With this, his third foray into the much maligned horror genre, Jerry Warren solidified his reputation as *the* avaunt-guarde director of the 1950s. Here Warren straddles the line between "auteur" and "metteur", masterfully reconceptualizing the themes of Don Siegel's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (released the previous year) through a pair of interlocking mise-en-scenes.
As usual, Warren's startlingly surrealist imagery leaves many questions unanswered. What are we to make of the cop in the picture frame? What are we to make of the struggle between the post-feminist Dr. Myra and the pre-feminist Pam? Is the role of the kids a metaphorical subversion of the prevalent Cold War attitudes of the time? Well, no.
This is just another ultra-cheapo Jerry Warren special. Bad acting, bad direction, bad cinematography, bad dialogue - in other words, the usual. For bad movie fans and manic depressives only.
As usual, Warren's startlingly surrealist imagery leaves many questions unanswered. What are we to make of the cop in the picture frame? What are we to make of the struggle between the post-feminist Dr. Myra and the pre-feminist Pam? Is the role of the kids a metaphorical subversion of the prevalent Cold War attitudes of the time? Well, no.
This is just another ultra-cheapo Jerry Warren special. Bad acting, bad direction, bad cinematography, bad dialogue - in other words, the usual. For bad movie fans and manic depressives only.