An above-standard 1950s sci-fi/horror, steeped in Cold War paranoia, with some surprisingly gory scenes and commendable special effects.
In a remote part of Canada, a joint Canadian/American atomic testing site is in hot water with the locals, who blame the constant air traffic for scaring their livestock and disrupting the milk flow of their cows. When a man is found dead out in the woods next to the base, tensions reach breaking point. Following the deaths of other nearby residents in quick succession, the locals - believing that the deaths have been caused by either radiation from the base, or from a mad GI who has gone renegade - have enough, but so does Major Cummings (Marshall Thompson, 1925 - 1992), who begins an investigation into the deaths, determined to take the heat off himself and his colleagues.
The special effects in this film earned it much publicity and controversy at the time. The media, and British Parliament, were disgusted by the film, asking 'What is the British film industry thinking by trying to beat Hollywood at its own game of overdosing on blood and gore.' The monsters here are indeed a step above what Hollywood was producing during this period, and still hold up relatively well today, it has to be said. It is the last twenty minutes of the film that make it, because apart from that it is rather mediocre, run-of-the-mill; wooden actors and a flimsy, at times ludicrous, screenplay that would collapse if it was scaffolding. On a question of the film's influence on the genre, I've little doubt that George A. Romero and the monster team behind Ridley Scott's 'Alien' were fans. Face-huggers, anyone?
In a remote part of Canada, a joint Canadian/American atomic testing site is in hot water with the locals, who blame the constant air traffic for scaring their livestock and disrupting the milk flow of their cows. When a man is found dead out in the woods next to the base, tensions reach breaking point. Following the deaths of other nearby residents in quick succession, the locals - believing that the deaths have been caused by either radiation from the base, or from a mad GI who has gone renegade - have enough, but so does Major Cummings (Marshall Thompson, 1925 - 1992), who begins an investigation into the deaths, determined to take the heat off himself and his colleagues.
The special effects in this film earned it much publicity and controversy at the time. The media, and British Parliament, were disgusted by the film, asking 'What is the British film industry thinking by trying to beat Hollywood at its own game of overdosing on blood and gore.' The monsters here are indeed a step above what Hollywood was producing during this period, and still hold up relatively well today, it has to be said. It is the last twenty minutes of the film that make it, because apart from that it is rather mediocre, run-of-the-mill; wooden actors and a flimsy, at times ludicrous, screenplay that would collapse if it was scaffolding. On a question of the film's influence on the genre, I've little doubt that George A. Romero and the monster team behind Ridley Scott's 'Alien' were fans. Face-huggers, anyone?