ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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This poster is a masterpiece: a screaming woman with yellow pupil-less eyes and vampire fangs has lost most of her hair, part of her scalp, a piece of her skull, and all of her mind.

I love it. I had this poster on the wall of my room when I was a kid. It kept Mom and Dad out.

This movie is only about 60 minutes long and the special effects are substandard, but some real imagination went into this minor effort directed by Bruno Ve Sota, with a plot based on The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein.



A strange Earth-drilling craft surfaces in a small town and disgorges a horde of fuzzy little parasitic creatures who fasten themselves to the necks of the townsfolk and control their brains. Scientist Ed Nelson (who is also the film's producer) battles the invaders.

I should probably mention that we are told about all these events through dialog: there are no scenes of the drilling machine surfacing, no shots of the creatures scampering out, and no horrifying moments while we watch in horror as a brain-hungry hairball crawls up a victim's back and makes their internet connection with his brain.

In fact, all the shots of the victims simply show them with a bulge in their shirts, right below the collar. Bummer, huh?



The few scenes we get of the brain eaters moving around slowly aren't very impressive. Star Trek fans will giggle when they realize that the brain eaters are like little black Tribbles with tiny antennas and bad attitudes.





However, watch for the scene in which the hero enters the drill-craft and confronts a bearded old man . . . played by Leonard Nimoy!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Rick]

This is one of those problem, never-settled-in-my-brain movies.

I've seen it, I guess, half a dozen, maybe 8, times. I've never liked it. I've always been royally disappointed. So why watch it over and over again?

Simple. It should be a barrel of '50s sci-fi fun. It should be. Every time I think about it, I figure I need to watch it again because it's just got to be fun. It's just got to be.

But it never is. However, I know full well that I'll trudge back to those sad sixty minutes again. Hoping, always hoping. Never to see that hope fulfilled.

But, you know, even as I type these unkind comments, I'm thinking, "I need to watch that again."
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Man need not kneel before the angels,
Nor lie in death forever,
But for the weakness of his feeble will.

[Bud Brewster]

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Pop the popcorn, pour the Pepsi's, grab that sofa pillow for your back, kick off your shoes and put your feet up! It's time to watch a family friendly film about fuzzy little fur balls who scamper around in search of tasty snacks. Mr. Spock is especially fond of them!



Here's your one-stop-shopping bargain from All Sci-Fi — the trailer and the movie!

Hey, scoot over a little, will ya? I might be with you in spirit only, but even my spirit ain't sittin' in your lap, pal!
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Coming Soon to a TV right in front of you!

_________________ The Brain Eaters - Trailer


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And now . . . our Feature Presentation!

__________________ The Brain Eaters (1958)


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~ The print used for this Youtube video is actually quite good, and it downloads faster than you can say, "Hey, pass the popcorn, Snack Hog!"
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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This is a low budget rip-off of Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, which got an official film adaptation in 1994.

I think I read somewhere that Heinlein wasn't pleased with this and either sued or threatened to sue. Roger Corman was forced to take his own name off the credits as part of some behind-the-scenes deal. It's an alien invasion tale of parasites from outer space which control human beings (see also the 1st season episode of Star Trek TNG - Conspiracy).

You know a film like this is very low budget when there are a few scenes with narration rather than characters actually speaking, as if the soundtrack was lost or unusable. Ed Nelson stars as the hero scientist. This does have an atypical downbeat ending, and the overall tone is surprisingly grim for what should be a cheesy sci-fi tale — once a person is taken over, they are regarded as dead.

But, it's mostly dull.

Brain Trivia/Star Trek TOS actor alert: Leonard Nimoy (his name is misspelled in the credits) appears in one late scene as some old scientist who ends up inside the earth drill that brings the brain eaters to the surface. He's hidden under old age make-up. One can probably recognize his voice.

BoG's Score: 3 out of 10


BoG
[color=darkviolet] Galaxy Overlord Galactus[/color

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has 9 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ Producer Ed Nelson, who also stars, created the parasites himself using little wind-up toys covered with fur from an old coat and pipe cleaners for antennae.

Note from me: Somebody should make up a few thousand of these and sell them at conventions!

~ The producers of this movie were sued by Robert A. Heinlein, who claimed the plot stole several elements of his novel, "The Puppet Masters". The suit was settled out of court.

Note from me: I wonder how much the settlement was. Couldn't have been very large, I imagine.

~ A favorite of late night TV in the 60's and 70's, this film was usually referred to by LA Horror Host "Seymour" (Larry Vincent), as "The Attack of the Bunny Slippers", because of the cheesy monsters.

Note from me: Imagine a clever spoof of this movie using fuzzy bunny slippers as strange creatures which attach themselves to their victims' feet and control their brains, causing them to shuffle around in a zombie-like state . . . wearing pajamas and carrying a cup of coffee.

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~ Narration was added to the movie during editing because the sound quality was poor and you couldn't hear what was being said by the actors. Notice that actors are talking but you don't hear them in some parts. The added narration was by Alan Frost.

Note from me: I just checked the sound quality on the nice-looking YouTube video and it seems just fine! I haven't been able to get much pleasure out of watching this quirky movie in the past because the picture quality was bad (and perhaps the sound as well).

I think I'll download it and give it another try.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Bill Malone — the man who rescued Robby — talks about this odd little sci-fi movie.

_________ William Malone on THE BRAIN EATERS


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)