IMDb user comments for
Fiend Without a Face (1958)

advertisement

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Index

40 comments in total

---

15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
A film with brains..., 29 November 2004
Author: Jason Forestein (jay4stein79@yahoo.com) from somerville, ma

To start off in a horribly clicheed manner, if you can't say anything nice, you're not supposed to say anything at all. Considering that this Fiend Without A Face came about in a decade when sci-fi was generally considered grade-Z clap trap, one would assume that I'd not have anything polite to discuss in regards to this film. Well, then again, maybe you wouldn't think that - Fiend is, after all, on Criterion, a bastion of intelligent film-making. So maybe, just maybe, Fiend Without A Face is an unjustly maligned masterpiece - a brilliant satirical look at human faults and foibles allegorized through a tale of malevolent brain-beasts.

I dare say, Fiend Without A Face falls somewhere in between. It's not schlock, nor is it masterful. It's a decent idea turned into a decent story (which someone had the foresight to save by not including the romantic subplot) acted by all right actors and directed with a steady hand. It's not Ed Wood; it certainly isn't Welles either.

There are some beautiful shots, to be sure (the establishing shots of the air-force base and some of the images of a jet's trail are gorgeous), and solid acting. On the whole, though, Fiend Without a Face is simply a well-done sci-fi/horror amalgamation and does not necessarily deserve the full, Criterion treatment.

Yes, the idea that atomic energy's greatest harm to mankind lies within our own psyches is interesting, but it's not as interesting as the paranoia of conformism that drove Body Snatchers. Yes, the acting is decent, but it's not as solid as the work done by a young Steve McQueen in the Blob. Fiend Without A Face is a movie that should not be forgotten, but it's also a film that should not be elevated to the level of greatness (which in some ways a Criterion edition somehow does).

That said, if you have a passing interest in horror or sci-fi, or the 1950s, you will enjoy this film (it's short, sweet, and very much to the point). Again, it's a well-made film and deserves to be seen; it's not, though, one of the greatest films of the science-fiction genre.

---

10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Killer brains on the loose, 9 May 2005

Author: Chris Gaskin from Derby, England

I've seen Fiend Without a Face a couple of times and enjoyed it. Despite it being set in Canada, this is a British made movie.

A series of strange deaths where peoples' brains and spinal cords are sucked out of their bodies are the responsibility of strange brain monsters with tentacles and spinal cords attached. These are the result of a mad scientist's experiments that have gone wrong. These monsters are invisible at first but appear as they get stronger by absorbing nuclear energy from a nearly power plant. These monsters are killed at the end when Major Cummings blows the power plant up, causing the brains to disintegrate.

Fiend Without a Face is rather gory for its time and the brains look impressive.

The cast is lead by 1950's sci-fi regular Marshall Thompson (It!, the Terror From Beyond Space). I haven't heard of any other of the other stars.

This is a must for 50's sci-fi fans like myself. Great fun.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

---

7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent 50s SciFi Yarn - A Must See For Lovers of the Genre, 17 May 2005

Author: marydot52 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I first saw this movie in the early sixties on a double bill with The Haunted Strangler. Being a young lad, I was not paying attention to the details of the movie, but rather was impressed with the overall "spookyness" (is that a word)? Anyway, I remember the contrail of the B-52(sometimes a B-47 was used, who would notice)flying high overhead during the radar experiment. For some reason, I always thought of this as being some type of alien craft circling high overhead, ready to rain crawling, slimy,invisible brains down onto an unsuspecting Canadian population. I remember that when I got home from the theater, I boarded up my bedroom windows by jamming Lincoln Logs in between the panes. I WAS FREAKED OUT. I mean, after all, how do you defend yourself against invisible creeping cerebral sucking brains? I'll take Godzilla any day (you can see that big boy coming from miles away). Well, I just watched Fiend Without A Face again for the first times in forty years. Although I better understand the plot now, and know that those nasty flying gobs of brain matter did not come from outer space, it still is a great movie. My wife was upset at me after I boarded up our bedroom windows, this time with 2 x 4s. You gotta watch this 50s masterpiece. Respectable acting, thoughtful plot, and hokey special effects that you just gotta love.

---

6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
brain stem cell research, 8 November 2004
Author: march9hare from sparks nv

A fringe scientist involved with mind over matter experiments unwittingly unleashes a horde of horrible, invisible, brain-sucking

whatchamacallits in this 1958 thriller that isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. Although Canadian sci-fi films are usually an oxymoron, this one is at least entertaining, even though it makes use of the standard fifties cause celebre: atomic radiation. As a payoff for the audience, we finally get to see the "fiends" when the power from the conveniently nearby nuclear reactor is cranked up to reveal them as. . .brains. With brain stems. And antennae. And some surprisingly good stop-motion animation. Marshall Thompson, that staple of fifties B movies, does yeoman duty in this film by not only starring in it, but actually taking over the reins of director when the "real" director Arthur Crabtree showed up on Day 1 and refused to direct! It seems that Crabtree angrily told the producers "I don't do monster movies" and walked off the set, whereupon Thompson, to his credit, stepped up to the plate. Crabtree came back, a few days later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

All in all, "Fiend without a Face" may not be in the same league as, say, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", but it's not really all that bad, either. Make a big bowl of popcorn, or get some decent pizza, and enjoy.

