Review of They Came from Beyond Space

I'm always up for a nice and cheesy slice of 60's Science Fiction, and "They Came From Beyond Space" sounded particularly worthwhile because a) Amicus Studios produced it, b) Freddie Francis directed it and c) it stars Michael Gough!!! The story, based on a best-selling novel, also sounded pretty damn interesting as it revolves on an expedition of intellectually superior aliens that crash-land their spaceship on the earth and use their mind controlling powers to enslave human beings to do the repairs. This alien race is very unfriendly, to say the least, because they can also inflict lethal viruses on people! The fate of mankind lies in the hands of one single scientist, Dr. Curtis Temple, who's immune to the aliens' hypnotism thanks to a metal plate in his head. Sounds very fascinating and all, but the truth is that it's an intolerably slow and boring movie. The first half hour is still okay, and the "plague"-scenes are even terrific, but then the story really becomes repetitive and thoroughly unexciting. The sound and visual effects are truly low-keyed – especially for late 60's standards – and I'm used to seeing a far more imaginative cinematography from director Freddie Francis. Fans of the legendary Michael Gough (like myself) have to wait until the last five minutes, only to see him in a lousy and completely uninspired cameo appearance as the alien leader. He didn't even seem very interested in the part, and who can blame him? "They Came from Beyond Space" absolutely lacks all the elements that make classic Sci-Fi films so much fun to watch, namely the eerie atmosphere of mass hysteria, the overlong ecological awareness speeches ("We humans have to realize we're not alone in the solar system etc…") and the typically goofy monster outfits. Not recommended.