Runtime: 71 minutes
Directed by: Roger Corman
Starring: Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef, Sally Fraser, Russ Bender
From: AIP
FAR better than what I was expecting from a film where the main villain looks like either a carrot or a cucumber w/ a mean face and pinchers for hands.
To be frank, after seeing the cheesy bad 50’s sci-fi film within a film in Amazon Women on the Moon, it only seemed logical to me to next check out an actual cheesy genre effort from the 50’s. Turns out, it was smarter and more thoughtful for an AIP effort directed by Roger Corman-I should have known that something starring three talented actors plus a nice supporting role for the great Dick Miller wouldn’t be crap-but before I talk of the film itself, how I did so has to be addressed.
As of now there’s a YouTube account (which I won’t name specifically) which frequently uploads simulations of the drive-in experience where two B-movies are put together alongside a cartoon and various vintage drive-in advertisements, typically for food & drink items located at the refreshment stand. Before that channel possibly gets zapped in the future, I decided to check out one of their videos. Tomorrow night I’ll review 1963’s The Day Martians Invaded Earth; that managed to pair rather well with this. Also in my next review will be a few words said about the Betty Boop cartoon also included in that video.
Silly-looking monster aside, you pretty much don’t see it until the final 10 or so minutes. Before that, it is a drama where Lee Van Cleef is a genius scientist who is best described as “embittered” as he’s been ridiculed for previous ideas. Thus, what a target he is for a Venusian to play him as a fiddle and allow for the giant cucumber to arrive on Earth, cripple all electronic devices, and send out what look like flying bats to attack people then mind-control them. Sure, Van Cleef thinking that the alien will help humanity by ridding them of emotions sounds nice and all… of course, what results is martial law and people being rounded up in a small California town.
The movie was different and better than expected. The goofy creature is hardly seen until the end, there is much philosophical dialogue and two characters trying to reason with Lee’s character Tom (his wife Claire and his best friend Paul, played by Beverly Garland and Peter Graves, respectively), the movie is rather grim for the decade, Claire manages to be a strong female character in a believable fashion and space carrot aside, this is better than the typical film you’d see on MST3K.
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