Watching this I couldn't help but compare it to the films that Hammer studios made and I think I have a good reason because those involved all worked on some of those efforts especially the writer. Story here is about a mysterious cloud that is around a mountain in the Swiss village of Trollenberg and it seems to have a connection to the recent deaths of climbers in the area. Staying at the local inn is a United Nations science investigator named Alan Brooks (Forrest Tucker) who seems to know more than he's letting on as he talks in secrecy with professor Crevett (Warren Mitchell) who is the scientist in charge at the research station.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Also at the inn are Sarah Pilgrim (Jennifer Jayne) and her telepathic younger sister Anne (Janet Munro) who experiences bad dreams and visions concerning the weird goings on. When it appears that aliens are inside the cloud and descending down upon the village they want to kill Anne because her ESP is a threat to their existence and Alan and the others must protect her. Inside the cloud the aliens are giant eyeballs with tentacle like arms and they try to kill everyone inside the research station but professor Crevett and Alan figure out that they can combat them with fire and they call the nearest Air Force base to come and drop fire bombs.
This is directed by Quentin Lawrence who was a pretty good television director and the idea for this film came from "The Trollenberg Terror" which was a British TV show that Lawrence was involved with. While the special effects in the last 15 minutes hamper the credibility of this film this is still a well made science fiction effort written by Hammer regular Jimmy Sangster. Some of the shots have an obvious screen behind the actors but there is some impressive cinematography by Monty Berman who does deliver some good looking scenes around the village. The actors do a good job in that they don't over do it and a case can be made that Tucker's character is a bit too subdued but he gives the film a sense of calmness that convinces the viewer that he knows what he's doing. One can't help but notice how much of a presence Munro had even in an early role like this and with her crooked front tooth and her Angelina Jolie lips she bears a resemblance to Leslie Caron. The main premise of the story reminded me of both "Island of Terror" and "Night of the Big Heat" which were two Hammer films that dealt with characters trapped someplace battling invading alien forces and the English made several films like this. While this surely won't be thought of as a sci-fi classic (and some of the effects are downright cheesy) it's still a well written and acted film that has some genuinely creepy moments and is a lot of fun to watch.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Also at the inn are Sarah Pilgrim (Jennifer Jayne) and her telepathic younger sister Anne (Janet Munro) who experiences bad dreams and visions concerning the weird goings on. When it appears that aliens are inside the cloud and descending down upon the village they want to kill Anne because her ESP is a threat to their existence and Alan and the others must protect her. Inside the cloud the aliens are giant eyeballs with tentacle like arms and they try to kill everyone inside the research station but professor Crevett and Alan figure out that they can combat them with fire and they call the nearest Air Force base to come and drop fire bombs.
This is directed by Quentin Lawrence who was a pretty good television director and the idea for this film came from "The Trollenberg Terror" which was a British TV show that Lawrence was involved with. While the special effects in the last 15 minutes hamper the credibility of this film this is still a well made science fiction effort written by Hammer regular Jimmy Sangster. Some of the shots have an obvious screen behind the actors but there is some impressive cinematography by Monty Berman who does deliver some good looking scenes around the village. The actors do a good job in that they don't over do it and a case can be made that Tucker's character is a bit too subdued but he gives the film a sense of calmness that convinces the viewer that he knows what he's doing. One can't help but notice how much of a presence Munro had even in an early role like this and with her crooked front tooth and her Angelina Jolie lips she bears a resemblance to Leslie Caron. The main premise of the story reminded me of both "Island of Terror" and "Night of the Big Heat" which were two Hammer films that dealt with characters trapped someplace battling invading alien forces and the English made several films like this. While this surely won't be thought of as a sci-fi classic (and some of the effects are downright cheesy) it's still a well written and acted film that has some genuinely creepy moments and is a lot of fun to watch.