Surprisingly incoherent and boring

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I was expecting 1950's cold war schlock, and that's what I got.But there were some other unexpected details.While they got atomic physics wrong and clearly didn't understand the concept of orbital mechanics, they otherwise did an above-average job of sticking to real science. Way above average for its genre.The robots LOOKED LIKE functional robots, not even remotely human-shaped. And in an early scene, you see the computer operator removing and examining something from a rack, that looks a LOT like a PCI card with some sort of memory module on it (very reminiscent of the "hard drive sled" in my old Mac Pro). And a pretty ingenious solar optical system with very-convincing parabolic mirrors.Not bad!

Richard Egan is a civilian scientist and security expert called in to investigate queer goings on at a military experimental station in the desert. The CO of the station is Herbert Marshall. The requisite scientific assistant is Constance Dowling.It's all very confusing at first. Two scientists freeze and unfreeze a monkey then are themselves frozen by a mysterious force that locks them in the chamber and manipulates the controls. The monkey had been already removed, so not to worry. He's okay.The first thing that comes to mind while watching this inexpensive SF flick, aside from "What the hell is going on?", is that the design of the station is very precisely laid out for us, so much so that it makes us wonder if Michael Crighton might have ripped it off for "The Andromeda Strain." There are two multi-armed robots (pronounced "ROW-butts") that grind around the room and do dated tricks like twisting knobs while the observers stand around and gawk at them. Their names are Gog and Magog, nebulous figures from the Old Testament. Each is more animated than one or two of the supporting cast.About half the movie is exposition that isn't blended too well into the narrative. "This is the monitoring chamber, where the molecules are broken down. Over here, for instance, isotopes." I suppose with all the borrowed electronic junk around -- the clicks, beeps, and blinking lights -- it might as well be shown on screen, though it may have nothing to do with the story.Man, do things go wrong. One device after another goes berserk. Death follows death. And long past the point at which the whole establishment should have been shut down and fumigated, Herbert Marshall is saying things like, "We'd better tighten security," and, "We'll work in pairs from now on." The villains of the piece are Gog and Magog, who are being ordered to do naughty things by a rocket ship overhead.I've always found Richard Egan to be a likable actor but not a magnetic one. Herbert Marshall does well enough by the role of leader, especially considering the booze he was pounding at the time. And nobody could deny that Constance Dowling is attractive in an idiosyncratic way and that, in her tight jump suit, she cuts a splendid figure for a scientist.

A security agent investigates sabotage and murder at a secret underground laboratory, home of two experimental robots.This film is the third episode in producer Ivan Tors' Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) trilogy, following "The Magnetic Monster" and "Riders to the Stars". Best of the three? I say yes!William R. Weaver said, "The production moves steadily forward, keeping interest growing at a steady pace, and exciting the imagination without overstraining credulity." And, indeed, the film is based on science fact rather than being a complete fantasy, and incorporates many interesting ideas.

I was pleased to see Gog, after having been interested in it for some years, since I read a positive review in, if memory serves, the Radio Times Encyclopedia of Film. Watching it, it turned out that the plot elements mentioned in the review that made the film so enticing to me were in fact only revealed a fair distance into the film and that the review had more or less spoiled the big reveal, as it were. Still, having settled into the film I was just glad of the enticement to check it out, as it's a good little item, decked out in interesting concepts and solid performances. The plot centres upon an underground scientific research laboratory that comes under investigation when strange accidents fell its personnel. Seems like mere sabotage, but what's really going on...? What transpires is engagingly speculative and charmingly dated, explanation and action threaded through an inspiring joy in science. There's a good deal of scientific chat in this one and a number of interesting gadgets, to give many examples would spoil some of the turns of the film but I did rather enjoy an apparatus assembled for observing the surface of the sun. The interest in science and slightly dry tone here is down to Ivan Tors who came up with the source story. He was prolific in science fiction of this era ad a notable proponent of science fiction as a vehicle for relatively grounded speculation rather than space monsters or giant bugs. The screenplay has more chat than action for a lot of the time though, with the result that the film is slightly plodding and pacing lapses are the main problem with Gog. The acting is also rather stiff, though Richard Egan and Constance Dowling hit the right dedicated notes as the pair in charge of solving the mystery, while assorted scientists are essayed in suitably smart and buttoned up fashion by the likes of Herbert Marshall and John Wengraf. Director Herbert L. Strock brings the film together in agreeably tight fashion, with some effectively intense moments and an overall efficient claustrophobic intrigue. It all comes across nicely, just rather slight, it tightens the screws rather well at times but doesn't maintain them, the effects are handy but rarely wow making, the acting comes off but never really pops, the film just has a bit of a minor league feel to it, fun but never essential. Still, it's a good 'un by and large, definitely worth a look for anyone with an interest in B grade science fiction. So check it out!