KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954)

KILLERS FROM SPACE (1954)

Tagline: Strange creatures from another world attack planet earth!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Googly Eyes) [G]

Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a G. 

Well, haven't you heard? I'm a mental case! Can't even be trusted with my own work! AHH!

In this one pilot Doug Martin (played by Peter Graves) goes missing after his plane crashes shortly after a nuclear test. He shows up pretty beat looking at his base of operations and has a wild tale to tell. One where he is picked up by aliens and they tell him the world is in grave danger (yes, Peter Graves danger). Can Doug find a way to use destroy the aliens before they conquer earth and all the Dairy Queens and Hobby Lobby Craft stores…and all that stuff? 

First off, this is one three movie studio “Planet Filmways” contributions to 1950s sci-fi. I am not sure exactly why they kind of abandoned the genre after THE SNOW CREATURE and PHANTOM FROM SPACE, but it looks like they were also backed by RKO Pictures which was taken over by Howard Hughes in 1948, then acquired by General Tire And Rubber Company in 1955 (when they stopped making sci-fi flicks). After just 2 more movies under General Tire, RKO Pictures was dissolved. The same fate applies to “Planet Filmways”. RKO Pictures was revived as RKO Pictures Inc. which was revived in 1981. 

Acting-wise the movie is very stiff and as good as Barbara Bestar might be in other movies, she just isn’t as great in this as Doug’s wife Ellen Martin. Although she got out of acting in 1961, she is still around as of the writing of this review. Frank Gerstle is probably the most solid thing about this movie as Dr. Curt Kruger. Gerstle is most famous for THE NEANDERTHAL MAN, but had over 200 acting credits in his career. We also have a James Seay sighting as Col. Banks. Seay was in everything from BEGINNING OF THE END to THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN.

Depending on what you were looking for when this came out probably determined whether you loved or hated this thing. It does seem most critics hated it and it’s even been said to be only marginally better than some of the worst sci-fi out there, but it’s not. I have seen some of the worst sci-fi out there and this isn’t even close to that bad.

Where this movie succeeds is in its ability to keep you interested from start to finish. I actually loved this thing quite a bit and part of that is because it’s just visually nuts. We have everything from giant spiders, to giant lizards to the actual aliens that are literally just guys in bodysuits with eyes made from the bottoms of egg cartons. It’s goofy but enthralling and oddly effective. Were the aliens actually a bit dumb in the end? Yes. Is everything in this movie just absolutely bonkers? Yes. However, that is actually why I thought it was just epic. 

For me, this is a solid 5 out of 7 especially if you like your sci-fi with a healthy helping of cheese. Then again if you read my reviews often, you already know I simply don’t go along with the crowd on a lot of this stuff. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF PLANET FILMWAYS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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