They Came From Beyond Space

Directed by Freddie Francis, Written by Milton Subotsky, and based on a book The Gods must Hate Kansas by Joseph Millard. Starring Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne and Zia Mohyeddin. Now that we got that out of the way... The movie poster for this is without doubt one of the most deceptive posters I have ever seen. There is nothing remotely similar to the slick alien action as suggested. Here's the deal. At first it has the feel of a classic British television show like The Avengers or The Prisoner with it's muted wild color and upbeat spy music. I could only hope that the backdrop location for this flick at one time had Benny Hill running around in it. The premise is that an asteroid shower descends in a field in a rural English village. Top scientists get a close look and are body snatched and brain swapped for an alien race. Our hero Professor Forrest is not susceptible to their powers as a previous car accident has left him with a metal plate in his head. Lucky bastard. The intruders get a million pound loan via mind control from a bank which in 1967 was big poundege back then. They use the money to buy the tools and supplies needed to erect a stylin' sci-fi outpost and to barricade themselves inside a foggy marsh area near the village. Our valiant Professor will stop at nothing to find out what shenanigans are afoot. Plus a side note, he is in love with the redhead scientist who fell prey to their abducting ways. The village becomes infected with a plague that turns their faces spotty red and that wipes them all out. Except for the Professor of course. Plate? After many attempts to penetrate the electric fence where secrets are beckoning him he is witness to a rocket that is launched out of these foggiest of marshes. He is clever enough to get in yet is captured. Lots of nice little sci-fi sets and lights in these scenes. He is told of the whole plan by a loose lipped alien who is inhabiting one of his science pals. He escapes and counter kidnaps his science girlfriend and takes her to the home of the one remaining science pal that is not infected to try to convince him of the peril that befalls the village. Convinced, his friend lets him melt down his prized silver horse show award trophies to make a ridiculous helmet to prevent the sinister invaders mind control. As it so happens the said invaders were the ones that whipped a plague on the populous to discourage interference from the outside world only then to put them in rockets and blast them to moon, revive them and proceed to enslave them forcing them to build a grand rocket to shoot the aliens back into space towards their home planet so that they may finally die in peace. Whew! In all it could easily be thought of as a bit boring. If you know you have something better to do which you do you may need to watch this in doses however, the old theory that a good proper English accent raises the credibility scale works with this one. A lonely star for this film.