Killers from Space

Rating:
Summary: Attack of the hard boiled egg-eyed aliens
Review: According to some, Killers From Space is a great example of a bad movie so bad that it is good; some would even grant it B movie cult status. I take more of a middle ground because, to me, the movie isn't really that bad. Sure, it has some silly aspects to it, but it's a lot more enjoyable than many a 1950s science fiction thriller you can find out there in the wild. Admittedly, the prominence of Peter Graves also helps because I can't help but think of him as a legitimate actor despite a good bit of evidence to the contrary.

As for the plot, it all starts on a bright and shiny day when all kinds of folks have come together to watch the detonation of an atomic bomb - don't worry, they are all wearing goggles, so I'm sure they are in no danger whatsoever; as we all learned on Mystery Science Theater 3000, radiation can only hurt you if you touch it. Anyway, Dr. Douglas Martin (Peter Graves) is flying around above the explosion taking readings when his pilot spots a glowing object below and commences to take the plan into a vertical dive toward the earth. There is no sign of Martin's body in the wreckage, but no one could have survived the crash. Then, shortly thereafter, who should come wandering up to the gate of the local military base but Dr. Martin himself. He comes home with no memory of what happened, but he does have a shiny new surgical scar covering the left upper side of his chest. He soon begins acting strangely, and ultimately he gets nabbed hiding some secret information about the next atomic test under a rock in the desert. In with the truth serum, and out comes a story of aliens with hard-boiled eggs for eyes breeding a zoo of genetically mutated super-sized critters. He insists that the future of the planet is in grave peril, but no one believes him. Thus, as is always the case, it's up to Peter Graves to save the world single-handedly (and, as luck would have it, the aliens were stupid enough to pretty much tell him how to destroy them).

Some individuals have posited that this film helped create a template for future alien abduction accounts. This idea is pure rubbish, in my opinion. Sure, the aliens have huge eyes that seem to haunt Martin, but no E.T. ever looked as stupid as these guys; Martin also wakes up on a table surrounded by aliens performing some kind of medical procedure on him, but the scenes in this movie are by and large pretty laughable. Besides the aliens, the other thing this movie is known for is its whole giant insect montage. When Martin tries to escape from the aliens, he winds up running around in their menagerie - in other words, he runs back and forth between some projection screens showing extreme close-ups of spiders, lizards, and other creepy-crawlies. This scene would have been fairly effective had the director shown any restraint, but these shots just continue for far too long. If you've seen Peter Graves in The Beginning of the End, you will feel quite at home here. In the final analysis, Killers From Space is obviously not a great movie, but I personally don't think it is quite bad enough to be considered a full-fledged "bad movie."

Rating:
Summary: Attack of the hard boiled egg-eyed aliens
Review: According to some, Killers From Space is a great example of a bad movie so bad that it is good; some would even grant it B movie cult status. I take more of a middle ground because, to me, the movie isn't really that bad. Sure, it has some silly aspects to it, but it's a lot more enjoyable than many a 1950s science fiction thriller you can find out there in the wild. Admittedly, the prominence of Peter Graves also helps because I can't help but think of him as a legitimate actor despite a good bit of evidence to the contrary.

As for the plot, it all starts on a bright and shiny day when all kinds of folks have come together to watch the detonation of an atomic bomb - don't worry, they are all wearing goggles, so I'm sure they are in no danger whatsoever; as we all learned on Mystery Science Theater 3000, radiation can only hurt you if you touch it. Anyway, Dr. Douglas Martin (Peter Graves) is flying around above the explosion taking readings when his pilot spots a glowing object below and commences to take the plan into a vertical dive toward the earth. There is no sign of Martin's body in the wreckage, but no one could have survived the crash. Then, shortly thereafter, who should come wandering up to the gate of the local military base but Dr. Martin himself. He comes home with no memory of what happened, but he does have a shiny new surgical scar covering the left upper side of his chest. He soon begins acting strangely, and ultimately he gets nabbed hiding some secret information about the next atomic test under a rock in the desert. In with the truth serum, and out comes a story of aliens with hard-boiled eggs for eyes breeding a zoo of genetically mutated super-sized critters. He insists that the future of the planet is in grave peril, but no one believes him. Thus, as is always the case, it's up to Peter Graves to save the world single-handedly (and, as luck would have it, the aliens were stupid enough to pretty much tell him how to destroy them).

