Save your money for something good and enjoyable

One of my all time favorites.

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This film was originally called "Die, Monster, Die!" But later changed to "Monster of Terror", in truth both titles don't really do the film justice, maybe something like "Meteorite of Mutation" would have been more accurate. What you have here is an American International Pictures film directed by Daniel Haller and based on a story from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space". The big draw to this film is the presence of Boris Karloff, Nick Adams, Freda Jackson and Suzan Farmer - although the keen eyed watchers will notice Patrick Magee too. Stephen Reinhart (Adams), an American science graduate with an attitude (you'll notice why comparisons where drawn to James Dean, not just in appearing with Dean in "Rebel without a cause" but also his on-screen broody, moody presence) visits the small village of Arkham (a fictional place created by Lovecraft, not to be confused with the Arkham of the Batman universe) in England to see his fiancé. Upon arriving in the village the locals are rude and unhelpful upon learning that he is due to visit the Witley estate. Nobody wants to help him or point him in the direction of the estate, he even gets rejected at the bicycle hire shop, he ends up walking there himself. He is greeted by Nahum Witley (Karloff), his fiancé Susan's (Farmer) father, who is a wheelchair bound former scientist. Nahum tries to warn Reinhart away before he sees Susan but it doesn't happen, Susan has asked for help with her mother (Jackson) who is bedridden and undergoing a hideous change which makes her sensitive to light and seems to be decaying her body slowly. Letitia, Susan's mother, also tries warning Reinhart, asking him to take Susan far away from the estate. Reinhart does try to leave but Susan doesn't want to and rebuffs his attempts. Strange things start to happen, notably Merwyn (Terence De Marny) the butler dies. Reinhart begins exploring and asking questions, before too long he starts suspecting Mr Witley is the cause of the problems, this comes to a head when Reinhart and Susan break into the greenhouse and find a mysterious green glowing rock which seems to be helping plants and vegetation grow to gigantic proportions, not to mention the fact that alien lifeforms seem to be living in the greenhouse too. Initially the assumption through the film is that Witley had been dabbling with evil and the black arts however the truth is much more simple; some years ago a meteorite crashed near the estate and Witley had been harvesting the radioactive properties of the space rock. Witley was under the impression the rock was sent from heaven from one of his ancestors and the problems occurring are an ancestral curse, instead his old scientific mind doesn't see the truth. Can Reinhart save Susan and himself before it's too late or will Witley's insanity prevail and allow radiation to eat everybody up? This is a great looking film considering it was made in 1965. Despite it looking like a widescreen film it wasn't shot like this, post production magic makes it look better than it actually is. Colour is vivid throughout it's only let down by some of the special effects in the later parts of the film but I can forgive these blemishes on the film as it's older than I am and CGI wasn't possible back then. There is a constant mist or miasma surrounding the location which adds to the Gothic feel of this picture. The acting is great, Karloff and Adams both deliver believable and dark performances while Susan is a ditsy damsel who needs saving from herself as much as anybody else. Patrick McGee's appearance seems to be a typically pointless appearance much like his appearances in other films. The story is a little confusing to some people I know who have watched this but it's not that difficult if you persevere with it, it's just a little odd in it's own Gothic horror way. I think the first half of the film is more mysterious and suspense filled which conflicts with the last half as this is more of a creature feature horror film. All in all this is an enjoyable if slightly nostalgic film which while outdated by today's standard is a fun 80 minutes for horror fans. I'm awarding this 6 out of 10.

Weird, lurid and slightly bitty horror film about a radioactive meteor kept in a cellar by an old man haunted by his ancestors evil deeds and who believes the effects of the radioactive meteor are a curse upon his family caused by the (devil worship?) carried out there in the past (although none of this is very clear from the narrative structure of the film which tends to lurch awkwardly from one set of inexplicable situations to another). This film (like most of the H. P. Lovecraft film adaptations) does not quite gel together into a cohesive whole for me – although stylistically there's something about it I quite like. The production design and interiors are great (there's a fantastic dry-ice mist covered country house), a village full of characters who won't talk about the house or it's occupants, a couple of weird shroud covered mad women, a greenhouse full of giant animal and vegetable mutations, a killer vine plant, a strange manservant and to cap it all the wonderful melodious tones of a wheelchair-bound Boris Karloff (who moves around the house and grounds with surprising speed) and who when exposed directly to the radioactive meteor turns into a luminous silver skinned zombie with murderous intent. Enjoyable nonsense. Technically, the SD print I saw suffers from some corner lens distortion (caused by the anamorphic techniscope process?) and is slightly soft. If it is ever remastered in HD it would be worth seeing for the colourful sets, matt paintings and location work. The main titles look identical to the ones used on 'Daleks: Invasion of Earth 2150' made a year or so later.

The American Stephen Reinhart (Nick Adams) arrives by train in Arkham, a small town in the countryside of England. He tries to travel to the real estate of a man called Witley by taxi or bicycle, but the locals are frightened by the name and refuse to help him. Stephen has to walk to the property and he is badly received by Nahum Witley (Boris Karloff), who is on the wheelchair.Stephen informs that he had been invited by his fiancée, Susan Witley (Suzan Farmer), who welcomes him when she sees Stephen. The young man is summoned by Susan's mother, Letitia Witley (Freda Jackson), who is very ill, to have a private conversation with her, and she asks Stephen to leave the real estate as soon as possible with Susan. Further he learns that the maid Helga has disappeared and the butler Merwyn (Terence de Marney) is also very ill.Stephen notes that there are weird things happening in the house, with a woman in black wandering in the garden and screams during the night. He snoops around and finds the Nahum is using the radiation of a meteorite in the greenhouse to turn the wasteland into a place of beauty with giant plants. However the side effect of the radiation has killed Merwyn and affected the health and turned Helga and Letitia into monsters. Now Nahum wants to destroy the stone with tragic consequences."Die, Monster, Die!" is a good sci-fi horror movie with Boris Karloff. The creepy story has a promising beginning but when the mystery is disclosed, it is a little disappointing. I was expecting that Corbin Witley was behind the dark events but the plots changes to science fiction and becomes silly. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Morte Para Um Monstro" ("Death for a Monster")

It was in the 1940's when mankind first discovered the Atomic bomb and many of the scientists working on it, hoped it would usher in a new world for mankind. In point of fact it did. The discovery brought forth the knowledge, the world could more easily destroy itself much easier than before, In the movies, like this horrific film called " Die Monster, Die " the new element called Uranium, did in fact bring a new beginning, it was called The Atomic age and the new element was global fear. In this story, an America has journeyed to England to visit his fiancé. One there, he is surprised to learn the town's people are terrified of the Witley family and wants nothing to do with them. Nevertheless, Stephen Reinhart (Nick Adams) seeks to discover the reason for the fear and is introduced to Mahum Witley (Boris Karloff), his fiancé Susan, Letitia (Freda Jackson) and their man servant, Merwyn (Terence de Marney). The family has an established, though terrifying history, but none so deadly as a monstrous secret glowing in their basement which is destined to infest the world. The movie is a horror of the sixties and has become a cult horror film. A fun monster movie to be sure and with the presence of the great Karloff, certain to be a classic. ****