Alien Terror
Alien Terror
| 01 April 1971 (USA)
Alien Terror Trailers

In the late 1800's, Boris Karloff has discovered a way to use nuclear power. He creates a beam weapon and blows up a big rock. Outer space aliens are scared and one alien who looks a lot like James Cameron with a big fake nose only this one isn't fake lands and brings other aliens who take over the bodies of Karloff and his assistant. The assistant is a Jack the Ripper style killer who has done a few nasty murders which have riled the townsfolk. The body-snatched bodies become radioactive and start killing flowers and other stuff (but don't die themselves) and some stuff happens and in the end Karloff destroys the beam weapon equipment (and his lab and house), then the aliens leave and warn us that if anyone ever does it again there will be trouble.

Reviews
Leofwine_draca

There are a lot of things wrong with this movie; the plot is clichéd and routine, the editing and photography bad, the acting and dubbing appalling. Yet, despite of all these detractions, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this science fiction / horror hybrid which successfully mixes both genres by the crude methods of having two sub-plots which regularly clash. So far I've only seen two of the Karloff/Mexican quartet made shortly before the actor's death, but this beats DANCE OF DEATH hands down by never succumbing to boredom.Things open with two scientists experimenting with radium with machinery that looks like its come straight out of a Hammer Frankenstein movie. Throughout this movie there is a definite Hammer influence in the setting and the costumes, what with the low-cut dresses of the women, the horse and carts that the men drive and the mob of torch-wielding villagers who go on the rampage at the end. Although the poor film stock used and the washed-out colours make this look like a cheap imitation, it's the thought that counts and ALIEN TERROR benefits from the similarity.The two scientists are soon revealed as Boris Karloff and his female assistant, who has been facially scarred (a typical requirement for the genre). Karloff actually has a fair bit of screen time in this film, I would say about half an hour of it, which was something of a surprise. Obviously all of his scenes are filmed on one set again, and sometimes, hilariously, a double stands in for him just like that guy did for Bruce Lee in GAME OF DEATH. At the end we see Karloff supposedly watching his house burn down, although it's obviously just an actor with fake grey hair - luckily he never turns round! At another time Karloff appears with his mask on while another actor dubs his voice - the only trouble being that a Mexican trying to sound British doesn't work very well. The effect is absolutely hilarious! Anyway, on the arrival of a UFO (animated), an alien visitor arrives on our planet. Is he slimy, scaly, scary? Well, err, no. Actually this "alien" is a blond guy with wavy hair wearing a shiny silver suit! Again, another moment of hilarity comes from his presence. He spends a lot of time lurking in bushes watching people, or hiding out in his UFO, which is commendably surreal with a blue-lighted set. His plan is to destroy all of Karloff's equipment which has the power to destroy the universe - basically this is a variation on an old theme. But first he must possess a number of people into doing his will.The possession occurs via a translucent "blob" (briefly seen, but it looks just like THE BLOB) which melts into the victim's hand. I'm not making this up. The first to go is a swarthy man called Thomas, who also happens to be a sadistic sex murderer who receives sexual pleasure from hacking up his female victims with a straight razor. Thus the scene is set for a number of non-gory but pretty grisly murders in which the females are at first seduced and then killed. Incidentally, this is a very sexist film, in which EVERY female character wants a man to be with and only has one thing on her mind - sex! Subservient isn't the word.After a string of murders (as there is apparently no police presence in the village, nobody cares), Thomas eventually reaches Karloff's laboratory where Karloff himself is possessed by the "blob". They also find time to fit in a cool scene where a bunch of flowers wither and die because of the radiation the "blob" emits. More people die, a bland young scientist hero investigates, Thomas is wounded and butchered by the vengeful villagers and the alien presence is destroyed - only for Karloff to blow up his equipment anyway, and for the alien to leave happily! Which begs the question...why didn't the alien just go and ask Karloff in the first place? It would have saved an awful lot of time and effort.The acting is generally bad but fun to watch, of course with the exception of Karloff who once again gives his all and is the best actor in the film. However, honours must go to Yerye Beirute's snarling turn as the sex murderer, for managing to create such a loathsome, despicable character. Plus, a couple of the female leads are given more to do than usual, including one getting possessed by the alien herself in a shocking twist. Everything else about the film is pedestrian, but in the mish-mash of plot ideas, there are a couple of neat twists. The "alien possession" theme would later be explored (through much better special effects) in the likes of THE HIDDEN, which came twenty years later. ALIEN TERROR may be cheap and dodgy entertainment, but it passes the time quite nicely and is a bit better than you would expect from its lack of pedigree.

