IMDb RATING
3.5/10
2.5K
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An astronaut is killed on reentry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly gestating aliens.An astronaut is killed on reentry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly gestating aliens.An astronaut is killed on reentry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly gestating aliens.
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Considering that the crew appear to have constructed the prop space capsule out of a septic tank, this is a decent little el cheapo scifi flick.
A film buff with the slightest knowledge of the major auteurs goes into a B/W 1958 Roger Corman scifi film with a certain set of expectations. Within such parameters, this is a surprisingly well-made film, tense, moody, interesting, and moving along a pace that corresponds well with the plausibility factor. While none of the acting is spectacular, it is all competent and sometimes impressive. The script is surprisingly intelligent, especially considering the title. The title, however corny it may be, works well in this film due the portions of the plot dealing with the death and resurrection of an astronaut.
There is a small bit of FX and monster make up in this film; you will be thankful to find out that it does not clash with the septic tank space capsule.
Overall, this is an honest, well-constructed little drive-in type scifi/horror film that does the job it was designed for and more. It makes more sense, and is more satisfying than watching all the episodes of the new version of 'V.'
A film buff with the slightest knowledge of the major auteurs goes into a B/W 1958 Roger Corman scifi film with a certain set of expectations. Within such parameters, this is a surprisingly well-made film, tense, moody, interesting, and moving along a pace that corresponds well with the plausibility factor. While none of the acting is spectacular, it is all competent and sometimes impressive. The script is surprisingly intelligent, especially considering the title. The title, however corny it may be, works well in this film due the portions of the plot dealing with the death and resurrection of an astronaut.
There is a small bit of FX and monster make up in this film; you will be thankful to find out that it does not clash with the septic tank space capsule.
Overall, this is an honest, well-constructed little drive-in type scifi/horror film that does the job it was designed for and more. It makes more sense, and is more satisfying than watching all the episodes of the new version of 'V.'
Most of the commenters for this film seem to be reviewing its budget rather than the film itself (hence the typical overuse of the empty headed all-purpose cliché "cheesy") but in fact this is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful science fiction films of any era. Anyone with sophistication enough to look past the obvious budget limitations will see a fairly solid study of human reactions to an unknown menace. BLOOD BEAST really has more in common with British science fiction of the time, especially the Quatermass films. Those who lump it in with other Roger Corman movies have, of course, the wrong Corman --- this was produced by brother Gene, who later went on to a successful career producing major studio films (TOBRUK, etc...). Gene Corman tended to inject a little more substance into his drive-in genre films that his more illustrious sibling. ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, in addition to the expected cheap scares, also delves into Tennessee Williams territory with its low rent Big Daddy trying to deal with his unfaithful Baby Doll wife. BLOOD BEAST likewise devotes much attention to character development, presents several intriguing plot points, and ends on an enigmatic note almost unique in this type of movie. It's ironic that a cheap 50s drive-in movie like NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST should ultimately appeal only to more sophisticated viewers. MST3K fans should look elsewhere for their cheap yucks.
An entertaining piece of low budget schlock. Despite the cheesy production values, it's quite well done. A zombified, hairy chested scientist, denied the opportunity to wear a shirt after his pseudodemise, is impregnated with alien sea monkeys, clearly an homage to the ads inside comic books of the era. Why is it that, when Roger Corman is involved, there's a always a shirtless, hairy chested scientist, e.g. Giant Leeches, Crab Monsters? I don't get it, but thanks a million, Roger. The plot and characters are no worse than in any other sci-fi from the fifties and all the actors are veterans of genre TV and movies. The lighting is sometimes good, the score is theremin heavy with an occasional moment of Felliniesque jauntiness. The monster is post-nuclear Sesame Street, but after all the money spent on the sea monkey x-ray scene, you can't have everything. If you pay attention to the opening title sequence, you'll note that the rocket ship separates from its booster rocket and looks amazingly like the space shuttle. Sometimes they get it right.