Some individuals have posited that this film helped create a template for future alien abduction accounts. This idea is pure rubbish, in my opinion. Sure, the aliens have huge eyes that seem to haunt Martin, but no E.T. ever looked as stupid as these guys; Martin also wakes up on a table surrounded by aliens performing some kind of medical procedure on him, but the scenes in this movie are by and large pretty laughable. Besides the aliens, the other thing this movie is known for is its whole giant insect montage. When Martin tries to escape from the aliens, he winds up running around in their menagerie - in other words, he runs back and forth between some projection screens showing extreme close-ups of spiders, lizards, and other creepy-crawlies. This scene would have been fairly effective had the director shown any restraint, but these shots just continue for far too long. If you've seen Peter Graves in The Beginning of the End, you will feel quite at home here. In the final analysis, Killers From Space is obviously not a great movie, but I personally don't think it is quite bad enough to be considered a full-fledged "bad movie."

Rating:
Summary: These killers only manage to kill some of your precious time
Review: Another awful 50's science fiction entry in the never-ending sweepstakes for the Worst Film Of All Time award. I don't want to rush to judgment by calling the director W. Lee Wilder a schlockmeister as others are quick to but there's scant little evidence to the contrary here. And the only thing that the so-called killers from space come even close to killing is the career of actor Peter Graves. Even so I notice that there are a number of defenders with comments here giving this film a 'thumbs-up' as one of the 'so-bad-it's-good' variety. I can't agree with them though. 'Killers From Space' is just plain boring and never manages to generate any excitement or suspense, although it does provide at least a small dosage of unintentional laughs occasionally. The best laughs come when scientist Doug Martin (played by Graves) recalls his experiences while under the influence of truth serum. Martin was pulled from a plane wreckage and though he was dead he was revived by the aliens who then mesmerized him into carrying out a spy & sabotage mission on their behalf. If you must watch be sure to take a good look at the scenes of Martin regaining consciousness on an operating table with a trio of extraterrestrials hovering over him - this is the stuff of UFO legends. Similar stories of alien abduction have been recounted many times in the five decades since this film was released leading one to postulate hmmmmmm...

As the scenes in the cave continue to play out Martin tries to affect an escape by following several pathways in the caverns. He soon comes across the aliens really big "animal armies" (that's what they called them!) which are supposed to ravage the earth so the aliens can assume control of the planet. It's an endless tour of countless insects but the emphasis is clearly on a plethora of spiders - but what "animal army" would be complete without the dreadful and frightening giant horned toad? All of these scenes are done with the usual rear projection screen with Graves doing his best to look scared. There is a brief scene where the aliens demonstrate to Martin how they will dispose of the overgrown creatures after they are no longer needed that puts a whole new twist on the term "smoking roaches". But by far the funniest sequence in the film is during the last few minutes which has Graves running through a power plant wearing a bathrobe and his pajamas frantically trying to turn off the power! Now that is the kind of 'action' that turns Grade-Z movies into film folklore. But what 'Killers From Space' is best known for are the aliens absolutely awful makeup design. Once seen the eggy eyeballs will not be forgotten. I guess you might say they see the sunny-side of life.

Fortunately for Peter Graves he was able to overcome these meager beginnings to get memorable roles in the classic movies 'Stalag 17' and 'Night Of The Hunter' and went on to become a household name with starring turns in the television series 'Mission: Impossible' and later the two 'Airplane' movie spoofs. In case you didn't know the director, W. Lee Wilder, is the estranged brother of Billy Wilder - and it's clear to see that Billy had all the talent in his family! The story's author is listed as Myles Wilder and although I can't be sure I'm going to guess that with that last name he is some sort of relative or family member also. The screenplay author is William Raynor who wrote the screenplays for such 'classic' movies as 'The Secret Of Outlaw Flats', 'Murder Without Tears', 'Timber Country Trouble' and of course he even provided dialogue for Francis the Talking Mule in 'Francis In The Haunted House'. Consequently I got just what I was asking for when I put this DVD into my player here at home. Although I didn't like this movie at all I gave it three stars only for the few brief sequences that gave me giggles and because they are several others here who thought enough of it to classify it as 'so-bad-it's-good'. Judge for yourself...if you must!

