An alien civilisation dying of a radiation-induced, blood-destroying disease sends a vampiric agent with lethal, glowing eyes to Earth to determine if our blood could be harvested as a fixative. The film is one of Roger Corman's better sci-fi cheapies, with a creepy vibe, reasonable script, imaginative (if bargain-basement) special effects, and pretty good acting from the director's regulars (including Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Jonathan Haze, Dick Miller). The story really doesn't make much sense and there is little explanation of the alien blood-sucker's ability to burn out victim's brains at a glance, communicate telepathically, or hypnotise people into doing his will (nor is it explained why he doesn't do the latter more often). There is also an unexpected bonus monster (courtesy of Paul Blaisdell), when Johnson (Birch) unfurls some kind of flying, killer, umbrella-creature that bloodily extirpates an interfering doctor. Birch does a good job playing the stiff and stilted alien and there is an amusing sequence in which a smarmy vacuum cleaner salesman (Miller) encounters a sucker of another sort. All in all, a fun film from the master of frugal shocks with an unusually subtle title, considering it's a 'vampires-from-outer-space' movie.
Review of Not of This Earth
