Night Slaves (1970)

Best movie of this year hands down!

A Major Disappointment

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

In case you're somewhat familiar with my user-comments' account, you might know that I have a strange fondness for made-for-TV horror/thriller movies from the early 1970s. Quite often they are genuinely well-scripted, tense, atmospheric and in desperate need for rediscovery. But I even tend to be generous and mild towards the ones that are obviously less qualitative, like this "Night Slaves", for example. The plot is implausible, the surprise twists are absurd and the characters are antipathetic, but nevertheless I enjoyed how director Ted Post ("Magnum Force", "Beneath the Planet of the Apes") and his talented cast (including James Franciscus, Andrew Prine and Leslie Nielsen) desperately attempt to uphold the mystery. Recovering from a terrible car accident that put a metal plate in his head, Clay Howard takes his estranged wife Marjorie on a road trip through rural California. They stop for a hotel in a sleepy little town, and you may the "sleepy" very literally, since practically every local is taking a nap in the middle of the day. When night falls, however, all residents - and Marjorie - are suddenly mass-hypnotized and led into trucks. What happens from there is quite reminiscent to the very first zombie movies ever made, as well as to certain alien-invasion Sci-Fi movies from the fifties! In all zombie movies made prior to "Night of the Living Dead" in 1969, like "White Zombie" and "Plague of the Zombies", the dead are solely brought back to life to work as slaves in mines or in plantations, and also in a few B-movie classics in the Sci-Fi genre (such as "It came from Outer Space", "Invaders from Mars") human beings are enslaved by superior extra-terrestrials. The denouement in "Night Slaves" is much simpler and sillier, but at least the premise felt like a nostalgic throwback. The film honestly doesn't deserve a rating higher than 5 out of 10, but I also happen to be a sucker for bleak and depressing endings, and the best and most shocking part about "Night Slaves" is definitely the climax.

After a fatal car accident that leaves two people dead, the driver of the other car named "Clay Howard" (James Franciscus) manages to survive due to surgery which results in a metal plate being inserted into his head. Needing recuperation afterward he and his wife "Marjorie" (Lee Grant) drive off and eventually decide to stay for the night in a small town along the way. That night Clay wakes up and finds everybody in the town walking in a trance and being driven out of town in a couple of trucks—including Marjorie. Sitting in his bedroom is an attractive woman named "Naillil" (Tisha Sterling) who seems amused by his puzzlement. Anyway, rather than detailing any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a rather fun made-for-television film. I thought James Franciscus put on a decent performance while both Lee Grant and Tisha Sterling certainly added some scenery as well. All in all I rate it as slightly above average.

1970's "Night Slaves" is one of those curious little films that, on the one hand, probably won't go down as one of the greatest movies ever made but never the less, does seem to have something deeper going on under the surface. It all begins when businessman Clay Howard (James Franciscus) is seriously injured in an auto accident and as a result, is left with a metal plate in his head and the emotional scars that come from the experience. To make matters worse, he and his wife, Marjorie (Lee Grant), have been drifting apart for some time. So, in an attempt to rekindle, they go on a road trip and come to a small town, where they decide to spend the night. Trouble is, something strange is going on at night; the town's folks are roaming around town like zombies onto trucks and being driven off somewhere! It gets even more troubling when Clay's wife is caught up in the spell as well. He tries but fails to stop her and the next morning, nobody remembers a thing; nobody that is, except Clay. Night after night, this happens and things get even more interesting when a mysterious young woman keeps appearing to Clay while all this is going on. Rather than being scared, Clay finds himself falling in love with this mysterious girl and from there, Clay begins questioning his own life, about whether or not he is truly happy in this life and wondering if all this is the key to changing that. The movie is able to tell its story through good use of night filming, an effective music score, good acting on the part of Franciscus and Grant, and competent writing that examines love, one's place in the universe, and happiness. The film is certainly not perfect, but like I said, there does seem to be something underneath it all that is worth looking at. So, if you get the chance, check this one out on you tube because even small TV movies can have something to say about life. Also starring Leslie Nielsen as the town sheriff. 8 out of 10.

"Night Slaves" is a pretty obvious remake of "It Came from Outer Space" but on its own terms, it's a good film. The movie starts out with James Franciscus cracking up his car and ending up with a metal plate in his head. He and wife Lee Grant decide to recover by vacationing in a small California town. While there, Francsicus discovers that the entire town (except him) is mysteriously disappearing every night and returning before the sun rises.Franciscus finally finds out that an alien spacecraft has crashed nearby, the population has been hypnotized into repairing the ship, and the chief alien has cleverly disguised himself as the local dimwit. Franciscus is immune from the alien's powers because of his metal plate.Franciscus then gets the hots for one of the aliens (played by Tisha Sterling), and wants to leave with her. Why he would want to leave faithful wife Lee Grant isn't really explained. The ending of the movie is truly offbeat.Franciscus and Grant are very good, while a pre-"Airplane!" Leslie Nielsen stars in a serious role as the local sheriff. This mystery/sci-fi film is well worth watching if you can locate it.