THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (1957)
Tagline: The incredible space-brain invades a human body with its destructive evil power!
(Sci-Fi, Horror, Adventure) [PG]
Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a PG.
I said it doesn't make any sense. The Geiger counter's been going on and off all morning. And the nucleometer checks right along with it.
In this one, an alien named Gor (who looks like a giant brain) takes over the body of a scientist named Steve March. Steve begins acting strangely aggressive towards his wife and others before demonstrating massive power to destroy. Meanwhile, another alien brain named Val lands on earth and says he is there to help Steve’s future wife Sally defeat Gor, but can she trust Val? Who can stop the brain from planet Arous?
First off, one thing I love about this movie is that it is very fast-moving. We get to the alien sequences very quickly and the pace is pretty strong after that. It is fairly easy to tell that the aliens are basically balloons painted like brains, but it’s still freakin epic.
If I had a complaint about this movie, it’s that writer Ray Buffum (who also wrote TEENAGE MONSTER) decided to include Steve March’s character being so aggressive with his would-be wife to where Sally has to fight him off in a couple of instances. For me, this scene felt completely unnecessary and didn’t bring anything to the film. John Agar (REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, THE MOLE PEOPLE) is a great actor and delivers a solid performance here, I just wasn’t crazy about those scenes.
Where this movie goes right is in the rest of the cast as well. Joyce Meadows who plays Sally Fallon didn’t have any other sci-fi appearances that I can tell, but she did have a Hollywood career that spanned from 1956 to 1995. We also have another Thomas Browne Henry sighting. Outside of maybe Morris Ankrum, he seemed to be in the most sci-fi flicks of the 1950s. Everything from BEGINNING OF THE END to 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH. The score and effects even though they are kind of goofy by today’s standards are all just really cool.
Outside of one major plot hole, this movie is very solid. Of the sci-fi flicks from the ’50s that I have watched recently, it’s got to be somewhere in my TOP 15 and I have racked up quite a few reviews in this area. I mean – who doesn’t want a movie with a couple of floating alien brains?
Even given its two really terrible scenes, I think I can still give this a 5 out of 7. I guess it’s a bit of a reminder that if your future husband is possessed by a brain from outer space and then does something terrible, you can probably forgive him. Especially if it could be proven, and you were involved in trying to kill that floating thing.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARQUETTE PRODUCTIONS LTD. AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.
Comments
Post a Comment