets fly far too low to the ground and frighten the livestock. When some of the locals are found dead their first instinct is to point fingers at the military. When a major is assigned to investigate he quickly discovers that a scientist living in the area may know more about the incidents then he let's on.
It really offers you everything you could want in a Sci-Fi horror from the period. There is a hero, a lovely gal and a monster that sucks out peoples brain and spinal cord. The "fiends" in fact are gelatanis brains that push themselves along via their spinal cord. There is even some gore when the brains get shot. They were definitely the films main source of entertainment. In the extras they talk about some of the ways they promoted the film back then. In New York they actually had a "fiend" in a glass box on the sidewalk in front of the theatre. They hooked it up to some wires and the spine would move randomly. It garnered such huge crowds that the police asked them to remove it, citing it as a public nuisance. The cheesy dialog is delivered with conviction by the actors. Sometimes to the point of hilarity. The scene where the scientist explains how it is that the fiends came to be is not to be missed! One of the last lines of the film comes from the sergeant who slyly says to the major "Call me when you have the situation well under hand" with a wink wink and a nod nod towards the gal at his side. This is just good, campy, clean fun! It's not going to rock your world by any means but it sure as hell will entertain you. Absolutely worth a viewing!