Alien Terror (1971)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Expected more

Blistering performances.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

There are a lot of things wrong with this movie; the plot is clichéd and routine, the editing and photography bad, the acting and dubbing appalling. Yet, despite of all these detractions, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this science fiction / horror hybrid which successfully mixes both genres by the crude methods of having two sub-plots which regularly clash. So far I've only seen two of the Karloff/Mexican quartet made shortly before the actor's death, but this beats DANCE OF DEATH hands down by never succumbing to boredom.Things open with two scientists experimenting with radium with machinery that looks like its come straight out of a Hammer Frankenstein movie. Throughout this movie there is a definite Hammer influence in the setting and the costumes, what with the low-cut dresses of the women, the horse and carts that the men drive and the mob of torch-wielding villagers who go on the rampage at the end. Although the poor film stock used and the washed-out colours make this look like a cheap imitation, it's the thought that counts and ALIEN TERROR benefits from the similarity.The two scientists are soon revealed as Boris Karloff and his female assistant, who has been facially scarred (a typical requirement for the genre). Karloff actually has a fair bit of screen time in this film, I would say about half an hour of it, which was something of a surprise. Obviously all of his scenes are filmed on one set again, and sometimes, hilariously, a double stands in for him just like that guy did for Bruce Lee in GAME OF DEATH. At the end we see Karloff supposedly watching his house burn down, although it's obviously just an actor with fake grey hair - luckily he never turns round! At another time Karloff appears with his mask on while another actor dubs his voice - the only trouble being that a Mexican trying to sound British doesn't work very well. The effect is absolutely hilarious! Anyway, on the arrival of a UFO (animated), an alien visitor arrives on our planet. Is he slimy, scaly, scary? Well, err, no. Actually this "alien" is a blond guy with wavy hair wearing a shiny silver suit! Again, another moment of hilarity comes from his presence. He spends a lot of time lurking in bushes watching people, or hiding out in his UFO, which is commendably surreal with a blue-lighted set. His plan is to destroy all of Karloff's equipment which has the power to destroy the universe - basically this is a variation on an old theme. But first he must possess a number of people into doing his will.The possession occurs via a translucent "blob" (briefly seen, but it looks just like THE BLOB) which melts into the victim's hand. I'm not making this up. The first to go is a swarthy man called Thomas, who also happens to be a sadistic sex murderer who receives sexual pleasure from hacking up his female victims with a straight razor. Thus the scene is set for a number of non-gory but pretty grisly murders in which the females are at first seduced and then killed. Incidentally, this is a very sexist film, in which EVERY female character wants a man to be with and only has one thing on her mind - sex! Subservient isn't the word.After a string of murders (as there is apparently no police presence in the village, nobody cares), Thomas eventually reaches Karloff's laboratory where Karloff himself is possessed by the "blob". They also find time to fit in a cool scene where a bunch of flowers wither and die because of the radiation the "blob" emits. More people die, a bland young scientist hero investigates, Thomas is wounded and butchered by the vengeful villagers and the alien presence is destroyed - only for Karloff to blow up his equipment anyway, and for the alien to leave happily! Which begs the question...why didn't the alien just go and ask Karloff in the first place? It would have saved an awful lot of time and effort.The acting is generally bad but fun to watch, of course with the exception of Karloff who once again gives his all and is the best actor in the film. However, honours must go to Yerye Beirute's snarling turn as the sex murderer, for managing to create such a loathsome, despicable character. Plus, a couple of the female leads are given more to do than usual, including one getting possessed by the alien herself in a shocking twist. Everything else about the film is pedestrian, but in the mish-mash of plot ideas, there are a couple of neat twists. The "alien possession" theme would later be explored (through much better special effects) in the likes of THE HIDDEN, which came twenty years later. ALIEN TERROR may be cheap and dodgy entertainment, but it passes the time quite nicely and is a bit better than you would expect from its lack of pedigree.

