THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE (1967)
I was going to start this review by calling They Came From Beyond Space an unofficial Amicus production. But I had my facts mixed up. This is an official Amicus production, although I doubt the studio would claim it as such. We have some of the right ingredients here. The film was directed by Freddie Francis, a dependable journeyman who also dished out The Creeping Flesh and Legend of the Werewolf, among many other drive-in hits. The pulpy story revolves around a freakish meteor shower. How freakish? The meteors land in a "V" formation. It could be that extraterrestrials are simply big fans of V. Or it's not a legitimate meteor shower at all. The phenomenon is studied by scientists who are stricken with the "crimson plague." As with any decent pandemic, bodies of the victims are shuffled off to the moon. Yes, the moon. The first half of the script covers quite a bit of ground. Dr. Curtis Temple seems to be immune to the space virus, so it's up to him to save the day.
They Came From Beyond Space is only horror-adjacent, but it's too interesting to pass up. It was based on 1941's The Gods Hate Kansas, a title too good for an obscure novel. Released as part of a double bill with The Terrornauts, this is sci-fi comfort food that probably should have been produced by a different studio. The cast is game. Robert Hutton is believable as our lead. As an added bonus, we get to see Michael Gough set his phaser to ham as the Master of the Moon. I love the fact that the de facto leader of an advanced race of energy beings chooses to wear a pink robe. It should be obvious, but this flick is pretty dry in spots. It's missing a bizarro beast or a robot humanoid or something. Still, I'd recommend it for a stagnant Saturday afternoon. Watch every other Amicus film first, though. And Island of Terror. And The Green Slime. You know what? Watch anything else first. That counts as a recommendation, doesn't it?
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