Reviews (40)

You just can't keep a good man down!
Seems like people either love or hate this particular entry into the Hammer Dracula line of films. I, myself, enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the vampire genre.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969) has Christopher Lee reprising his role as the ultimate blood-sucking creature of the night, which is kind of strange as in the last film, Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), he was destroyed...or so we thought. The film takes place a year after the last film, as Monsignor Ernest Muller (Rupert Davies) visits the small village near Dracula's no empty castle to see how things are getting along. Well, things aren't getting along too well as the Monsignor finds the church empty and in a rather poor state of housekeeping. Finding the priest at the local bar, he learns that the villagers believe that while Dracula may be dead, his castle projects an aura of evil, casting a malignant shadow of evil on the town. The Monsignor decides the only course of action is to trek up to the castle, say a prayer of exorcism, and place a fairly large cross at the doorway, expelling the curse forever. Taking the priest with him, the two begin a long and arduous journey up the mountain, but, as they near the castle, the priest balks from fear, and the Monsignor continues on alone. He reaches the castle, says the prayer, and places the cross (the result of both actions cause a rather freakish lighting storm...good thing he rid himself of that big, metal cross). Meanwhile, the priest, who remained behind, starts freaking out, and begins to stumble down the mountain, trips, cracks his head open, and lands on and cracks a pool of ice, one which contains the body of Dracula, and begins to bleed onto the ice, to which the blood revives the dark, yet frozen, one. Upon waking, Dracula takes the weak-willed priest into his service, and returns to his castle only to find his entry spoiled by the cross affixed to the doors. This angers him, as his house has been defiled, and being a creature of evil, seeks revenge on whoever did this. Good thing he's got the priest to fill him in on the details...

The Monsignor leaves the village to return to his home, which he shares with his sister and her daughter, Maria (Veronica Carlson), soon followed by Dracula and his new little buddy. We also get to meet Maria's boyfriend, Paul (Barry Andrews), who works in a local bakery/bar/hotel (interesting combination, to be sure), but is only doing so until he can complete his education, and move on to bigger and better things. Anyhow, Dracula moves into the sub-basement (the sewers) below the bakery/bar/hotel, setting up his coffin and such, and begins with his plans to exact vengeance on the Monsignor and his house. He learns of the Monsignor's niece, and sees a perfect opportunity to carry out his goal...does he exact his revenge? Can anyone stop this monster once and for all?

Directed by Freddie Francis, who won academy awards for cinematography for his work on Sons and Lovers (1960) and Glory (1989), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is certainly stylish, oozing with atmosphere and providing a good deal of suspense. Christopher Lee provides an excellent performance, despite his overall lack of dialogue. The settings are very suitable for this kind of film, enhancing the performances, and certainly add to the overall presence of oppressive evil throughout. Not really embraced by the critics when it first came out, with claims that the gore was a bit much, now it seems rather understated to the 21st century viewer. The film does proceed slowly, but the pacing seems methodical, all building up to the thrilling climax.

Warner Brothers provides a crisp, clean looking wide screen print here, but very little along the lines of special features, including only a theatrical trailer for the film. I am appreciative that this film finally made it to DVD, as Warner Brothers, in general, is pretty stingy about releasing their catalog of films to this format, and even stingier when it comes to enhancing their releases with special features, falling back mainly on recycling ones released for the laserdisc format. If you are interesting in seeing the other films in this series, look for Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973).

Cookieman108

Superb, atmospheric horror
This was perhaps the first horror movie I ever saw (on a TV at a Ramada Inn when I was seven or eight) and it had a profound impact on me. Watching the film again, after more than 15 years, I was surprised by how well it holds up. Although some of the acting is a bit stilted, and the dialogue tends to be rather uninspired, the direction, cinematography, sets, and the presence of Christopher Lee as Dracula are all top-notch. Several scenes in the film are quite horrifying, and there is a pervading sense of dread in the production. Like a lot of Hammer films, the key word here is "atmosphere," and "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" delivers impressively. Also, don't let the "G" rating fool you. Although there is no sex, nudity, or extremely graphic violence, a great deal is suggested (which only adds to the suspense and tension), and even older viewers may find themselves lost in the spell that this film so admirably casts.

Vintage Hammer hokum
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is an entertaining addition to Hammer's Dracula series. Terence Fisher, who directed the first three in the series, had to pull out at the last minute due to an accident, and it was left to lighting cameraman Freddie Francis to take the reins. The film reveals a shift in the underlying worldview: Fisher's triumphant vision of good conquering evil, God defeating Satan is supplanted by Francis's bleaker universe, where God is apparently no guarantee against the Devil, and whose central religious figure (Monsignor, played by Rupert Davies, no match for Andrew Keir or Peter Cushing) is blustering, naive and impotent in the face of evil.

