Customer Reviews

Fiend Without a Face/Orson Welles' Ghost Story (1958) [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The whole trick to this movie is that it's so bad, it's good!

Here you have the Commander of a U.S. air base, deep in Canadian territory, in the mid 1950s, preparing to fight the Red Menace, which will be coming over the pole ANY DAY NOW!

Instead, he has to fend off accusations of murdering drunken Canadians, surly Canadians and toothless Canadians (yes, I know we have a bit of overlap here), while trying to chat up the daughter of the EVIL PROFESSOR.

The evil is ultimately revealed as Brains (spinal columns attached), who malinger about, waiting to suck God-knows-what out of their Human victims.

The Military types then begin dispatching the mutant (did I mention they were Mutant?) brains with their M1911A1 pistols.

Satisfying noises are then made by the Brains hit by the .45 cal slugs, as they die a slow, messy, but satisfying death.

The Aliens die, our guy gets the girl, and the drunken/surly/toothless Canadians are reduced to castigating the US for something besides the local Air Base.

Buy this movie; it's a real Hoot!

I really wanted to like this movie more than I did.I mean,how could a film about vampire brains not be good?Heh Heh.

Seriously though,I usually like movies like this but there just isnt enough here to recommend it.You dont get to see the creatures until the last ten minutes of the movie and even then they are very poorly animated.Theres just no excuse for that when you consider that they are nothing more than a brain with the spinal-cord attached.I suspect thats why the film makers choose to make the monsters invisible for the first hour of the movie.

As far as the acting is concerned,Marshall Thompson is his usual likable self and Kim Parker does a fine job playing the part of his love interest.The Professor though(I wont embarass him by mentioning his name)wallows in ineptitude like a pig in mud.I sat there half expecting him to wander off the set in confusion.

There are a few things to like about this movie.For one,the romance between the two stars of the picture is well developed and didnt feel thrown in at the last minute like it usually does in 50's sci-fi films.The ending isnt too bad either.It just isnt enough of a pay-off to justify sitting through the rest of the movie.

If you still cant resist purchasing the video,then go ahead.Just dont say I didnt warn you.