Rating:
Summary: Killers From Space
Review: Combine Cold War paranoia with a pinch of speculative pseudo-science and a dash of radiation anxiety, shake it in a cheap sci-fi tumbler for 70-minutes and you get KILLERS FROM SPACE.
A very young Peter Graves plays the desert scientist studying nuclear blasts and counting the radiation. When his plane crashes after one blast and he's missing for a few days things change. A big, ugly cautery scar over his heart doesn't explain much, either. Of course, nobody believes him when he tells them there's a troop of ping pong ball-eyed aliens living in the caverns in Yucca Flats, poaching our electricity and growing gigantic beetles and rock lizards....
KILLERS FROM SPACE is goofy, and for all of its campy charm pretty slow moving. Graves plays "astonishment" in every key in his repertoire. The alien outfits and makeup aren't very convincing, but they look comfortable. The big bugs look like... well, they look like rear-screen projections with amplified sound (probably amplified to drown out the sound of the director shouting "Now look surprised, Peter!", "Now look astonished and disgusted, Peter!")
Anyway, it's no sillier than most science fiction. I purchased this one because it's directed by master director Billy Wilder's brother W. Lee. If his name wasn't in the credits there's no way I'd know the two were related. Cult fans should get a kick out of this. The print quality is pretty poor, especially where the dubbed print was near the end or beginning of a reel.


Rating:
Summary: Hey! Cookie Monster Wants His Eyeballs Back!
Review: Dr. Martin (Peter Graves) is abducted, operated on, and brain-washed by google-eyed invaders from outer space! It seems that they've come to steal the atomic energy from our nuclear blasts! These sinister starmen are growing an army of giant, mutated cockroaches, tarantulas, scorpions, lizards, horned toads, and grasshoppers in order to wipe out mankind! Dr. Martin must defeat these titanic pests and their ever-ogling masters himself, as no one else believes his tale of imminent doom. He hatches a plan to obliterate the invaders in their subterranean lair. Watch as a megaton of stock footage is unleashed upon us! This was / is W. Lee Wilder (Phantom From Space, Snow Creature)'s highest achievement! See it and be modestly entertained! Worth a look...

Rating:
Summary: Another awful film by W. Lee Wilder!
Review: Following a fatal plane crash, Peter Graves is literally pieced back together by bad-actor aliens with goofy suits and large, unconvincing eyes. Students of UFO folklore will notice that the scene of Graves waking up on an extraterrestrial operating table is the stuff of alien-abduction tales. Could this movie have been the source of this motif? Such pop-historical importance aside, this monumentally badly-edited, poorly-directed, atrociously-acted, zero-budgeted, and utterly unsuspenseful movie is the ultimate so-bad-it's-good science fiction flick. And it's directed by no less than the brother of Billy Wilder! Possibly the worst close-up shots in cinema history. A gem!

Rating:
Summary: Another awful film by W. Lee Wilder!
Review: Following a fatal plane crash, Peter Graves is literally pieced back together by bad-actor aliens with goofy suits and large, unconvincing eyes. Students of UFO folklore will notice that the scene of Graves waking up on an extraterrestrial operating table is the stuff of alien-abduction tales. Could this movie have been the source of this motif? Such pop-historical importance aside, this monumentally badly-edited, poorly-directed, atrociously-acted, zero-budgeted, and utterly unsuspenseful movie is the ultimate so-bad-it's-good science fiction flick. And it's directed by no less than the brother of Billy Wilder! Possibly the worst close-up shots in cinema history. A gem!

Rating:
Summary: You will obtain the data and place it under the rock.
Review: I think this is the coolest sci fi of all time! I know I am in the minority, but watching this movie as a kid on the families black and white TV, late one Saturday night, it just spooked me. I was young, but those big eyes were just spooky to me. It was a movie that was different, and although not the best technology was used, it was entertaining. It captivated me, as a child, and left an impression that is fondly remembered. I think if you enjoy those old movies, you should check this one out. You could argue about it's content, or it's story line, but if you just sit back and watch, you will get a kick out of it. I hope they one day put it on DVD... it would be a gas to see that on a big screen, and digital clarity !

Rating:
Summary: Classic B-Movie!!!
Review: Killers From Space is everything you want in a B-movie about Aliens taking over the world. Peter Graves plays Dr. Douglas Martin, a nuclear scientist who is surveying a piece of land where an A-Bomb is tested. This begins a strange journey that leads him to believe that aliens are using our atomic energy to support themselves so they can unleash a deadly herd of giant insects that will devour all humans on the earth. It is one of my all time favorite B-Movies. A must see!!!

Rating:
Summary: Classic B-Movie!!!
Review: Killers From Space is everything you want in a B-movie about Aliens taking over the world. Peter Graves plays Dr. Douglas Martin, a nuclear scientist who is surveying a piece of land where an A-Bomb is tested. This begins a strange journey that leads him to believe that aliens are using our atomic energy to support themselves so they can unleash a deadly herd of giant insects that will devour all humans on the earth. It is one of my all time favorite B-Movies. A must see!!!