There are some great scenes, as one would expect from a distinguished cinematographer like Francis, although some of the most visually compelling moments (eg. Maria's bedroom scene with the Count, by far the most explicitly sexualized portrayal of vampirism seen up to that time) sit uneasily alongside the bizarrely artless, shakey, badly focused handheld shots.

Still, it's vintage Hammer hokum, and certainly miles ahead of later additions to the Dracula series. I bought this for nostalgic reasons -- hadn't seen it since I was a kid -- and I wasn't disappointed.

Picture quality on the recent DVD release is clear and sumptuous, apart from a brief snatch towards the end when the picture momentarily reverts to an older, grainier print. Hammer buffs should add this to their collection.

OK film is a little improvement over the first sequel
A little better this time around, although having Professor Van Helsing would have made it a nicer film to watch. At least this time, the Count actually speaks.

If you are a fan of these Hammer films, stick with this and the other period films. This is one to have for your collection if you are a die hard fan like myself. If not, at least rent this one at Halloween for a night of horror.

He's Back
Dracula, played by Christopher Lee, is accidentally resurrected from the dead by the dripping blood of a priest. Finding a cross on the front door of his castle, he chooses the niece of the monsignor as his next victim, because the Monsignor performs the exorcism on his castle.

It hard to watch a Dracula movie within out Peter Cushing as Van Helsing

The next film in the series is Taste the Blood of Dracula. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This 1962 version of The Day of the Triffids has been a TV staple for many years, more probably because of a lasting affection for John Wyndham's original novel than any high regard for the film itself. The premise--a meteor shower blinds almost all of humanity, just as a space-borne strain of ambulatory killer plants begins to proliferate--is so strong that it's easy to overlook the frankly messy realization of it. The film opens well, sticking close to the book, as Howard Keel awakens in a London hospital after an eye operation and takes off the bandages to discover that he can see but most of the rest of the population can't.There are unsettling, effective bits with a plane literally flying blind and the beginnings of panic among the fumbling survivors, and one good Triffid encounter in a fog.

Then the film is strangely compelled to stray all over the map, with trips to France and Spain that have no discernible purpose.Director Steve Sekely's original cut was adjudged so disastrous that an uncredited Freddie Francis was brought in to shoot a whole new subplot, featuring Keiron Moore and Janette Scott in a vine-besieged lighthouse, to thread through the old footage.The results are less satisfying than the later BBC serial adaptation, but it still has some irresistible end-of-the-world and killer-plant material.--Kim Newman ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Hammeresque Creeping Flesh is a creepy thriller mixing one part Cain and Abel, a dash of Frankenstein, and a pinch of the Re-Animator with the best elements that '70s U.K. horror has to offer. Is evil a sickness that mankind can be cured of? Dr. Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) seems to think so. After returning from New Guinea with the ultimate skeletal specimen of evil it becomes his life's obsession. While Dr. Hildern closes in on the serum, James (Christopher Lee), his half-brother and rival, looks on with envy from behind the mental asylum he runs. He too is dabbling in science to find the cure of madness. However, with less of a success rate. After Dr. Hildern tests his evil serum on his daughter Penelope, she of course goes mad, goes on a killing spree, and ends up in Uncle James's asylum. Immediately recognizing his new inmate, Uncle James brings Penelope back home, only to find his brother's work and progress. In a fit of jealousy he steals the valuable skeleton which, unbeknownst to him, is slowly growing flesh and developing into an evil, uncontrollable monster.--Rob Bracco ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The creeping plot
Many British horror films tended to dwell on very similiar themes. This one is somewhat different, but it could have been much better if they spent more time developing it. The film begins focusing on the skeleton of an ancient creature that could be the missing link. Peter Cushing begins studying it and we learn that water makes skin grow back on the skeleton in seconds. This is pretty interesting, but then they fly off on a sub-plot about Cushing daughter learning that her mo ther went insane and she begins to follow suit. This part tends to go on and on showing us the insides of a seedy pub (all British horror movies are required to show a pub, I think it's a rule over there) and a confrontation with an escaped criminal. Christopher Lee plays Cushing's half brother and rival and he wants the skeleton Cushing has. The middle of this film is slow, but when it starts to rain, the movie cuts loose. The last ten minutes of this film is great, both the story and the visuals. This is overall decent film, just don't give up on it in the middle because it will redeem itself.

The World, the Flesh and a Devil in an unusual Amicus film.
The best aspect of this film is perhaps during the opening credits, where we see various sections of a truly fascinating painted canvas ecompassing all the aspects of the plot you are about to witness conveyed in a series of panned shots. The colors of this prop are brilliant. The second is perhaps when evil approaches and you see only an ever growing shadow of a caped figure rising ever larger over the front of the house! The story is well written, with an unusual idea on the origin of evil and implies a "book of revelation" portent for the future. The musical score is haunting and the acting and sets are fair. Two banes of humanity, Insanity and Evil are the focus of what our two adventurers are trying to solve, mainly to get the 10,000 pound Richter prize and the fame that would follow. However, a series of tragic foul-ups by lab assistant "Egors" release a catastrophe on all mankind, or so we are led to believe! Not the best film that this dynamic duo of horror ever made but very different and well plotted with a lot of Edwardian laboratory mumbo jumbo thrown in for "atmosphere".