This movie likely won't be of much use to the bulk of humans infesting the surface of the planet Earth. But it may interest Boris Karloff fans and amateur theatrical detectives who like to dissect bad movies like lab specimens. What you get here is one of the most disjointed and bizarre films ever made, a combination of what appear to be two films edited to seem like a larger whole. The first movie consists of about thirty minutes of footage featuring Boris Karloff playing a white suited scientist who invents a disintegrator ray device. The were filmed on soundstages in southern California, with some ending up in this film and others in FEAR CHAMBER, THE SNAKE PEOPLE and HOUSE OF EVIL. The second movie was filmed after his scenes were completed in Mexico and attempts to match the Hollywood scenes with actors -- some the same -- wearing similar costumes on similar sets, reciting more or less similar toned dialog & engaged in similar actions. Idea being that they are on one side of the room and Karloff on the other: Sometimes characters who were present for both sessions walk back and forth between the scenes, which is quite strange. Their hairstyles and lighting changes subtly, creating a disjointed viewing experience that overwhelms whatever the script was about.If memory serves, a space alien in what can only be described as an Art Neveau flying saucer gets wind of the disintegrator ray and decides it is too great a threat for mankind to posses. The alien looks like Yahoo Serious and wears a silver lame space jump suit that reminded me of David Bowie from THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. So did some of the flying saucer's design elements, consisting mostly of beakers with colored fluids bubbling through them. The spaceship is mostly shown from the inside too, requiring the viewer to sort of have to take the director's word for it's existence.The alien takes possession of various cast members and compels them to sabotage the disintegrator ray, which is probably for the best after the local military gets wind of the situation and decides they want a portable version to serve as a weapon. This results in several conversation scenes where characters veer from the California shoot to the Mexican footage. It's a great lesson in how a film can be constructed, and we can only hope that we can learn from it or the seventy three minutes it runs is a waste.Fans of Boris Karloff will likely be pleased, he's on screen a bit in this one and looks great in that white suit which sharp viewers will recognize as the same one from THE SNAKE PEOPLE, likely filmed earlier that day. Others are well warned to try something else.

The Sinister Invasion (1971)* 1/2 (out of 4) This here was one of the four Mexican films Boris Karloff filmed before his death and this is one that was released after the horror icon had passed. In the film he plays Professor John Mayer who in 1890 has created a ray machine, which he shoots into space. The ray just happens to cross paths with a flying saucer and the aliens decide to come and destroy it but to do so they take over the body of a serial killer. Also known as ALIEN TERROR, THE INCREDIBLE INVASION and about a dozen other titles, this film is probably the most entertaining out of the films Karloff did below the border but that's really not saying too much. This is a hard film to fully understand as the plot never makes too much sense but I'm going to guess this is due to two directors making the picture (Jose Luis Gonzalez the Mexican stuff, Jack Hill the Karloff material). It's also worth noting that the aliens here are so stupid that they have to be the children of those seen in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. OK, one understands why they want to destroy the ray but they've got the technology to do so without taking over the body of this killer. This killer just ends up causing so many problems and yet the aliens keep on using him. The entire subplot with the killer is quite strange to watch but it does add a rather surreal feel to the picture. As for Karloff, he's certainly showing signs of his health issues but he's pretty good here. Unlike the other three films where he's basically just an extended cameo, he actually gets a pretty big role here, which is nice to see. The rest of the supporting players aren't as memorable but we've all seen much worst. The production values are cheap and it's obvious you're not in the 1890s but this could have been much, much worse. With that said, this was released a couple years after Karloff's death and you really have to wonder who would want to see something like this other than those curious die-hard Karloff fans.

Boris Karloff helped the producer and director put this film on the screen. Boris dispite his illnesses and inability to walk around, made this film a classic for all Karloff fans. "Alien Terror" or "The Incredible Invasion" should never have been made, very poor acting with the exception of Karloff, poor photography and sound. It is sad that this film was the last feature film Karloff ever made.