They Came from Beyond Space

In looking at this movie, it seemed to me that this was pretty close in concept to It Came from Outer Space, the sci-fi classic starring Richard Carlson and Barbara Rush. It was later remade as Night Slaves, a TV movie in 1990.

However, it was good seeing Robert Hutton, a perennial favorite in sci-fi films.

On the negative side, the editing seemed rather haphazard, with cuts and clips not blending together to add coherence and continuity. Also, the film lacked any of the background characters who were so good in what have turned out to be sci-fi classics. Made in England, They Came from Beyond Space has the location, but not the interest of the Quatermass movies.

"It Came From Outer/Beyond Space" Could this be the Brits' version of a pretty cool old movie? Hmmmm. Similar story but nowhere near the level of "...Outer Space".

Now "...Beyond Space" isn't really that bad. I got a kick out of it. It reminded me a bit of the Quatermass movies with set styles along the lines of Dr. Who. It's a little disjointed from time to time, but the story was decent with plausible details and kept me interested. And generally the acting wasn't all that bad either. There is a little too much "spying" going on however. Every other scene has our hero peeping thru the bushes, following baddies, sneaking in and out of places, etc. Avengers style. Unfortunately, the ending was a little goofy too.

The effects weren't good, but certainly not as hokey as some I've seen. The rocketship actually looked like one, and the lift device was realistic too (except for the yellow & black striped paint job). Sets were fair (especially for low budget) and had little extra touches (like the automated robot rolling around). I bet the actors tripped more than once on that railroad track thing tho.

Had there been more money and time available, I think this could have been changed from "mediocre" to "brilliant." It seems the talent, plot, and expertise were there just waiting to be brought out.

For a sci-fi fan this should fulfill one of those "night owl" sessions when you just don't want to go to bed. Definitely not an addition to my coaster collection.

They Came from Beyond Space (1967)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Amicus production has some meteors crashing in a field but when scientist goes to crack into them, an alien race starts taking over their minds. Soon everyone is under the spell of the aliens but thankfully one man (Robert Hutton) has some steel in his head, which keeps him from being infected. I love a lot of Amicus movies and I've often enjoyed their films more than their rival Hammer but there's not too much love that can be shown to this movie, which is pretty to look at but deadly dull in terms of entertainment. The biggest problem is that it appears Francis, usually a top-notch director, falls asleep at the wheel because the movie has a deadly slow pace that doesn't help anything. To make matters worse is the screenplay, which is full of one dialogue scene after another and nothing being said is all that intelligent. The movie moves way too slow to begin with so adding all this dialogue isn't going to help matters. Hutton sleepwalks through his role but to his credit he doesn't have much to work with. Jennifer Jayne isn't that memorable and Michael Gough appears bored out of his mind. The "Swingin' 60's" certainly lends its hand to the visuals of the film, which are quite colorful and nice to look at. The sets aren't that bad either but this doesn't save an otherwise boring film.

Considering that this film was obviously shot on a tight budget, it worked out to be an enjoyable film nonetheless. I haven't seen many Hutton films, but I like his Style of thinking, cerebral hero who reasons first, shoots later.

This film must have been very inspirational to Stephen King, as the plot of his book "The Tommyknockers" was nearly identical to the plot of this movie - right down to the hero with a metal plate in his head.

Of course, the only real down side to this film is the fight music. All it consists of is Someone pounding on a snare drum. they could have done better here.

All in all, it's an enjoyable film of it's era, and one I Will probably watch again.

I think both the '50s and '60s were a golden age for Sci-Fi films and after Roswell, it seemed everyone was having a try at 'alien invasion' films. Okay, this film isn't going to set the World alight with its plot, acting, music, or anything else but it's still a delightful watch for fans of the genre, either as a nostalgic look back at Sixties Britain, or for those interested in the history of such films. Incidentally, being a big fan of TV and film from that time, probably as I grew up with it, I kept recognising classic sound effects, many of which probably also 'served' in other movies and ITC TV series of the time.