The naughty finger...
The Creeping Flesh (1973), originally produced by Tigon Pictures and directed by Freddie Francis, a man fairly well known to fans of films from Hammer Studios and Amicus Productions (The Studio That Dripped Blood), brings together two screen legends in Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (they appeared in a total of 22 films together over the years) in a slightly fantastic tale of things evil and nasty.

Peter Cushing stars as Emmanuel Hilden, a 19th century scientist, involved in the study of human evolution, recently returning from an expedition to New Guinea with what he believes to be a find of epic proportions in that of a rather grotesque looking skeleton, humanoid in appearance, but much larger than any man. Emmanuel sees innumerable opportunities associated with this find, and believes it's his ticket to recognition and lucrative scientific grant monies. On arriving home to England with his boney buddy, we meet Emmanuel's comely daughter, Penelope, played by Lorna Heilbron. Seems she's been holding down the fort, and things have been pretty tight, money-wise, as she's had to let go of two of the three or four servants employed at the house (talk about being in dire straits). Oh yes, Emmanuel's wife and Penelope's mother, Marguerite, has long since passed, or, at least that's what we're lead to believe.

Emmanuel's half-brother, James Hilden (Christopher Lee), who runs a mental asylum, sends word that Emmanuel's wife, who was an inmate, has just died, to which Emmanuel goes to the asylum to collect her personal papers and such, and we learn that James, who has been financing his half-brother's expeditions, is cutting Emmanuel off, and that James is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough dealing with curing insanity or some such thing. One can't help notice there seems to be a bit of jealously in the relationship, coming from James towards Emmanuel.

Anyway, Emmanuel returns home, and begins studying his find. In cleaning part of the skeleton with water (its' finger bone), he notices the part he cleaned with water begins growing flesh...ew...in examining a blood sample (it differs slightly from humans) and reading some dusty tomes, Emmanuel concludes he's found the source of evil, and that evil is not so much a concept but a disease, a plague, and something that one can be inoculated against. He seems to prove this by testing his newly developed serum on a monkey, and fearing that his daughter may suffer the same fate as her mother, possibly madness passed in the genes, he gives the serum to his daughter. Well, we see that the initial success with the monkey didn't last long, and Emmanuel's assistant comments that thankfully they didn't test the serum out on a human test subject (he didn't know about Emmanuel's injecting Penelope). So what happens? The madness overtakes Penelope, brought on by the effects of the injection from her father, and she runs away, only to end up in James' asylum after she commits various crimes involving murder. Obviously James recognizes her, and brings her back to Emmanuel's home, discovers Emmanuel's notes on his recent experiments, and sees the possibilities of incorporating Emmanuel's work into his own, which Emmanuel strongly declines, so James decides to make arrangements to steal his half-brother's work. Unsure of how the skeleton comes into play, but knowing it's a crucial element, he steals it, riding away with it in his carriage. Emmanuel realizes what happens, and begins pursuit. Oh yeah, it also starts raining. Do you think the skeleton, the one that reacted to the water when Emmanuel tried to clean it, will get wet? Count on it...what happens next? You'll just have to watch...

I thought the concept of evil being a disease, something which may be curable, to be a pretty original notion within the film. Cushing was great as the scientist swept up with visions of ridding society of evil, allowing for a, in his words, a new paradise on Earth. His character certainly falls into the category of the scientist with the best intentions, not foreseeing the dangers until it's too late. Lee was also wonderful as the greedy, resentful half-brother, living in the shadow of Emmanuel's achievements, capitalizing on an opportunity when it presents itself, not fully realizing the implications but seeing only the chance for personal gain. Some of the elements of the story seemed a bit slipshod, kind of like they were assembled of ill-fitting pieces, specifically designed to move the plot along. And I was hoping to see more of the creature, but, from what little we do see, it was probably for the best as it was kind of funky, probably due to budgetary constraints. The scenes with the creature's flesh covered severed finger were suitably disgusting, but I'll be darned if that appendage didn't look like some sort of battery-powered martial aid. (Keep in mind the creature was like seven or eight feet tall, and had proportionally sized fingers.) While the movie wasn't particularly scary, it was definitely creepy, and kept my interest all the way through the end. One thing that annoyed me a little was habit of hearing spoken dialog played again later on as a character would recall it within their mind. Seeing as how we were there the first time the dialog was spoken aloud, I didn't see the need to remind us of the pertinent information relayed through a character's inner dialog, as if to aid us, the viewer, in following along. It seemed a bit patronizing, and unnecessary. I did love the ending, despite the huge loose plot thread left dangling with regards to the creature. Maybe it was meant to be that way, left to our speculation.

