Fiend Without a Face

Fiend has everything that a 50's Sci-Fi movie should have; a really square hero that saves the day, a beautiful female lead that falls for him, atomic power misused, and an invisible monster that sucks the brains out of its victums.

It is the stop motion animation at the end when the monster(s) become visible that really makes this film work. Without the animation by Peter Neilson and Ruppell this would be just another 50's atomic caution tale.

A fringe scientist involved with mind over matter experiments unwittingly unleashes a horde of horrible, invisible, brain-sucking

whatchamacallits in this 1958 thriller that isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. Although Canadian sci-fi films are usually an oxymoron, this one is at least entertaining, even though it makes use of the standard fifties cause celebre: atomic radiation. As a payoff for the audience, we finally get to see the "fiends" when the power from the conveniently nearby nuclear reactor is cranked up to reveal them as. . .brains. With brain stems. And antennae. And some surprisingly good stop-motion animation. Marshall Thompson, that staple of fifties B movies, does yeoman duty in this film by not only starring in it, but actually taking over the reins of director when the "real" director Arthur Crabtree showed up on Day 1 and refused to direct! It seems that Crabtree angrily told the producers "I don't do monster movies" and walked off the set, whereupon Thompson, to his credit, stepped up to the plate. Crabtree came back, a few days later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

All in all, "Fiend without a Face" may not be in the same league as, say, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", but it's not really all that bad, either. Make a big bowl of popcorn, or get some decent pizza, and enjoy.

Fiend Without A Face is based on a 1930s pulp magazine story called "The Thought Monster". Marshall Thompson is a Major on an air force base in Canada. The military is developing long range radar that uses nuclear power. The local farmers are upset because the jets are noisy and frightening the cows causing them to under-produce milk. But much worse, some of the locals are found dead with their brains sucked out of two small holes in the back of their necks. Eeek!

Thompson investigates Professor Walgate who seems to have something to do with it all.

Fiend is a standard grade-B sci-fi flick from the 50s. I happen to be a sucker for 1950s grade B movies. I actually love them even though they are not very good usually. If you are like me you'll like Fiend. The acting and dialog varies from average to embarrassing and most of the film is pretty boring, but it's short.

The monsters are invisible until the end but they are interesting movie creations. They're done with stop-animation. They should be comical but for some strange reason I've always found them extremely creepy.

If you've seen It The Terror From Beyond Space with Thompson you have an idea of the quality of Fiend.

I've read many comments about this movie from those that I assume just recently viewed it. In 1958 my brother and I saw this film at the local theater. It must have cost us at least 35 cents to see it and one other movie. To sum it up it scared our socks off. Remember that sick feeling you got in you stomach when you watched Alien for the first time. That same feeling and probably worse is what we experienced. The shear terror of the invisible beast and the subtle way the movie lead up to revealing the monster created a tension an 11 year kid in the fifties was not ready for. At the time this movie was actually banned in certain countries. This is a fact, not just media hype. With all the high-tech movie making of today it will get harder and harder to scare the sophisticated movie buff. But in 1958 this one sent us home afraid to walk in a dark room or turn our backs to a dark corner.

A US military installation has been set up in Canada for some special tests and experiments of an atomic nature. People begin to die from the surrounding countryside by having their brains and spinal chords sucked out by what lead actor Marshall Thompson calls "mental vampires." Thompson, quickly flirting with the sister of one of the dead men, does his usual adequate job playing detective trying to prove that the new base is not responsible for the deaths. It seems that someone or something is siphoning atomic power. Without ruining the who behind the what, Fiend Without a face is a pleasant, interesting excursion into 50's sci-fi. The fiends turn out to be brains that pulse and scrape the ground with long spinal chords attached. This film has a low budget but manages to scare up a few thrills. The acting is mediocre at best. The fiend creation are somewhat novel. Although much of the film is lacking in suspense, the finale is a good payback.