The Hideous Sun Demon is set in Los Angeles where there has been an accident, obscure scientist Dr. Gilber McKenna (producer & co-director Robert Clarke) has been accidentally exposed to a radioactive isotope & has been rushed to hospital. McKenna seems fine but while outside relaxing he transforms into a prehistoric half-man half reptile sun demon creature because of the radioactive rays of the sun, McKenna becomes a recluse as he stays inside his house all day only daring to come out at night away from the harmful rays of the sun. McKenna's colleagues Dr. Frederick Buckell (Patrick Whyte) & Ann Russell (Patricia Manning) ask radiation expert Dr. Jacob Hoffman (Fred La Porta) to help McKenna. Things become complicated when McKenna falls in love with nightclub performer Trudy Osborne (Nan Peterson) & he kills her abusive boyfriend...
Apparently shot under the working title of Terror from the Sun this was edited & directed by Tom Boutross along with Robert Clark who also directed, produced & starred in it & is a surprisingly dull late 50's monster flick that should really have been better. The script relies on that staple 50's standby of it's monster being a direct result of radiation, I wasn't around back then but I guess people's fears of radiation & it's unknown potentially harmful effects were at their height & maybe it would have resonated with audiences slightly better back in 1959 than it does when viewed now fifty years later in 2009. The main thing that struck me while watching The Hideous Sun Demon was just how padded out & rather dull the whole affair actually is, I was surprised just how padded The Hideous Sun Demon felt considering it lasts for a modest 74 minutes. The film is also plagued by the usual problems these 50's monsters flicks have, quite a bit of stock footage of cars driving around, the title monster is barely seen until the end & the romantic subplot between Gilbert & Trudy gets more screen time than the horror & sci-fi stuff which just isn't right in my book. Having said that the film is watchable, the central character of Gilbert is slightly better fleshed out than one might expect, it's quite fun when the hideous sun demon show's up & at least it's short. Not exactly brilliant by any means but not a complete disaster either, it's just stuck somewhere between the two.
The film has a very static somewhat dull look to it as the camera barely ever moves. There are a couple of fairly poorly staged fights & probably the worst piano miming sequence ever, Tudy barely moves her arms yet manages to bang out a tune without so much as a misplaced note. There's not too much violence, the sun demon kills a couple of people, a dog & a rat but there's nothing graphic here. The sun demon itself looks alright as far as 50's men in rubber suits type monsters go but ultimately it never really looks anything like a man in a rubber suit, the face mask is quite good but I doubt it would scare too many people these days. For some bizarre reason this was retitled to & released under Blood on His Lips here in the UK in early 1961 which makes no sense as a title at all. It's amazing how much The Hideous Sun Demon influenced William Sachs when he made the infinitely better The Incredible Melting Man (1977) which copies lots of scenes especially the climax which is virtually identical in both films.
Filmed in California on a supposed budget of about $58,500 the production values are decent enough if dated by todays standards, lets just put it this was The Hideous Sun Demon isn't as badly made as some 50's sci-fi films. The acting is alright but nothing special & does tend to be a little wooden & static at times.
The Hideous Sun Demon is an OK 50's black and white monster flick that could have been better but also could have been worse, it's one of those films that I sat through without any problems but will probably have forgotten about within a week.
Apparently shot under the working title of Terror from the Sun this was edited & directed by Tom Boutross along with Robert Clark who also directed, produced & starred in it & is a surprisingly dull late 50's monster flick that should really have been better. The script relies on that staple 50's standby of it's monster being a direct result of radiation, I wasn't around back then but I guess people's fears of radiation & it's unknown potentially harmful effects were at their height & maybe it would have resonated with audiences slightly better back in 1959 than it does when viewed now fifty years later in 2009. The main thing that struck me while watching The Hideous Sun Demon was just how padded out & rather dull the whole affair actually is, I was surprised just how padded The Hideous Sun Demon felt considering it lasts for a modest 74 minutes. The film is also plagued by the usual problems these 50's monsters flicks have, quite a bit of stock footage of cars driving around, the title monster is barely seen until the end & the romantic subplot between Gilbert & Trudy gets more screen time than the horror & sci-fi stuff which just isn't right in my book. Having said that the film is watchable, the central character of Gilbert is slightly better fleshed out than one might expect, it's quite fun when the hideous sun demon show's up & at least it's short. Not exactly brilliant by any means but not a complete disaster either, it's just stuck somewhere between the two.
The film has a very static somewhat dull look to it as the camera barely ever moves. There are a couple of fairly poorly staged fights & probably the worst piano miming sequence ever, Tudy barely moves her arms yet manages to bang out a tune without so much as a misplaced note. There's not too much violence, the sun demon kills a couple of people, a dog & a rat but there's nothing graphic here. The sun demon itself looks alright as far as 50's men in rubber suits type monsters go but ultimately it never really looks anything like a man in a rubber suit, the face mask is quite good but I doubt it would scare too many people these days. For some bizarre reason this was retitled to & released under Blood on His Lips here in the UK in early 1961 which makes no sense as a title at all. It's amazing how much The Hideous Sun Demon influenced William Sachs when he made the infinitely better The Incredible Melting Man (1977) which copies lots of scenes especially the climax which is virtually identical in both films.
Filmed in California on a supposed budget of about $58,500 the production values are decent enough if dated by todays standards, lets just put it this was The Hideous Sun Demon isn't as badly made as some 50's sci-fi films. The acting is alright but nothing special & does tend to be a little wooden & static at times.
The Hideous Sun Demon is an OK 50's black and white monster flick that could have been better but also could have been worse, it's one of those films that I sat through without any problems but will probably have forgotten about within a week.