Columbia Tristar Home Video provides a very nice looking wide screen print here. The audio seemed a bit soft at times, but there are English subtitles, which I made use of...the only thing in regards to extras available is an original theatrical trailer.

Cookieman108

Creepy Flesh
Emmanuel Hildern, played by Peter Cushing, returns from New Guinea with a large prehistoric skeleton. While cleaning one of the fingers of the skeleton with water, the finger starts to grow flesh. Hildern starts to reflect on the origin of "evil" and creates a serum that he believes will be an antidote for evil. He injects his daughter with the serum, because he believes she may be insane, since her mother was. The serum does not work and causes his daughter to go insane. James Hildern, played by Christopher Lee, is Emmanuel brother and after finding out about the skeleton and steals it. The skeleton is exposed to the rain and the "Creeping Flesh" comes to life.

Classic English Horror
So we have Christopher Lee (Dracula, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars Episode III) and Peter Cushing (Star Wars and Shock Waves) in this 1973 film about "a terrifying journey through the nightmare worlds of evil, insanity, and terrible revenge." The film is wonderfully directed by Freddie Francis of such infamy as "Tales From the Crypt," "Son of Dracula," The Ghoul," and "Legend of the Werewolf."

Plot: A paleontologist comes to believe that evil is a blood-borne illness and that the vehicle for said disease is the re-animated flesh of a skeletal specimen recently recovered from New Guinea. Convinced that his wife had contracted this evil prior to loosing her mind, he is driven to concoct an immunization in an attempt to save his daughter from a similar fate. As this is a horror movie, things don't quite go as planned.

I own the movie on VHS and so eagerly anticipate its DVD release. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Why was this dubbed into English?
Beautiful sets, lights, props and music were marred by English dubbing.... all of the German had been dubbed over, and there wasn't even any German in the subtitles. "Gebissen wird nur nachts," of course, means "Bites happen only at night" (one of those typical impersonal passive constructions that First Year German students run into. The English cover that came on this DVD was pretty good, as English goes ("The Vampire Happening"), but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't until I opened up the DVD that I found the slip of paper with the original title - 'Gebissen wird nur nachts' - but where on earth did the German go? Why was this dubbed into English? Now, that said, this is not a total disappointment. It is what you would call 'soft-R' and not even 'soft-core.' A couple of scantily clad vampiresses are seen, and the plot was easy enough to follow. What I was struck with most with this film was the Disney-ish sound-track, a little more bouncy than "sound of music" but enough to remind me of the 1960's. If you are only into rap music, or rock, this soundtrack will probably strike you as rather lame. I think most of the value behind this DVD rests in what lessons it teaches the film student who looks at it from the perspective of how to put a movie together. It's a good enough movie if you can get past the English, which proceeds at odds with the movement of the lips of the actors. Sigh. Film collectors that want to follow the career of Pia Degermark might also find this movie valuable. But beware, ordering "Gebissen wird nachts" means getting "The Vampire Happening" when the DVD finally arrives in your mailbox. And there were no menu choices that you could click to turn on any German, not even German subtitling. I sure hope that ordering "Der Blaue Engel" or "Kleider Machen Leute" doesn't mean getting "The Blue Angel" or "Clothes Make the Man" when the DVD finally arrives in the mailbox.

I Liked the picture on the box.
Ok, I'll admit the picture on the dvd package made me buy this dvd. I must say, I didn't know what to expect. It was like a parody of a horror movie by Benny Hill. It was however, atmospheric, the scenery and music gave it a foreign feel. The story is a bit strange though, but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun with it. This wouldn't win any awards, but I intend on keeping it in my collection just as a novelty. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rehash of "It came from outer Space" (1953)
It is not exactly the same story but mighty close. The technology and feel of this low budget film is that of the Quartermass films. The technology is hokey and the props are amusing.

Meteorites land in formation in a field. Yes we know what this means. So a set of scientists are sent out to find what we already know. Yep they all come back a bit funny. When the attempt to take over the top scientist fails they must regroup. From now on it is one top scientist that can out gun and out sneak any of today's secret agents, against an organized well armed coup with electrified fences and nasty attitudes. Will he ever figure out what is happening? Can they be stopped from doing what ever it is that they are doing? And should they be stopped?

Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!
In this 60's film starring Timothy Hutton,an alien spaceship crashes on the moon and the Creatures then kidnaps earth's most prominent scientists and used them as slave labor to help them make repairs instead of using diplomacy which makes this film a Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!

they came from beyond space
We all know the usual quality of anything released by Diamond dvd,there has been some shockers in the past(the release of Creature springs to mind)but to give them their credit this one is actually not bad.Sod all in extras as per,but a nice clear picture which more than compensates.Retailing at a reasonable price as well makes this dvd a worthy purchase,and after all it is a classic British film!!!

simply the best
the best sci-fi film ever made, the special effects blow away all the new stuff and the plot is cleverly writen

Mediocre. Then the ending ruined even that.
I wondered why this Amicus production was rated so poorly by Maltin and others. It was directed by Freddie Francis of Hammer renown, and featured known names in the cast, such as Michael Gough as the alien leader. Then I picked it up and watched it. It is not that bad, for 98% of its runtime. It's the 2% at the end that I'm sure has soured people's tastes for this movie.

It has to do with rocks from outer space landing in a British field and taking over the minds of all those who study them. One scientist is immune to their attacks, however, because of a metal plate in his head. Sound goofy? Well, it might be. But the whole thing is so solemn that one can overlook the funny-looking headgear the scientist fashions to protect his friends. And there is a lot of activity- not gripping action or suspense per se, but activity: gun battles, sneaking around, etc. You are sure it is all leading to... something.

Then after all the buildup, the ending is such a letdown as to enrage. I don't know if the filmmakers were trying for irony and failed, or were trying to make a statement on Southeast Asia, or just ran out of time and money. Imagine if The Longest Day had ended with Bob Mitchum and the Nazis playing pinochle while they talked out their differences; that will give you a feel for the bland ending of They Came From Beyond Space.

It is low budget and almost completely humorless- except for one scene where the scientist's friend has to melt down his silver cricket trophies to make a helmet to protect himself. Even that was really only a chuckle. But I'm not sorry I watched it. It's not that long, and I just would've thought about my job otherwise.

See also: Quatermass 2. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Why was this dubbed into English?
Beautiful sets, lights, props and music were marred by English dubbing.... all of the German had been dubbed over, and there wasn't even any German in the subtitles. "Gebissen wird nur nachts," of course, means "Bites happen only at night" (one of those typical impersonal passive constructions that First Year German students run into. The English cover that came on this DVD was pretty good, as English goes ("The Vampire Happening"), but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't until I opened up the DVD that I found the slip of paper with the original title - 'Gebissen wird nur nachts' - but where on earth did the German go? Why was this dubbed into English? Now, that said, this is not a total disappointment. It is what you would call 'soft-R' and not even 'soft-core.' A couple of scantily clad vampiresses are seen, and the plot was easy enough to follow. What I was struck with most with this film was the Disney-ish sound-track, a little more bouncy than "sound of music" but enough to remind me of the 1960's. If you are only into rap music, or rock, this soundtrack will probably strike you as rather lame. I think most of the value behind this DVD rests in what lessons it teaches the film student who looks at it from the perspective of how to put a movie together. It's a good enough movie if you can get past the English, which proceeds at odds with the movement of the lips of the actors. Sigh. Film collectors that want to follow the career of Pia Degermark might also find this movie valuable. But beware, ordering "Gebissen wird nachts" means getting "The Vampire Happening" when the DVD finally arrives in your mailbox. And there were no menu choices that you could click to turn on any German, not even German subtitling. I sure hope that ordering "Der Blaue Engel" or "Kleider Machen Leute" doesn't mean getting "The Blue Angel" or "Clothes Make the Man" when the DVD finally arrives in the mailbox.

I Liked the picture on the box.
Ok, I'll admit the picture on the dvd package made me buy this dvd. I must say, I didn't know what to expect. It was like a parody of a horror movie by Benny Hill. It was however, atmospheric, the scenery and music gave it a foreign feel. The story is a bit strange though, but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun with it. This wouldn't win any awards, but I intend on keeping it in my collection just as a novelty. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rehash of "It came from outer Space" (1953)
It is not exactly the same story but mighty close. The technology and feel of this low budget film is that of the Quartermass films. The technology is hokey and the props are amusing.

Meteorites land in formation in a field. Yes we know what this means. So a set of scientists are sent out to find what we already know. Yep they all come back a bit funny. When the attempt to take over the top scientist fails they must regroup. From now on it is one top scientist that can out gun and out sneak any of today's secret agents, against an organized well armed coup with electrified fences and nasty attitudes. Will he ever figure out what is happening? Can they be stopped from doing what ever it is that they are doing? And should they be stopped?

Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!
In this 60's film starring Timothy Hutton,an alien spaceship crashes on the moon and the Creatures then kidnaps earth's most prominent scientists and used them as slave labor to help them make repairs instead of using diplomacy which makes this film a Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!

they came from beyond space
We all know the usual quality of anything released by Diamond dvd,there has been some shockers in the past(the release of Creature springs to mind)but to give them their credit this one is actually not bad.Sod all in extras as per,but a nice clear picture which more than compensates.Retailing at a reasonable price as well makes this dvd a worthy purchase,and after all it is a classic British film!!!

simply the best
the best sci-fi film ever made, the special effects blow away all the new stuff and the plot is cleverly writen

Mediocre. Then the ending ruined even that.
I wondered why this Amicus production was rated so poorly by Maltin and others. It was directed by Freddie Francis of Hammer renown, and featured known names in the cast, such as Michael Gough as the alien leader. Then I picked it up and watched it. It is not that bad, for 98% of its runtime. It's the 2% at the end that I'm sure has soured people's tastes for this movie.

It has to do with rocks from outer space landing in a British field and taking over the minds of all those who study them. One scientist is immune to their attacks, however, because of a metal plate in his head. Sound goofy? Well, it might be. But the whole thing is so solemn that one can overlook the funny-looking headgear the scientist fashions to protect his friends. And there is a lot of activity- not gripping action or suspense per se, but activity: gun battles, sneaking around, etc. You are sure it is all leading to... something.

Then after all the buildup, the ending is such a letdown as to enrage. I don't know if the filmmakers were trying for irony and failed, or were trying to make a statement on Southeast Asia, or just ran out of time and money. Imagine if The Longest Day had ended with Bob Mitchum and the Nazis playing pinochle while they talked out their differences; that will give you a feel for the bland ending of They Came From Beyond Space.

It is low budget and almost completely humorless- except for one scene where the scientist's friend has to melt down his silver cricket trophies to make a helmet to protect himself. Even that was really only a chuckle. But I'm not sorry I watched it. It's not that long, and I just would've thought about my job otherwise.

See also: Quatermass 2. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rehash of "It came from outer Space" (1953)
It is not exactly the same story but mighty close. The technology and feel of this low budget film is that of the Quartermass films. The technology is hokey and the props are amusing.

Meteorites land in formation in a field. Yes we know what this means. So a set of scientists are sent out to find what we already know. Yep they all come back a bit funny. When the attempt to take over the top scientist fails they must regroup. From now on it is one top scientist that can out gun and out sneak any of today's secret agents, against an organized well armed coup with electrified fences and nasty attitudes. Will he ever figure out what is happening? Can they be stopped from doing what ever it is that they are doing? And should they be stopped?

Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!
In this 60's film starring Timothy Hutton,an alien spaceship crashes on the moon and the Creatures then kidnaps earth's most prominent scientists and used them as slave labor to help them make repairs instead of using diplomacy which makes this film a Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!

they came from beyond space
We all know the usual quality of anything released by Diamond dvd,there has been some shockers in the past(the release of Creature springs to mind)but to give them their credit this one is actually not bad.Sod all in extras as per,but a nice clear picture which more than compensates.Retailing at a reasonable price as well makes this dvd a worthy purchase,and after all it is a classic British film!!!

simply the best
the best sci-fi film ever made, the special effects blow away all the new stuff and the plot is cleverly writen

Mediocre. Then the ending ruined even that.
I wondered why this Amicus production was rated so poorly by Maltin and others. It was directed by Freddie Francis of Hammer renown, and featured known names in the cast, such as Michael Gough as the alien leader. Then I picked it up and watched it. It is not that bad, for 98% of its runtime. It's the 2% at the end that I'm sure has soured people's tastes for this movie.

It has to do with rocks from outer space landing in a British field and taking over the minds of all those who study them. One scientist is immune to their attacks, however, because of a metal plate in his head. Sound goofy? Well, it might be. But the whole thing is so solemn that one can overlook the funny-looking headgear the scientist fashions to protect his friends. And there is a lot of activity- not gripping action or suspense per se, but activity: gun battles, sneaking around, etc. You are sure it is all leading to... something.

Then after all the buildup, the ending is such a letdown as to enrage. I don't know if the filmmakers were trying for irony and failed, or were trying to make a statement on Southeast Asia, or just ran out of time and money. Imagine if The Longest Day had ended with Bob Mitchum and the Nazis playing pinochle while they talked out their differences; that will give you a feel for the bland ending of They Came From Beyond Space.

It is low budget and almost completely humorless- except for one scene where the scientist's friend has to melt down his silver cricket trophies to make a helmet to protect himself. Even that was really only a chuckle. But I'm not sorry I watched it. It's not that long, and I just would've thought about my job otherwise.

