I have a huge and very soft spot for 1950s sci-fi films with freakish aliens and/or monsters. Be forewarned - my view of this film is definitely colored by my unhealthy interest in these films.
This is a true archetypal classic of the genre.
*** Weird psychic sisters, *** alien mystery clouds, *** giant creeping cyclopes with tentacles, *** secret government agencies investigating the paranormal, *** possession, *** zombies, ***
Forest Tucker(!)
This is a very entertaining low-fi, low-brow, B/W monster movie. I am convinced that the writers were asked to include every element of contemporary supernatural, sci fi and imaginative fiction stories and, kudos to them - they pulled it off! Stephen King's Dreamcatcher owes a huge debt to this beauty. If you think about it, Dreamcatcher is almost a rewrite of this film, with aliens that are just a little less ridiculous and a different narrative. And the biggest surprise of all - Forest Tucker can act! His F Troop character was not the only personality in his repertoire!
Remarkably, the absurdity of the plot is not used as an excuse for exceedingly bad special effects.
This is a little gem of a 50s pulp film. It's goofy as hell, fun, well executed, and well worth a sleepless night. Far more entertaining that the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and many others.
