The Hideous Sun Demon

While not the great classic, this movie does have a solid place in '50s sci-fi movie. The plot is pretty original, and I can see why a person would be in lot of trouble if he turns into a reptile as soon as he's exposed to sun. I watched this movie on TV when I was a kid and have been looking to find it for some time. Now it's up on Youtube, and I've seen it after over 40 years. What interested be after watching was of course the plot which I didn't understand when I was a kid, and also the gas station scenes. The gas was going for $.27 per gallon, and it was full service back then. Another thing is that people smoked a lot more then than now. It's not bad of a movie for one man to produce, star and direct, and I give Robert Clarke high score for the attempt. For one who didn't live that time or seen this movie back then, this movie probably don't mean much, but watching it now, I see that people really were different back then, and this movie brings back memories of how things were.

I bought the movie and watched it yesterday..I thought it was above average for a B-movie..I have seen recent movies a lot worse then this..a little slow in parts but I felt kind of saddened for the guy/monster in the end for him,since he didn't ask for this radiation accident..but all in all I felt it was worth the money and to have it as a collection,since I am a huge fan of 50's science fiction movies.Just remember,you have to realize this was made back in the 50's..so the special effects aren't like they are computerized or anything like now,but I thought they did a good job with the costume as a lizard man.Actually it was harder work for everyone then to make a monster then now.There certainly where some very exciting/creepy/scary moments throughout the movie and making it black and white really added to the horror of it all.

In this incredibly inept film, a scientist spends plenty of screen time moaning and groaning about the fact that he has contracted a serious radiation sickness, which causes him to transform into a monster when he is exposed to sunlight. He just can't understand how engaging in dangerous experiments could result in such a catastrophe. This results in some unintentionally funny dialogue, such as, "No one can help me, what I've got is DIFFERENT! Why me? Why me? WHY ME!!"

Then something very odd happens. After the contaminated scientist gets through howling in despair, he goes for a long drive in the middle of the night to some bar. There, a sultry, gorgeous, blond named Trudy is playing the piano. Suddenly, he's a changed man. He forgets all about his troubles, and he even forgets he has a girlfriend, and starts going out with the blond bombshell. The sequences with the blond, played nicely by Nan Petersen, are the best part of the movie.

The scientist bounces back and forth between his dark haired girlfriend at the lab, and his girlfriend at the bar, occasionally forgetting the time and turning into the sun demon while in transit. This strange double life he's leading is presented as an "innocent" development which we can all understand, because he's sick and troubled, and what he's got "IS DIFFERENT"! Actually, these relationships he has are very superficially explored unfortunately, and one wishes Trudy had a larger part.

6 reasons why you should watch it?

1. Robert Clarke's quasi convincing performance during the "why me? Why Me? WHY ME?" scene. Quasi. 2. The worst fake-piano playing (by Trudy-Nan Peterson) in the history of cinema. Mind you, you don't notice it the first time round. You're too busy looking at something else. 3. Watch the Sun Demon slaughter a dog. Definitely not politically correct. 4. Does the Sun Demon make love with Trudy on the beach? We'll never know. 5. The Sun Demon's car. It's brilliant. Too bad we don't know the make. 6. The Sun Demon didn't really run over the policeman. Or did He?

I could go on but I don't want to spoil the movie.

My score of 3 doesn't really mean that I hated this film. In fact, I enjoy watching cheesy 1950s and 60s horror films. However, no matter how much I enjoy them, I have to be realistic and admit that their technical merits are usually horrendous. With THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON (a rather inappropriate title, by the way), the budget was next to nothing and it really shows. The script also is not particularly inspired or original, though the film is watchable.

Actor Robert Clarke stars in this film he also wrote and co-directed. While his name is probably not one you've heard of before, he did a ton of TV appearances over the years--particularly in the 1960s in such shows as "Dragnet". He's a competent actor though given the budget, you really can't blame him for coming up with a silly film.

This is another nuclear radiation film where a scientist is exposed to the stuff. But, instead of turning really big (THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN) or tiny (THE AMAZING SHRINKING MAN), here the guy cannot go into sunlight or he becomes a hideous looking monster--at least until he's left the sunlight and allows himself to become normal once again. To me I kept wondering why Clarke's character was so stupid that he'd "forget" and suddenly realize it's becoming daytime throughout the film. People with Porphyria learn to avoid sunlight, yet this dummy keeps making the mistake of being out too long. Unfortunately, when he is out in the sun, he seems to become a bit emotionally unstable, though he's nothing like a "sun demon". He's more like a guy who's a bit cranky and stupid, that's all! Overall, very watchable for fans of the genre but don't expect it to be among the best. Just a typical film you'd find on a typical exceptionally tiny budget.

By the way, look at the box art that is shown on IMDb. I think the yellow artwork might just rank as the ugliest in film history.