Overrated and overhyped

Nice effects though.

Am I Missing Something?

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The "Beast" is an alien we never see,who telepathically talks to earthlings.He doesn't have a million eyes,his "space ship,as you call it"(the best alien line ever)makes an ear piercing sound that makes all the animals(and dumber humans) his slaves.It starts with a stuffed bird bouncing off a windshield and the wackiness continues with a dog that gingerly smashes a door in with its snout. The aliens need our planet for some reason that I can't remember but 4 people in the desert show them that humans are too strong to be taken over. Instead of doing the "long quiet walk" time killer, they have some story about this dumb family that makes no sense. The last minute of the movie sees a horrible attempt at comedy and then we learn a lesson. This review was less confusing than the movie. This review was deleted for no reason and they say I have to change stuff.

Maybe a little bait and switch going on with the title? I didn't see any beast to speak of, and the million eyes? Sorry, just one big one at the end of the picture framing what might have been a bat. But at least my perception of the alien space ship was seconded by many other reviewers for the picture - it looked to me like a tricked out coffee pot! You know what was really bizarre? After that lengthy conversation between Mom Carol (Lorna Thayer) and daughter Sandy (Dona Cole) on why they call the creepy looking caretaker guy 'Him', because they didn't know what his name was and the poor mute couldn't tell anyone, guess what? It must have been a secret Dad Allan (Paul Birch) didn't share with anyone because all of a sudden he began calling the guy Carl. What was that all about? Well I don't go out of my way to see a Roger Corman film, but if one shows up on TCM or any other cable channel I'm not about to let it pass by without a look. This one had the same kind of dystopian feel as Corman's later picture "The Last Woman on Earth", with the same minimalist trappings and scant cast of characters. But then again, where else would you find a German Shepherd, a cow, some chickens and a bunch of birds all going berserk at the same time. Well wait a minute, I wonder if Hitchcock ever saw this film.Catching this picture on Turner Classics the other night I was surprised to see host Ben Mankiewicz conducting a short interview with Roger Corman himself! I don't know when that segment was originally produced but Corman looked absolutely great (ninety years old this year!) and not at all like I pictured him. Among other things, Corman explained what it was like making pictures on a limited budget, his preference actually because the bigger the budget, the more accountability there was to the studio financing the picture. This one looked like there was no accountability at all.

Poor old Caroline won't let anybody milk her. Black birds attack, and Tippi Hedren is nowhere in sight. Old Duke bares his fangs and scares mother into pet-o-side. A mute ranch hand gets tired of the naked pin-ups in his Jud Fry like guest room in the barn and heads out into the desert, beckoned by some high-pitched sound. And poor mother can't even make a cake, burning it twice. It's her daughter's birthday, and while this family is obviously estranged, she's going to try. Will she wrap up the dead dog in a huge box with a bow on it as her present? All these questions and more await you in the Donna Reed Show of science fiction movies.Actually, this is more of a survival film than science fiction, that element totally understated. In one sense, that makes you want to like it more, because it's more psychological than supernatural. There are definite comical moments, particularly silent comic Chester Conklin's issues concerning trying to milk his beloved cow, but that unfortunately leads to tragedy. There are some very tense moments, but the final confrontation with the visitor from outer space is totally silly, with the vision of some kind of creature (a spider with one huge eye it looked like) inside the spaceship. Acting is OK with Lorna Thayer a bit emotionally over the top as the mother. Paul Birch tries to remain dignified throughout the proceedings. Dick Sargent has a small role as a local law enforcement officer. You won't totally hate it, but most likely, you'll just find it rather unsatisfying.

The movie starts out with a pronouncement from some alien presence that he/it is going to take over the world, piece by piece, creature by creature. He manages to rein in a German shepherd and a cow, but the humans seem to be a lot more complicated. A family of three are living in a house in some desert area, growing something (not quite sure what). The guy's wife is fed up with their desperate condition and longs for her lost youth. Their daughter (no great prize as film stars go) wants to go to college but mom is filled with hatred for her unlimited potential. They also have a large man of limited mental capacity (and mute as well) helping them on the farm. He lies on his back in his room and looks at magazines. He also follows the girl to the swimming hole when she gets into her bathing suit. They have determined he is harmless and treat him much like the German shepherd. One day a high whiny sound is heard and the glassware and china is broken. Suddenly the animals become vociferous, attacking their owners. Apparently the problem is a Proctor-Silex percolator that is sending out signals. By influencing the animals and the slow guy, they will take over the house in the desert. Well, I suppose one needs to start small. This is every bit as bad as it sounds. The acting is horrible and there are really no special effects. Let this one drift off into space.