In a way, in spite of John Saxon turning up in the cast, this is a very British sort of sci-fi picture. That is to say there are no slavering, overly thyroid insects googling about, in search of prey, and there's no widescale destruction by oozing aliens. Instead, the title creature is content to work behind the scenes to restore his devastated planet. Being shot in black and white, and making carefully planned use of light and shadow, the film possesses a unique feeling and a distinct touch of menace in the proceedings.
The film opens to a long shot of London at twilight. As the title song is sung (yes, it's a vocal piece with a rather heavy orchestration and a '60s Pop feel), a small, bright light crosses the sky above the unsuspecting city.
This speck is tracked by a research establishment, and by the military, who send out patrols to locate whatever may have fallen in the countryside.
The center sends Jack Costain (John Saxon). Costain encounters the military force seeking the object and, after a brief exchange of notes, the mysterious object is located, It is a while ball, about the size of a basketball, and supercool. This intrigues Costain, as a fallen bit of space debris should logically take hours to cool to the point where it could be safely handled.
Relocated to the center, the object is left in an abandoned room while the personnel attend to other duties. It begins to emit an intense light, and this gives Ann Barlow (Patricia Haines), who's stayed on at night to transcribe notes, a massive headache.
While she watches, a far door in the room opens slightly, and a grotesque claw tries to force through the crack. She manages to sound an alarm and the hand is quickly withdrawn. The unseen intruder is seemingly trapped in the room here the space object is being stored.
A security investigation turns up nothing pointing to an intruder, aside from a few generic footprints outside. However, the researchers formulate a few quick conclusions on the mystery sphere -- speculating that it might be capable of transporting matter from one place to another. Doctor Morley (Maurice Denham) decides to spend time alone with the object, in a darkened room.
Something does appear but, with his glasses broken, Morley doesn't see it before he dies (evidently of a stroke or heart attack).
Shortly thereafter, ads begin appearing in newspapers for girls to work as models. The contact is Medra (Robert Crewdson), who is either masked or stays just out of the light. The only clear lead is that replies are sent to a postal box which can be traced, and the authorities begin work on that project at once.
The parents of a girl who had answered one of these ads and had then visited Medra speak of his coming to their house. They had gotten an odd feeling during his brief visitation (the flashback sequence is very unnerving through Medra's soft, even voice and the way he keeps in the shadow). They also mention an almost 3D picture he had produced of their daughter, which had later vanished (Medra evidently uses these photos to call his victims to him, and he makes sure they bring the photos with them).
Working with the authorities, Costain and Ann learn that Medra also can be reached through a questionable bookshop, and Ann goes there, posing as a would-be model. By now, they've realized Medra must be an alien, and they want to establish contact.
Medra arrives and, realizing that Ann knows too much, kills her (another disquieting and offbeat touch -- heroines generally don't die in these sorts of films). There's an attempt to chase him down (the latest victim -- the girl whose parents had spoken to Costain -- is now with Medra), but he escapes with fresh a batch of kidnapped girls -- briefly showing a scarred, androgynous face as he explains he's trying to repair the damaged gene pools of his world -- a moon on Jupiter.
One of the few sci-fi films in which the "monster" wins. Very careful in its use of light and its handling of the elusive Medra. There are also some odd camera angles used in the scenes featuring the alien, which strongly add to the air of menace his appearances evoke. Worth at least a single screening.
A 7 out of 10.
The film opens to a long shot of London at twilight. As the title song is sung (yes, it's a vocal piece with a rather heavy orchestration and a '60s Pop feel), a small, bright light crosses the sky above the unsuspecting city.
This speck is tracked by a research establishment, and by the military, who send out patrols to locate whatever may have fallen in the countryside.
The center sends Jack Costain (John Saxon). Costain encounters the military force seeking the object and, after a brief exchange of notes, the mysterious object is located, It is a while ball, about the size of a basketball, and supercool. This intrigues Costain, as a fallen bit of space debris should logically take hours to cool to the point where it could be safely handled.
Relocated to the center, the object is left in an abandoned room while the personnel attend to other duties. It begins to emit an intense light, and this gives Ann Barlow (Patricia Haines), who's stayed on at night to transcribe notes, a massive headache.
While she watches, a far door in the room opens slightly, and a grotesque claw tries to force through the crack. She manages to sound an alarm and the hand is quickly withdrawn. The unseen intruder is seemingly trapped in the room here the space object is being stored.
A security investigation turns up nothing pointing to an intruder, aside from a few generic footprints outside. However, the researchers formulate a few quick conclusions on the mystery sphere -- speculating that it might be capable of transporting matter from one place to another. Doctor Morley (Maurice Denham) decides to spend time alone with the object, in a darkened room.
Something does appear but, with his glasses broken, Morley doesn't see it before he dies (evidently of a stroke or heart attack).
Shortly thereafter, ads begin appearing in newspapers for girls to work as models. The contact is Medra (Robert Crewdson), who is either masked or stays just out of the light. The only clear lead is that replies are sent to a postal box which can be traced, and the authorities begin work on that project at once.
The parents of a girl who had answered one of these ads and had then visited Medra speak of his coming to their house. They had gotten an odd feeling during his brief visitation (the flashback sequence is very unnerving through Medra's soft, even voice and the way he keeps in the shadow). They also mention an almost 3D picture he had produced of their daughter, which had later vanished (Medra evidently uses these photos to call his victims to him, and he makes sure they bring the photos with them).
Working with the authorities, Costain and Ann learn that Medra also can be reached through a questionable bookshop, and Ann goes there, posing as a would-be model. By now, they've realized Medra must be an alien, and they want to establish contact.
Medra arrives and, realizing that Ann knows too much, kills her (another disquieting and offbeat touch -- heroines generally don't die in these sorts of films). There's an attempt to chase him down (the latest victim -- the girl whose parents had spoken to Costain -- is now with Medra), but he escapes with fresh a batch of kidnapped girls -- briefly showing a scarred, androgynous face as he explains he's trying to repair the damaged gene pools of his world -- a moon on Jupiter.
One of the few sci-fi films in which the "monster" wins. Very careful in its use of light and its handling of the elusive Medra. There are also some odd camera angles used in the scenes featuring the alien, which strongly add to the air of menace his appearances evoke. Worth at least a single screening.
A 7 out of 10.