The astronaut Steve Dunlap (John Baer) dies after crashing his rocket on Earth. His body is recovered by the base rescue team and examined by Dr. Alex Wyman (Tyler McVey) and Dr. Julie Benson (Angela Greene), who is Steve's fiancée. Out of the blue, Steve resurrects and Dr. Benson discovers that his body is impregnated with Alien embryos; further, the team finds that an alien (Ross Sturlin) has arrived in Steve's spacecraft.
When Dr. Wyman is murdered by the alien, Major John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) and Dave Randall (Ed Nelson) decide to destroy the creature. But Steve is mentally connected to the alien and believes that the creature has peaceful intentions and tries to protect it. But when Steve learns that the alien is an invader, he takes an ultimate decision to protect the earthlings.
"Night of the Blood Beast" is a funny and underrated low-budget sci-fi produced by Roger Corman. This type of black and white Z-movie, with bad acting and poor special effects, is part of my childhood and maybe that is the reason why I find most of them cult. "Night of the Blood Beast" is a sort of grandfather of 1979 "Alien" or 1999 "The Astronaut's Wife" and entertains. My note is five.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
When Dr. Wyman is murdered by the alien, Major John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) and Dave Randall (Ed Nelson) decide to destroy the creature. But Steve is mentally connected to the alien and believes that the creature has peaceful intentions and tries to protect it. But when Steve learns that the alien is an invader, he takes an ultimate decision to protect the earthlings.
"Night of the Blood Beast" is a funny and underrated low-budget sci-fi produced by Roger Corman. This type of black and white Z-movie, with bad acting and poor special effects, is part of my childhood and maybe that is the reason why I find most of them cult. "Night of the Blood Beast" is a sort of grandfather of 1979 "Alien" or 1999 "The Astronaut's Wife" and entertains. My note is five.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
This movie was not deserving of being MST3K'ed. It clearly predates the American space program, and didn't have a huge budget. But what this movie had was a decent plot that didn't use random action sequences to move things forward, and several very thoughtful moments. It owes more to literary science fiction than to the ray guns of space opera, a very good thing in my book.
Okay, I'll admit there were some very hokey lines and some very ludicrous special effects. But it was still a good movie, all in all.
Okay, I'll admit there were some very hokey lines and some very ludicrous special effects. But it was still a good movie, all in all.
Did you know
- TriviaWith a budget of about $68,000, it was shot over seven days. All of the interior scenes were shot at sound stages inside Kling Studios. Most of the exterior shots were filmed at Bronson Canyon, a set of caves at Griffith Park in Los Angeles that was a popular location for low-budget films. The exterior scenes of the tracking station were shot at a television station on Mt. Lee, not far from the Hollywood Sign. Screenwriter Martin Varno said it was the first television station built in Los Angeles, but was only being used for emergency broadcasts when this film was being shot there; it had also been used during World War II to broadcast to allied fores overseas. Varno secured permission to film there simply by calling Los Angeles city officials and asking, something he said nobody else considered trying because they assumed the city would not allow it. Varno was familiar with the station because his father, Roland Varno, appeared in the first dramatic television show released in Los Angeles and it was transmitted from that station. For this film, Los Angeles charged a fee of $8 per actor to shoot at the station, but the crew could be any size. All shooting took place outside the station. Most of the night scenes shot there were shot during the day, and the crew often had to find shadows to shoot in or block out the sun to give the impression of nighttime. Producer Gene Corman said of the shooting: "That was one of the more mobile units I've ever been involved with. Normally, everybody chases the sun; we were chasing the shadows."
- GoofsA close-up of the bottom half of the creature reveals that its feet are actually shoes.
- Quotes
Dr. Alex Wyman: A wounded animal that large isn't good!
- ConnectionsEdited from La Guerre des satellites (1958)
- How long is Night of the Blood Beast?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $68,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 2m(62 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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