Rating: 
Summary: His Head...It was torn off!
Review: 4.5 stars for acting story and atmosphere.
-1.5 for mostly poor special effects."His head it was torn off" This line scared the heck out of me as a kid - along with a number of decapataions and idea of an eye monster. I could not sleep alone for weeks. Seeing it now - what is scarey about this film is not the creatures - but more everything that leads up to them. A very good mysterious plot - spooky, and atmospheric - good acting and an actress, Janet Monroe - who with a bad haircut, worse teeth, funny eyes and a crooked mouth is also very cute in a wholesome sister-ish sort of way. She is very believable and projects all her fears onto the viewer. I took the eye monsters as realistic and a total terror as a kid. Especially - their exelerated hyper breathing along with a little bell that sounds when they are up to their evil tricks.
Up close the eye creatures are menacing, large, and gross.
But from a distance the monsters look more like marshmellows with pipe cleaner legs. - Infact most of the minitures are shoddy, cheap and not at all believable. Utlra low flying aircraft is slung through the air on strings and the paper cut out people are obvious. A roaring fire appears more like someone burning a cigerette package.
That said - TCE is still a good, fun movie. TCE will probably entertain and even scare kids. While many adults will enjoy TCE for the atmosphere story they will also cringe when they see the terrible special effects.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story. Cheap effects.
Review: Although made with some truly cheap special effects, this is really one of the best films about alien invasion ever made. It could be said that this is the inspiration for The Arrival. Forrest Tucker stars in this film of alien invasion. Our characters wind up an small Alpine village where a mysterious cloud never moves from a nearby peak. We learn that there are horrible aliens in the cloud running experiments to transform the Earth's atmosphere into one more habitable for them. This is a seriously good plot and the first encounter with an alien is quite well done, but it is obvious at the end that there was not a whole lot of budget for special effects. This one is fun and well done. A must-see for fans of suspenseful alien movies.
Rating:
Summary: Great film...with oddly amusing effects!
Review: Although this little gem is hampered by a typical "monster on the loose" title, I happen to think it's one of the best of the creature films of the 50's, 60's and 70's. The plot is literate, the characters well-rounded, the dialogue believable and logical, and the atmosphere suitably creepy. Janet Munro makes you believe in her character's telepathic abilities, and Forrest Tucker is quite good as the reluctant monster-hunter. But it's the (obligatory) scientist who is my favorite character, played with great realism and understated emotion by Laurence Payne (?). The banter between the various parties makes for a very realistic portrayal of people caught up in an extraordinary circumstance. Some viewers may find this film rather talky (especially since the creatures aren't actually seen until well into the second half of the film), but there is enough plot development to keep things going nicely. And the B&W photography adds to the creepiness factor, as it usually does with films of this sort.
Now, about those creatures....
It amazes me that, given the nice production values of the film as a whole (and the widescreen cinematography), the bug-eyed aliens couldn't have been made to look more realistic!! Their DESIGN is quite nasty and creepy, but the manner in which they were photographed--no slow-motion at all--makes them look like the little table-top models that they obviously were. This is nowhere more apparent than in the film's climax, where fire and explosions are used to dispel them as they crawl over the mountaintop laboratory protecting the film's heros. What looks like matchsticks burning probably is!! I can't undertand why the decision was made to film the creatures in so OBVIOUSLY an unrealistic way. However, that's my only gripe with this film. In all other respects, it's a well-crafted sci-fi / horror story, done with obvious feeling for the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: "His head.......it was torn off!"
Review: And so opens the main title on "The crawling eye" This sci-fi film
takes place in the village of Trollenberg known mainly for its Alps
climbing and scenic view has suffered recently from lack of tourist
due to a mountian climbing "accident" which left a man decapitated.
Forrest Tucker,a correspondent of unnatural phenomenon is called in
to investigate. Also involved are 2 sisters of a traveling mindread
act. Janet Munro is one of the mediums who feels something is wrong
in Trollenberg something beyond the scope of man's understanding. Who doesn't remember this Saturday night chiller theatre flim? A staple in annuals of B-movie folklore and say what you will about
the creatures themselves but I still can't figure out how the sfx
guys did the close effect of the eyeballs, truely hideous and one
of the better gruesome '50's films that image has released. The dvd print of this film is under it's british film title of
"The Trollenberg terror" and is the healthest version that I have
ever seen. And has not only the trailer but a cool main menu with
that weird pulsating breathing sound. And I'm not a purist but if
your into this type of drive-in throw back monster mash then this
is one better ones.