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TheLittleSongbird

Boris Karloff was a great actor, responsible for some of the most iconic performances in the horror genre and most effective in roles that showed menacing and sympathetic sides to his character's personality. Sadly, he was also an actor whose last few films didn't do justice to him or his career. The Incredible Invasion(or Alien Terror) is his last and while it is marginally better than House of Evil and especially Fear Chamber that's not saying much as it is still a mess, if there was a word that this movie is not it's incredible. Karloff of course is the best and only good thing about it, that the role is bigger here already makes it better than House of Evil and Fear Chamber and he performs with class and dignity, which is more than The Incredible Invasion deserved. Apart from Karloff the acting is just amateurish, Yerye Beirute brings unintentional humour in how bad especially he is. The Incredible Invasion is cheap-looking too, you get the feeling from the editing and photography that the movie was done in a matter of days(it mayn't have been but it honestly looks like it) while the sets are tacky and don't exude any atmosphere at all. The music is shrill and strident, while the dialogue sounds incredibly stilted and to even describe the direction is inept is insulting. The story has a cobbled together feel with no thrills, tension, scares or suspense despite having the elements that had the potential to make it so. Instead it was dull, often incoherent, thinly structured and far too strange for its own good. All in all, just a mess. Boris Karloff had a great career, but The Incredible Invasion was a very sad end to it, easily one of the absolute worst final films of any actor. 2/10 Bethany Cox

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Witchfinder General 666

"The Icredible Invasion" aka. "Alien Terror" of 1971 is one of the rather crappy and very odd last films of the great Boris Karloff. Released in 1971, two years after Karloff's death, this movie was directed by Jack Hill and Juan Ibanez, who also directed three other examples of Karloff's infamous last films, "Snake People", "The Fear Chamber" and "House Of Evil". While "The Incredible Invasion" is definitely a very crappy attempt of a Sci-Fi/Horror movie it is nevertheless very amusing and worth watching for its value as an unintentional comedy. While the movie does in no way rank behind "Snake People" in its oddity, it does not quite reach the unintentional fun-factor of "The Fear Chamber", as far as I am considered. Nevertheless it is great fun to watch and I could easily watch it again various times when I am bored and want to have a good laugh.After Dr. John Mayer (Karloff) and his assistant Dr. Isabel Reed (Maura Monti) invent create a ray machine which produces some sort of nuclear power, a ray is accidentally shot into the universe where it hits a flying saucer. Reasoning that this sort of death-rays is too big a threat to the universe, the saucer's captain, a mysterious alien, who actually looks like a human being and wears a bizarre glittering seventies-style disco suit, decides to prevent earthlings from using it. The alien captain therefore lands on earth and possesses the brain of Thomas (Yerye Beirute), a serial killer of women, who operates as the alien's henchman from now on.It would not be far-fetched to say that the Hill/Ibanez movies were to Karloff what Ed Wood's movies were to Bela Lugosi. Both brilliant actors and great stars of the horror genre, Lugosi and Karloff both ended their careers with some very odd films. Although they are without doubt unintentionally funny and they sure have some fans, however, the Hill/Ibanez films do in now way reach the cult status of Ed Wood's films."The Incredible Invasion" is terribly crappy as the Sci-Fi/Horror movie it tries to be, but it can be great fun if watched as the unintentional comedy it is. As far as I am concerned, every serious lover of film should watch at least one of Karloff's odd last films directed by Hill and Ibanez, just for the reason that they are some of Karloff's last films. Some other good reasons to watch "The Incredible Invasion" are lovely Christa Linder and Yerye Beirute, who also was in "The Fear Chamber". Don't expect any suspense whatsoever, but expect an unintentional comedy and laugh your ass off. 3/10

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Sic Coyote

It has poor lighting, poor sound(as everyone except Karloff is dubbed, and on one occasion even he is dubbed, by someone doing a very bad impression. The editing is bad, although this may be down to a poor quality hacked up print, but in general it looks like a cheap film with Karloff's stuff looking like it could all have been shot in a couple of days. There are some classic funny bits, unintentional. I don't know why but I find a woman (possessed by an alien) slapping a man till he just punches her and knocks her out quite funny. *slap slap slap* *thwack* man wins. The plot was not that unusual but it was quite hard to follow what was going on even if you were paying attention. Karloff had a cool voice. 2/10 - Maybe slightly watchable for occasional funny bits.

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