Fiend Without a Face (1958)

Very disappointing...

Don't Believe the Hype

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It's More than a B "Brain" Movie. It's that, Sci-Fi, Horror, Atomic Paranoia and Mind Control all Mixed together and made for an Unforgettable Causal Nightmare of a Movie that had "Baby Boomers" Squirming.It's Reputation Precedes it Today and is Enjoyed by Moderns as a Bona-Fide 1950's Classic of its Kind. The Film does Not Disappoint.The First Two-Acts are Filled with Low-Budget Treats. Expressionistic Lighting and Mood are used in the Military Radar Room Scenes to Enhance the Paranoia.The Film Opens with the Attacks by "Fiends Without a Face" that are Invisible "Mental Vampires" that Lurch and Latch on to Innocent Town Folks and the Slurping, Eerie Sound-Effects leave No Doubt that They are a Force to be Reckoned With.Experiencing the Terror are the Usual Display of Fifties Characters. The Military Captain (Marshall Thompson) all Solemn, Serious, and Wired with Coffee and Benzedrine. The Military General in Charge of the Nuclear Plant that says "Remove more rods, damn the risks, we've got to make this work, I have to answer to the Pentagon." (paraphrasing).There's the Wiry Haired Absent "Minded" Professor Fiddling About Conjuring Mind Control Thought Entities with the Help of Nuclear Radiation and the Perky Female Assistant that Bounces from the Shower Dripping Wet with a Towel Covering only the Censored Parts and is Ready for Action, but She's more Body than "Brains" ("My head is buzzing with all of these big words.") Horrifying Things Happen even before the Disembodied Brains Complete with Spinal Cords make the Third Act the Undisputed Highlight of All 1950's Brain Movies. The Effects are Superb, Gooey, Gory, and Undeniably Unforgettable, even Today.The Film is made Rich with other Ingredients, like the Cavalier Attitude about the Nuke Plant and those In Charge. But it is the Now Famous "Brains" and the Claustrophobic Attack on the Cast in the Finale that makes the Movie Memorable.

Fiend Without a Face is directed by Arthur Crabtree and written by Herbert J. Leder and Amelia Reynolds Long (story The Thought Monster). It stars Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Michael Balfour and Kim Parker. Music is by Buxton Orr and cinematography by Lionel Banes.Some sort of invisible assailant loose on the Canadian border and is attacking a U.S. Army Base and the local residents in the surrounding area. The locals are convinced it has something to do with the nuclear power plant, the army not so, especially since the unseen foe's modus operandi is to suck out the brains and spinal cords of its victims!A mental vampire. A fiend!Wonderfully bonkers Brit sci-fi horror that nicely builds premise and characters to then unleash the beasties in all their stop motion gory glory. It's a pay off well worth your patience, which when it comes down to it is not a lot to ask for in a movie that doesn't even run to 80 minutes. Standard clichés of many 50s creature feature schlockers apply, such as romance, straight backed heroics, dumb decisions made and averted, nice characters, bad characters, silly dialogue and some incredibly creaky science.The principles of thought control.The budget is obviously not stretching to great heights, but Crabtree was adept at creating great suspense and atmosphere with minimal cash funds, as he proves here. There's a sense of paranoia drifting over everything, perfect for the 50s fear of the nuclear age, and scenes such as when our hero is trapped in a mausoleum are skillfully crafted for maximum impact. Then the last 15 minutes arrive and it's The Alamo as our roll call of survivors try and stave off the attack of the killer brains! Delightful creations that look like brain snails with spinal cords that leap around and attach themselves to the victims necks.The effects are nifty for the era, the gore equally so, while the sound effects, and Orr's brilliant musical score, are of a real high quality. Daft for sure, but not insultingly so like so many cheaply turned out films of the time, this is a 50s sci-fi horror fan's fun bag ticket for a good night in. 8/10

...from the paranoid Fifties, "Fiend Without a Face" never achieved quite the iconic status of films like "Forbidden Planet," from which it cribs unashamedly, or "Invaders From Mars" or "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers," ditto, but its disembodied stop-motion brain monsters left an indelible impression on countless young viewers, myself included. The vantage point of a half century renders its script bemusing at best, right from an opening scene of an Air Force guard sneaking a smoke while on duty to the climactic attack of scads of carnivorous flying brains whose repeatedly flatulent expirations by bullet serve well to illustrate the silliness of the goings-on. The cast is mostly competent, the contrived romance has the good sense to stay out of the way of things, and the production does fairly well with its slim budget. Like others, I am bemused that Criterion picked this one up, but thankful they did a nice job with it. Notable for its themes of military incompetence, fear of atomic energy, and the hubris of scientists. Recommended.

Fiend Without a Face rises above the typical 50s matinée fare with decent special effects, a suspenseful plot, and some surprisingly gruesome violence for the era. At an isolated Alaskan Air Force Base, people begin turning up dead with their brains and spinal cords removed. What follows is a confrontation with an invisible and deadly force.Despite a silly concept which strains the bounds of even fifties science fiction, the film manages to create a genuinely suspenseful atmosphere. The director gives us numerous shots of experimental jets flying through the sky ominously, while the setting adds a sense of isolation and foreboding in many respects similar to John Carpenter's The Thing.The film also benefits from some surprisingly graphic violence for its time period. When a monster gets shot, blood flows. All in all, this is an entertaining fifties creature feature that is definitely worth a look.