See also: Quatermass 2. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Why was this dubbed into English?
Beautiful sets, lights, props and music were marred by English dubbing.... all of the German had been dubbed over, and there wasn't even any German in the subtitles. "Gebissen wird nur nachts," of course, means "Bites happen only at night" (one of those typical impersonal passive constructions that First Year German students run into. The English cover that came on this DVD was pretty good, as English goes ("The Vampire Happening"), but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't until I opened up the DVD that I found the slip of paper with the original title - 'Gebissen wird nur nachts' - but where on earth did the German go? Why was this dubbed into English? Now, that said, this is not a total disappointment. It is what you would call 'soft-R' and not even 'soft-core.' A couple of scantily clad vampiresses are seen, and the plot was easy enough to follow. What I was struck with most with this film was the Disney-ish sound-track, a little more bouncy than "sound of music" but enough to remind me of the 1960's. If you are only into rap music, or rock, this soundtrack will probably strike you as rather lame. I think most of the value behind this DVD rests in what lessons it teaches the film student who looks at it from the perspective of how to put a movie together. It's a good enough movie if you can get past the English, which proceeds at odds with the movement of the lips of the actors. Sigh. Film collectors that want to follow the career of Pia Degermark might also find this movie valuable. But beware, ordering "Gebissen wird nachts" means getting "The Vampire Happening" when the DVD finally arrives in your mailbox. And there were no menu choices that you could click to turn on any German, not even German subtitling. I sure hope that ordering "Der Blaue Engel" or "Kleider Machen Leute" doesn't mean getting "The Blue Angel" or "Clothes Make the Man" when the DVD finally arrives in the mailbox.

I Liked the picture on the box.
Ok, I'll admit the picture on the dvd package made me buy this dvd. I must say, I didn't know what to expect. It was like a parody of a horror movie by Benny Hill. It was however, atmospheric, the scenery and music gave it a foreign feel. The story is a bit strange though, but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun with it. This wouldn't win any awards, but I intend on keeping it in my collection just as a novelty. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The creeping plot
Many British horror films tended to dwell on very similiar themes. This one is somewhat different, but it could have been much better if they spent more time developing it. The film begins focusing on the skeleton of an ancient creature that could be the missing link. Peter Cushing begins studying it and we learn that water makes skin grow back on the skeleton in seconds. This is pretty interesting, but then they fly off on a sub-plot about Cushing daughter learning that her mo ther went insane and she begins to follow suit. This part tends to go on and on showing us the insides of a seedy pub (all British horror movies are required to show a pub, I think it's a rule over there) and a confrontation with an escaped criminal. Christopher Lee plays Cushing's half brother and rival and he wants the skeleton Cushing has. The middle of this film is slow, but when it starts to rain, the movie cuts loose. The last ten minutes of this film is great, both the story and the visuals. This is overall decent film, just don't give up on it in the middle because it will redeem itself.

The World, the Flesh and a Devil in an unusual Amicus film.
The best aspect of this film is perhaps during the opening credits, where we see various sections of a truly fascinating painted canvas ecompassing all the aspects of the plot you are about to witness conveyed in a series of panned shots. The colors of this prop are brilliant. The second is perhaps when evil approaches and you see only an ever growing shadow of a caped figure rising ever larger over the front of the house! The story is well written, with an unusual idea on the origin of evil and implies a "book of revelation" portent for the future. The musical score is haunting and the acting and sets are fair. Two banes of humanity, Insanity and Evil are the focus of what our two adventurers are trying to solve, mainly to get the 10,000 pound Richter prize and the fame that would follow. However, a series of tragic foul-ups by lab assistant "Egors" release a catastrophe on all mankind, or so we are led to believe! Not the best film that this dynamic duo of horror ever made but very different and well plotted with a lot of Edwardian laboratory mumbo jumbo thrown in for "atmosphere".

The naughty finger...
The Creeping Flesh (1973), originally produced by Tigon Pictures and directed by Freddie Francis, a man fairly well known to fans of films from Hammer Studios and Amicus Productions (The Studio That Dripped Blood), brings together two screen legends in Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (they appeared in a total of 22 films together over the years) in a slightly fantastic tale of things evil and nasty.

Peter Cushing stars as Emmanuel Hilden, a 19th century scientist, involved in the study of human evolution, recently returning from an expedition to New Guinea with what he believes to be a find of epic proportions in that of a rather grotesque looking skeleton, humanoid in appearance, but much larger than any man. Emmanuel sees innumerable opportunities associated with this find, and believes it's his ticket to recognition and lucrative scientific grant monies. On arriving home to England with his boney buddy, we meet Emmanuel's comely daughter, Penelope, played by Lorna Heilbron. Seems she's been holding down the fort, and things have been pretty tight, money-wise, as she's had to let go of two of the three or four servants employed at the house (talk about being in dire straits). Oh yes, Emmanuel's wife and Penelope's mother, Marguerite, has long since passed, or, at least that's what we're lead to believe.

Emmanuel's half-brother, James Hilden (Christopher Lee), who runs a mental asylum, sends word that Emmanuel's wife, who was an inmate, has just died, to which Emmanuel goes to the asylum to collect her personal papers and such, and we learn that James, who has been financing his half-brother's expeditions, is cutting Emmanuel off, and that James is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough dealing with curing insanity or some such thing. One can't help notice there seems to be a bit of jealously in the relationship, coming from James towards Emmanuel.

