This is a film great for riffing MST3K style (although I don't believe they ever ran this). It doesn't really seem to be taking itself very seriously, and almost plays like the cast & crew made it as an inside joke.The early part of the story shows some enthusiastic astronomers trying to contact extra terrestrial life with radio signals, and this scene is played straight. When they finally do establish contact with somebody out there, however, things get weird and silly in a hurry. They are abducted to some alien fort long-since abandoned except by a robot that bounces and shakes around a lot when it moves. One of the oddest monsters appears, and it all reminded me of a Dr. Who episode that was on a very low budget. Soon the abductees, including not one but two comedy relief characters, learn that they must save the universe. There is a battle scene that looked almost as real as when two kids play with toy soldiers. If you need a good laugh, see this nonsense.

Sci-Fi and horror movies don't often win Academy Awards, but that's not necessarily the fault of the films themselves but merely due to the fact there aren't sufficient categories! If, for example, there existed an Oscar for the coolest movie title, it would guaranteed be won by a horror or Sci-Fi flick almost every year! "The Terrornauts" definitely would have deserved the Oscar for coolest title back in 1967, that's for certain, even though it's a completely irrelevant title. There isn't much "terror" here and the main characters arguably don't even qualify as "astronauts" either. Then again who needs the Academy Awards; because I've never seen an Oscar winning film that provided me with so much entertainment and chuckles than "The Terrornauts". Thus far I always assumed that "First Men in the Moon" (Nathan Juran – 1964) was the cheesiest and most pleasantly deranged Sci-Fi movie to hail from England, but that was before I discovered this even crazier and more imaginative little accomplishment from the Amicus Studios. It's practically impossible to describe the plot of "The Terrornauts", but I'll give it a try anyways. Dr. Joe Burke, along with his girlfriend Sandy and co- worker Ben, is running operation Star Talk. His mission is to intercept radio signals from outer space in order to prove the existence of other intelligent life forms. He's devoted to his job because, as a child, he once had a vivid dream about being on a planet where he could breathe normally. But since his project is unsuccessful for the past four years and quite expensive at the same time, a grumpy government official now informs Dr. Burke that the project will be terminated in three months. But then suddenly Dr. Burke receives signals, hallelujah! He responds to them and, before they properly understand what is going on, their entire laboratory is sucked out of its fundaments and into a massive space ship! The crew, including the talkative coffee lady and a nerdy financial auditor sent by the government, is hosted by a tacky robot and forced to participate in hallucinating experiments. They also stumble upon a portal that leads them directly to – oh yes – the planet that Dr. Burke dreamed about as a child! Do I really need to re-emphasize that "The Terrornauts" is downright awesome?!? Whoever wrote the script of this movie was permanently high on excellent drugs and the team in charge of the special effects and costume designs must have been even crazier! At a certain point in the film the group runs into a flamboyant monster with tentacles on its head and one giant eye on the lower left side, whilst on the planet our heroine is chased by green-faced aliens that want to ritually sacrifice her. The warfare during the climax (I'm not even entirely sure against whom…) looks like it could have formed the inspiration for the legendary "Space Invaders" video game and the very last sequences, featuring a French gendarme, are simply priceless. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Amicus was a fairly solid and respectable production studio in the shadows of the almighty Hammer Studios. They released several great anthology horror films starring British horror regulars such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee ("Asylum", "Tales from the Crypt", "Torture Garden"), as well as fantasy/Sci-Fi flicks ("Dr. Who and the Daleks", "At the Earth's Core"). "The Terrornauts" is a bit of an outcast in their overall repertoire, but definitely a gem for avid cult fanatics to seek out and enjoy!

This movie is one of my childhood memories. Our local TV station used to broadcast it semi-regularly and I recall seeing it several times as I was growing up. As a sci-fi nut I found the story intriguing, though full of holes and very obviously done on a limited budget.What made me want to track the movie down was, some years later, reading the book on which the movie was based. The book is "The Wailing Asteroid" by Murray Leinster, written in 1960. Like the movie the book is somewhat dated, though I think the book has probably aged better. Nevertheless, I'd still like to track down a copy of the movie and revisit my childhood Saturday afternoons.

OK, I am a big Amicus fan and for years, I searched for this film, it was almost like the 'Holy Grail' for me, as far as Amicus films went. Finally, I received a copy of this film and let me just say, it didn't disappoint. The wonderful thing about this film is, it doesn't take itself seriously, it offers the purest form of entertainment and delivers. I do believe when the film began, it was to be a fully serious sci-fi effort, but once the film location changes to space, it's more camp and definitely a lot of fun. I just adore Mrs. Jones and Mr. Yellowlees, they bring a sense of fun to the film that it might never have enjoyed, without their characters. At times, the film has an almost; Dr. Who feel to it, with some of the creatures we see and the colors glow with the 60s look. I can't recommend this film as a serious sci-fi film, but if you're in the mood for innocent and enjoyable fun with a film, this is the film for you!