The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Believe it, or not, 1957's "The Brain From Planet Arous" actually scored higher in the laughs department than any "Adam Sandler" Comedy that I've ever seen.It's true. (And, no, I wasn't stoned) And, yeah-yeah, I know that (opposed to any "Sandler" Comedy) this film was Sci-Fi and its humor was unintentional, but, all the same, I'll certainly take my laughs anywhere that I can get 'em, even if it is from some dopey, little, B-Grade, Sci-Fi flick from the frickin' 1950s.Anyways - As the laughs come fast and furious.....Gor, a super-powerful criminal brain from planet Arous, assumes the body of goody-goody research scientist Steve March. Through March the evil Gor begins his diabolical mission to control the world via telepathic possession.And, Gor, being the miserable prick that he is, naturally threatens the immediate destruction of any country on the planet who dares to challenge his ego-maniacal domination.(Are you laughing at the absurdity of it all, so far?) Vol (yes, another brain (this time a nice one) from you-know-where) arrives on Earth shortly after Gor. Vol (get this) inhabits March's dog, George, and works closely with Sally (March's squeeze) to defeat the all-mighty Gor.Enough said.As you can well-imagine, The Brain From Planet Arous is literally filled to over-flowing with laughable special effects, laughable dialogue, and, yes, laughable performances from one, and all.And, yep - I'll take this goofy, little, Sci-Fi laugh-riot over anything offered up by Sandler, and his likes, any day at all.

This film has a reputation as one of the all-time stinkers, a reputation that it in no way deserves. How many stars should i give it? At least eight, but should I go as high as nine? Or even ten? Arguably it DOES deserve ten stars, as it compares favorably with such fifties sci fi classics as "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" (a definite "ten" film in my book). I've seen most of the John Agar science fiction films and i'm quite impressed with them. The man does reign as one of the great sci fi film icons of the fifties and sixties. Most of his sci fi films follow a formula. The idea is to contrast the charming Mr. Agar, the epitome of Midwestern normality, with the outrageous, literally out-of-this world goings-on featured in these pictures. And this formula almost always works. This time it's disembodied brains from outer space, a "good" brain and an "evil" one. The evil one ends up residing in Agar's body, so the actor ends up giving TWO performances in essence. He acts as his usual self, and as a maniacal power-crazed version of himself. (Picture McLean Stevenson playing the role of an out-and-out villain.) "Arous" has developed a cult following, but for all the wrong reasons. It shouldn't be noteworthy for being bad. It should be remembered as a very successful example of fifties-style formula science fiction.

"The Two Brains From Planet Arous", actually. This stupid little sci-fi cheapie features an alien who must have inhaled a life-long supply of laughing gas; how else to explain the incessant laughter which precedes and follows every act of violence against the poor, defenseless Earthlings? Agar's performance is so hammy, so campy, so silly, and invariably stupid that it reduces the already flimsy story to a sub-superficial comic-book level.The evil brain, Gor, dominates the movie with his endless displays of power. On the other hand, the good-guy brain, Vol, promises at the outset that his powers are equal to, if not greater, than Gor's, but what happens? Vol enters a dog's body, and does practically nothing to stop Gor; so much for greater power than Gor... In fact, for most of the movie Vol is just a useless dog, licking his masters or his own balls (a new sensation for him, no doubt). And what's with this Gor? His plan is to have the Earthlings create a huge inter-planetary fleet which would invade Arous and establish him as ruler of that planet. There's just a tiny, tiny, tiny little hitch: won't the other brains from Arous have the same power as he does, and simply annihilate any fleet that attempts to take over the planet with the power of their mind? I also find Gor's newly-acquired taste for female flesh - and a ravenous appetite it is - to be quite silly.

As a kid growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, I was lucky enough to watch TV shows like "Creature Features" on Channel 5 and "Chiller Theater" on Channel 11. Movies like "Brain from Planet Arous" were staples of these SciFi and Horror- themed formats....I have just ordered a copy of this movie and am anxiously awaiting seeing it for the first time in probably 30 years! I don't remember a ton of the plot details but I do remember that John Agars silver/black eye pupils were FREAKING CREEPY LOOKING, and the "Brain" monsters were pretty scary... at least to a 10 year old. Definitely a MUST SEE MOVIE for any serious SciFi buff!If I had to list the Top 5 Best / Scariest SciFi movies from when I was a Kid they would be:#5)"Fiend Without a Face / Night of the Blood Beast" - 2 different movies; one of these was pretty scary. (I just don't remember which one...)#4)"Attack of the Crab Monsters" - The giant crabs faces and voices were pretty scary, as I recall...#3)"Brain From Planet Arous" - As a kid, I used to imagine Gor (the evil Brain) was hiding in my bedroom closet, waiting to "get me"...#2)"The Killer Shrews" - our basement was dark, had a space under the stairs AND a wet bar; just like the one where the Killer Shrew hid and waited to bite his victim!#1) My ***All - Time Favorite Scariest B-Movie*** is "Terror From the Year 5000", with the mutant woman who fries you with her shiny Lee Press-On Nails and then steals your face!!! (Salome Jens, you totally hot mutant babe, you!)