Anyway, Emmanuel returns home, and begins studying his find. In cleaning part of the skeleton with water (its' finger bone), he notices the part he cleaned with water begins growing flesh...ew...in examining a blood sample (it differs slightly from humans) and reading some dusty tomes, Emmanuel concludes he's found the source of evil, and that evil is not so much a concept but a disease, a plague, and something that one can be inoculated against. He seems to prove this by testing his newly developed serum on a monkey, and fearing that his daughter may suffer the same fate as her mother, possibly madness passed in the genes, he gives the serum to his daughter. Well, we see that the initial success with the monkey didn't last long, and Emmanuel's assistant comments that thankfully they didn't test the serum out on a human test subject (he didn't know about Emmanuel's injecting Penelope). So what happens? The madness overtakes Penelope, brought on by the effects of the injection from her father, and she runs away, only to end up in James' asylum after she commits various crimes involving murder. Obviously James recognizes her, and brings her back to Emmanuel's home, discovers Emmanuel's notes on his recent experiments, and sees the possibilities of incorporating Emmanuel's work into his own, which Emmanuel strongly declines, so James decides to make arrangements to steal his half-brother's work. Unsure of how the skeleton comes into play, but knowing it's a crucial element, he steals it, riding away with it in his carriage. Emmanuel realizes what happens, and begins pursuit. Oh yeah, it also starts raining. Do you think the skeleton, the one that reacted to the water when Emmanuel tried to clean it, will get wet? Count on it...what happens next? You'll just have to watch...

I thought the concept of evil being a disease, something which may be curable, to be a pretty original notion within the film. Cushing was great as the scientist swept up with visions of ridding society of evil, allowing for a, in his words, a new paradise on Earth. His character certainly falls into the category of the scientist with the best intentions, not foreseeing the dangers until it's too late. Lee was also wonderful as the greedy, resentful half-brother, living in the shadow of Emmanuel's achievements, capitalizing on an opportunity when it presents itself, not fully realizing the implications but seeing only the chance for personal gain. Some of the elements of the story seemed a bit slipshod, kind of like they were assembled of ill-fitting pieces, specifically designed to move the plot along. And I was hoping to see more of the creature, but, from what little we do see, it was probably for the best as it was kind of funky, probably due to budgetary constraints. The scenes with the creature's flesh covered severed finger were suitably disgusting, but I'll be darned if that appendage didn't look like some sort of battery-powered martial aid. (Keep in mind the creature was like seven or eight feet tall, and had proportionally sized fingers.) While the movie wasn't particularly scary, it was definitely creepy, and kept my interest all the way through the end. One thing that annoyed me a little was habit of hearing spoken dialog played again later on as a character would recall it within their mind. Seeing as how we were there the first time the dialog was spoken aloud, I didn't see the need to remind us of the pertinent information relayed through a character's inner dialog, as if to aid us, the viewer, in following along. It seemed a bit patronizing, and unnecessary. I did love the ending, despite the huge loose plot thread left dangling with regards to the creature. Maybe it was meant to be that way, left to our speculation.

Columbia Tristar Home Video provides a very nice looking wide screen print here. The audio seemed a bit soft at times, but there are English subtitles, which I made use of...the only thing in regards to extras available is an original theatrical trailer.

Cookieman108

Creepy Flesh
Emmanuel Hildern, played by Peter Cushing, returns from New Guinea with a large prehistoric skeleton. While cleaning one of the fingers of the skeleton with water, the finger starts to grow flesh. Hildern starts to reflect on the origin of "evil" and creates a serum that he believes will be an antidote for evil. He injects his daughter with the serum, because he believes she may be insane, since her mother was. The serum does not work and causes his daughter to go insane. James Hildern, played by Christopher Lee, is Emmanuel brother and after finding out about the skeleton and steals it. The skeleton is exposed to the rain and the "Creeping Flesh" comes to life.

Classic English Horror
So we have Christopher Lee (Dracula, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars Episode III) and Peter Cushing (Star Wars and Shock Waves) in this 1973 film about "a terrifying journey through the nightmare worlds of evil, insanity, and terrible revenge." The film is wonderfully directed by Freddie Francis of such infamy as "Tales From the Crypt," "Son of Dracula," The Ghoul," and "Legend of the Werewolf."

Plot: A paleontologist comes to believe that evil is a blood-borne illness and that the vehicle for said disease is the re-animated flesh of a skeletal specimen recently recovered from New Guinea. Convinced that his wife had contracted this evil prior to loosing her mind, he is driven to concoct an immunization in an attempt to save his daughter from a similar fate. As this is a horror movie, things don't quite go as planned.

I own the movie on VHS and so eagerly anticipate its DVD release. ... Read more