THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE

Vintage Science Fiction hasn’t always matured as gracefully as its Horror counterpart. Whereas terror filled flicks from yesteryear often earn immortality on atmosphere alone, olden Sci Fi has often been shackled by dated special effects and unrealised futuristic prophecies.

Not that the up and coming Amicus Productions were to know that back in 1967. Taking the story from a provocatively titled novel from Joseph Millard, ‘The Gods Hate Texas’, Amicus assembled a cast and crew that included Freddie Francis as director, Michael Gough as "Master of the Moon" and a cameo appearance from veteran newsreader Kenneth Kendal!

The narrative for THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE is built around an extra-terrestrial expert, Dr Temple (Robert Hutton) and his team, including the stunning Lee Mason (Jennifer Jayne). They are consulted after 9 meteors smash into the Cornish countryside. The real puzzlement with this absurd event, however, is the meteors perfect "V" formation as they descended and collided with the Earth.

The Dr himself is advised NOT to participate in the investigation due to the post car crash silver plate in his skull. But with Temple absent, the crew become rather secretive at the crash site. The Docs suspicions are not helped when he discovers they have pissed away the project’s funding on cables, building materials and shot guns! (How many Firearm retailers there were in Cornwall in the mid-sixties is up for debate, but stick with it!)

The worrying development coincides with a bizarre "mystery malady" as a crimson plague (death by red blotches on the skin) breaks out. The contagion is subject to more paranoid predictions that the end of the world is nigh… (Kenneth Kendal’s dramatised vignette is much more convincing!)

Being a curious scientist (and blessed with remarkable hand to hand combat skills!) Temple disobeys orders and visits the crash site himself. While his team, including Miss Mason, appear to be under some form of telekinetic alien possession from the ultra violet rays, Temple remains surprisingly unaffected. The Dr, being a sharp cookie, fathoms this is due to the aforementioned silver plate.

With the countdown to the Earths fate in full flow, Temple needs a miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, his old friend Varge, who is fortunately blessed with a copious amount of silver fox hunting trophies, might be able to assist in penetrating the intruder’s fortress in order to discover the truth behind their mission...

Well folks, here is a movie that hits rock bottom - then starts to dig!!! The bulk of my disappointment rests heavily with the vast underuse of Michael Gough as the ‘Master of the Moon’ character only appears around 8 minutes shy of the 85 minute runtime. His dulcet tones infuse a fleeting element of class into the picture despite having to deliver lines that offer a truly ludicrous explanation for the invasion.

Francis direction is well paced and is laced with some intriguing camera angles. Quite often the lens is rooted to the ground looking up at the ‘action’ which I guess adds a subtle feeling of us puny humans being oppressed by the space invaders. These positives are completely undermined, however, by the flimsy ending. A climatic handshake can hardly be described as ‘edge of the seat entertainment’ now can it?

But far worse was the striking implausibility of the conclusion. Human willingness to help out there extra-terrestrial guests would surely come at a price? Maybe back in the swinging sixties we were a more charitable race, but in the current era, there would be at least a handful of corporate sponsors! (DHL.. the official courier of the Intergalactic Peace agreement!)

The action is a little lacklustre mainly due to the weaponry incorporated. Rather cumbersome ray guns glowed, whistled and paralysed and are a far cry of the rapid searing lasers from post Star Wars science fiction movies.

Onto the DVD itself and the print is fantastically crisp and clear. So much so it harshly exposed the moving backgrounds in the driving sequences as obviously fake. The mono soundtrack was clean throughout and surprisingly effective when the squealing weapons and attacks sounded out.

If you are an avid fan of the Amicus stable, I would be surprised if you could find a better LOOKING version of the movie, but don’t expect to be laden with extras. In fact don’t expect anything because all you get is a menu screen offering chapter selections!

So, a kitsch entry into the annals of Amicus history that unfortunately couldn’t be saved by Michael Gough in his amazing Technicolor robe!

Review by Marc Lissenburg