Rating:
Summary: "His head.......it was torn off!"
Review: And so opens the main title on "The crawling eye" This sci-fi film
takes place in the village of Trollenberg known mainly for its Alps
climbing and scenic view has suffered recently from lack of tourist
due to a mountian climbing "accident" which left a man decapitated.
Forrest Tucker,a correspondent of unnatural phenomenon is called in
to investigate. Also involved are 2 sisters of a traveling mindread
act. Janet Munro is one of the mediums who feels something is wrong
in Trollenberg something beyond the scope of man's understanding. Who doesn't remember this Saturday night chiller theatre flim? A staple in annuals of B-movie folklore and say what you will about
the creatures themselves but I still can't figure out how the sfx
guys did the close effect of the eyeballs, truely hideous and one
of the better gruesome '50's films that image has released. The dvd print of this film is under it's british film title of
"The Trollenberg terror" and is the healthest version that I have
ever seen. And has not only the trailer but a cool main menu with
that weird pulsating breathing sound. And I'm not a purist but if
your into this type of drive-in throw back monster mash then this
is one better ones.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT IMAGE AND SOUND
Review: Compare the trailer on the disk to the actual movie. The quality of the trailer is terrible and is probably how many people have seen the entire movie. The actual movie is crisp and sharp. I'm always on the lookout for quality DVD's at bargain prices.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT IMAGE AND SOUND
Review: Compare the trailer on the disk to the actual movie. The quality of the trailer is terrible and is probably how many people have seen the entire movie. The actual movie is crisp and sharp. I'm always on the lookout for quality DVD's at bargain prices.
Rating:
Summary: Clouded Killers
Review: Government-connected scientist Forrest Tucker arrives in the Swiss town of Trollenberg at the foot of the alps. Two sisters, Jennifer Jayne and performing stage psychic Janet Munro, happen to be in the same train car and get to know him. Tucker is in Trollenberg on business - he meets with another scientist in a concealed mountainside lab, which is studying an unusual cloud that doesn't behave like a cloud. Tucker encountered the same phenomenon in the Peruvian Andes recently, and lost credibility with Uncle Sam for suggesting it was actually some kind of spaceship. But, just as in Peru, hikers start losing their heads - literally. Other unusual occurrences are noted, such as dead people getting up and going for walks, with murder on their minds. Their favorite target is psychic Munro, whose talents extend far beyond stage magic - she telepathically remote-views the alien ship, and confirms that is indeed what it is. Eventually, the aliens tire of hiding out behind faux cumulo-nimbus, and stage an all-out attack on the scientific bunker - with really bad special effects. Veteran screenwriter Jimmy Sangster wrote the very good script, one of the better ones of this type. The movie is darkly atmospheric, and generates some genuine chills. The performances are capable, the cast likeable, especially stalked psychic Munro and protective Tucker. The really, really cheesy monster effects and bad model work at the end of the movie hurt it pretty badly, but it's still great fun. Interesting side-note: government use of remote-viewing - let alone in connection to UFO phenomena - was not declassified and written about for more than another third of a century.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie for its time
Review: I remember seeing this movie as a kid, you know it still gets me . Doesn't start like an average sci-fi movie.I can watch it time and time again.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite sci-fi movie of all time.
Review: I saw this film as a child and it really scared me. It doesn't scare me any more, but I still love it. It has a great script, excellent directing, and really cool monsters. The horror begins gradually with mountain climbers disappearing and later being found with their heads ripped off. Enter Forrest Tucker (star of many fims and the TV series F troop)as a U.N official dragged into the investigation of the "accidents." Also starring in the film is the lovely Janet Munro as a psychic who can communicate with the aliens. The tension builds up as the cloud, where the monsters hide, gradually moves towards the local village. The first appearance of the giant, crawling monsters with one eye is superb. Although the limited special effects show in the climactic scene as the besieged humans fight back with Molotov cocktails, it is still first rate. Trivia note: following this film Janet Munro would do a series of Walt Disney flicks including Darbey O'Gill and the Little People (where she sings a duet with Sean Connery!), and Swiss Family Robinson. She would also star in the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Caught Fire.
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