---

8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Silly, Naive, Trash, Bad Acting, Ridiculous Screenplay… But Also Delightful and Charming, 31 January 2006

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An American military base in Canada is developing a missile control system based on nuclear energy and is facing problem with the people from the nearby town. When four locals, including the Mayor, are killed, Major Jeff Cummings (Marshall Thompson) is in charge of the investigation. When the coroner examines the one of the corpse, he finds that the brain and spinal chord was sucked out and Major Cummings defines the creature as a mental vampire. He looks for Prof. R. E. Walgate (Kynaston Reeves), a retired scientist that lives in town, and he discloses the scary secret.

"Fiend Without a Face" is a silly, naive, trash sci-fi with bad acting and a ridiculous screenplay. The actors are awful, and the heroin Barbara Griselle limits to make bad choices, to scream and protect herself with her hands. There are hilarious sequences, like for example when a guy is attacked in the room by a creature, and one of the militaries wants to shoot, and Major Cummings ask him not to shoot because he may hit the victim, but he does nothing to help the poor man. Or the destruction of the power plant without any further consequences. But I was raised watching these sci-fi movies from the 50's and 60's, and I find them delightful and charming. I would like to advise the Brazilian readers that the DVD recently released by the Brazilian distributor "Magnus Opus" has serious bugs and do not play in many DVDs apparatuses. The Brazilian title is simply ridiculous. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Horror Vem do Espaço" ("The Horror Comes From the Space")

---

6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice B-picture with brainsucking monsters., 12 January 2002

Author: Pedro-37 from Switzerland

Those monsters in the shape of breathing brains are quite nice. The film however, is merely OK. Just another of those low budget sci-fi/horror-movies of the 1950's with mediocre FX and a barely plausible story. Nevertheless, I found it quite entertaining and because it's a rather short film, I never felt bored.

Rating: 5/10

---

4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh Sure, You laugh., 26 April 2007

Author: doctor_slo from United States

I was five when I first (and only time) saw this film. The derision heaped upon it by my older brothers and sisters failed to decrease its impact on me. I could palpably feel the pain of having my brain and spinal cord sucked out of my body as I watched.

The following year I was knocked face down by a boxer (Breed of dog, not trained fighter), and believing he was going to tear my brain and spinal cord out, a la FWF, I covered the back of my neck by crossing my hands up over my head. The dog never did try to bite me, but rather tried to stomp me into the ground. I lay there until a passing nun pushed the dog off me making sure I was alright. It turned out that the dog was just being playful. It was years later when it dawned on me just how playful he was being.

The true horror of Fiend without a Face is that at age six, I was sexually accosted by a dog.

---

4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Horror with brains!, 31 October 2004
Author: roddmatsui

This is one of those scary flicks I saw in the early 70's when I was very young (six years old, probably), and probably it was the scariest thing I saw at that time. Certainly, there was no other film like it. I really wonder what sort of attitude the filmmakers had when this was being made. Were they giggling fiendishly, thinking of all the people they would scare with these images? (Scaring people was obviously their plan.) Did they think the movie they were making was "cool"?

The action-packed climax is pretty much the last fifteen minutes of the film. The brain creatures attack the people in the house, and pretty soon, bullets are flying, axes are being swung, and brains are being sucked. In my mind, this completely, mind-blowingly over-the-top ending scene seemed to go on forever, like a seriously bad nightmare. It was so repellently real. The creatures have no eyes, and they sort of "sense" your presence electrically to zero in on you, before flying up at you and clamping themselves onto the back of your neck. The depiction of this was pretty effective, and it still surprises me how well thought-out the creature imagery was here. Surprisingly realistic.

It still works, quite well! Go see it.

---

4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Quite Underrated!, 22 April 2002

Author: ZMBKLR from United States

One of my favorite of the low budget films, this one is an exercise in doing a monster film RIGHT. The stalwart hero, Marshall Thompson, is posted at a joint US/Canadian base where a nuclear reactor is being used to make radar able to pick up enemies further away. Unfortunatly, a scientist nearby is also tapping into the power and he's created beings from his own subconscience (like the ID from Forbidden Planet) who have the nasty habit of sucking out peoples brains and spines! The end of this film is stellar with effects that had to take up a third of the films budget! No one whose seen this film can forget those little brain monsters! It deserves a higher rating than other voters gave it!

---

3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Can There Ever Be Too Much Brains?, 10 November 2004
Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC

A US military installation has been set up in Canada for some special tests and experiments of an atomic nature. People begin to die from the surrounding countryside by having their brains and spinal chords sucked out by what lead actor Marshall Thompson calls "mental vampires." Thompson, quickly flirting with the sister of one of the dead men, does his usual adequate job playing detective trying to prove that the new base is not responsible for the deaths. It seems that someone or something is siphoning atomic power. Without ruining the who behind the what, Fiend Without a face is a pleasant, interesting excursion into 50's sci-fi. The fiends turn out to be brains that pulse and scrape the ground with long spinal chords attached. This film has a low budget but manages to scare up a few thrills. The acting is mediocre at best. The fiend creation are somewhat novel. Although much of the film is lacking in suspense, the finale is a good payback.

---

---

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Amazon.com summary	Ratings
Newsgroup reviews	External reviews	Parents Guide
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user comments
Your vote history