John
Saxon stars as an American scientist in England who tracks a strange meteorite
to an unlikely crash site. There’s no
crater or point of impact. It’s almost
as if the damned thing just… landed.
Along with some fellow scientists, Saxon performs some experiments on
it, which results in the death of his mentor (Maurice Denham). John then teams up with a Scotland Yard
inspector (Alfred Burke) to investigate the disappearance of some local girls
that may be somehow connected with the meteorite.
The
first half of The Night Caller is gripping stuff. It was done on an obviously low budget, but
the way director John (The Reptile) Gilling manages to milk the suspense from
the bare minimum he was given is rather impressive. Most directors would’ve been hard-pressed to
create tension with nothing more than John Saxon, a glowing watermelon, and a
rubber hand at their disposal. Gilling
rises to the challenge admirably.
This
portion of the film hinges heavily on suggestion. The monster is mostly kept in the shadows,
with Saxon relying on secondhand accounts from potential victims for a
description of the beast. The moody
lighting and stark black and white cinematography help to enhance the
atmosphere. Imagine if Val Lewton had
directed a Val Guest movie. If that
isn’t enough to make you want to see it, nothing will.
In
the second half, The Night Caller takes an odd, but amusing detour. It’s such a dramatic turn that it almost feels
like an entirely different movie in places.
It’s here where things become slightly more lurid as the alien lures
unsuspecting bikini models to their doom. This twist is unexpected and kind of corny,
but it’s diverting enough. (It almost
seems like a Hammer remake of Mars Needs Women.)
It’s
only in the last ten minutes does it really fall apart. That’s partly because the ending is so
anticlimactic, but also because Saxon gets less and less to do as the film goes
on. We do get a fun turn by Aubrey (Tales
from the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood) Morris as the creepy bookstore owner
in cahoots with the alien, and his hammy antics helps inject a little life into
the uneven third act.
AKA: Blood Beast from Outer Space. AKA:
Night Caller from Outer Space.
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