The Night Caller

When a UFO lands in rural England, both the military and a group of scientists (John Saxon, Maurice Denham, and Patricia Haines) are bewildered by the basketball-sized object. Soon thereafter, a rash of odd occurrences begin. It seems that the strange sphere has somehow brought a visitor from another world! When young women start vanishing, Scotland Yard gets involved.

It's soon found out that an enigmatic man named Mr. Medra (Robert Crewdson) has opened a modeling agency. What does this man have to do with whatever is going on?

NIGHT CALLER FROM OUTER SPACE is a different sort of alien invasion film, playing more like a detective story / mystery. This movie also manages to delve into the Soho underbelly without becoming lurid. There are some unexpected deaths as well. Saxon is quite good, as are the rest of the cast. A terrific sci-fi / horror film for those in search of something out of the ordinary...

It's the scientists vs. the anomaly, in England, Earth. What in the world is this, they ask. Can't just ask, gotta investigate, because this could be harmful. I love this sort of story, with it's Twilight-Zone atmosphere and low budget. Too often sci-fi movies rely on the visuals, no science, no heart. Not the case here. Danger, Earth!

Both the colourised UK version and the US version (still in black & white) can been found on YouTube. There are some minor differences between them of which I am aware. One of these is the theme tune. One of these is the scene in Thorntons bookshop, parts of which were re-shot for an American and/or overseas audience. These re-shot scenes replaced the topless pictures that were on display.

My own opinion on the film is that it is a good standard British 60's UK Sci-Fi.

THE NIGHT CALLER is a very uneven movie in that it's sometimes excellent and sometimes awful . For the most part it's very atmospheric and downbeat sci-fi film noir where most of the scenes are filmed during night and resembles the classic QUATERMASS BBC serials of the 1950s where scientists team up with the military and Scotland Yard to deal with an extraterrestrial menace

Unfortunately it becomes clear that the script wasn't written by someone as intellectually or dramatically gifted as the legendary Nigel Kneale and it's the plot and dialogue that's the problem with audience being subjected to some quite laughable techno babble that anyone with any type of basic scientific knowledge will roll their eyes at . Once the alien masterplan is revealed people will be falling out of their seats asking " Is that it ? " and let's not mention some very ludicrous plot holes like how does an alien from another planet learn to drive a car or acquire money to rent an office

This is a movie containing a strange mixture of good and bad aspects and it's by no means an ordeal to sit through especially like me you're a fan of QUATERMASS , the original series of THE OUTER LIMITS and early 1970s DOCTOR WHO but it's a movie that should have been a lot better and shows like 28 DAYS LATER that if a film is good it's down to the director and if it's bad it's down to the screenwriter

This is an unusual movie in that it's almost like two entirely separate films merged into one. The film begins with three astronomers observing an object as it travels towards the Earth. It appears to be a meteorite heading towards London. However, at the last moment, it veers away in a manner that could only mean that there is some force or intelligence controlling it--perhaps it's a u.f.o.. The three go in search of the object and come upon the military who has cordoned off the area. As they, too, have top secret clearance and are egg-head scientists, they are invited in for a look.

Oddly, the object is some sort of sphere about the size of a basketball. And, despite traveling through the atmosphere, the object is ice-cold! Obviously this is NOT of this planet, though the dopey military commander keeps asking from which COUNTRY this originated! How dumb can you be?! Later, after extensive tests have been conducted, it is determined that the sphere is hollow and there is nothing much inside other than a vacuum. However, what they don't know is that it is a device that will allow beings to move enormous distances through space--sort of a space travel device. And, when a monstrous-looking beast is transported with it, the scientists and military scramble to find it! Now, the movie switches gears. The film becomes a police tale about the disappearances of some young ladies. After some investigation, the police determine that a madman is luring the girls using a bikini magazine ad that offers to make them models. But, when the ladies respond to the ad, they end up disappearing--and it's happened to quite a few ladies already. All the police know about the identity of the sicko is that he is very large and keeps his identity hidden--standing in shadows and covering his face.

Eventually, one of the egg-heads (John Saxon) learns of the disappearances and assumes (using what logic, I have no idea) that this is somehow related to the alien sphere and the missing creature! How and why the creature is doing this is something you'll need to see for yourself.

Overall, this is a rather interesting film. What I particularly liked was the way the aliens traveled. Instead of a traditional ship, they shoot a sphere from their location to the planet they wish to visit and it is able to transport them! Pretty unusual--and thankfully it made the film more watchable. Overall, a pretty good alien movie--worth watching despite their being a plethora of films in this genre.