Night of the Blood Beast (1958)

User Rating:

2.5/10   

Director:

Bernard L. Kowalski

Writers:

Gene Corman (story)
Martin Varno (writer)

Release Date:

August 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

No girl was safe as long as this head-hunting thing roamed the land!

Plot:

An astronaut returns from space dead. The base that recovered him is then cut off from the outside world by an alien...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Alien Invasion | B Movie | MST3K | X Rayed Skeleton

Cast

John Baer	...	Steve Dunlap
Angela Greene	...	Dr. Julie Benson
Ed Nelson	...	Dave Randall
Georgianna Carter	...	Donna Bixby
Michael Emmet	...	Maj. John Corcoran
Tyler McVey	...	Dr. Alex Wyman
Ross Sturlin	...	The Creature

Directed by
Bernard L. Kowalski

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gene Corman		story
Martin Varno		writer

Produced by
Gene Corman	....	producer
Roger Corman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Alexander Laszlo

Cinematography by
John M. Nickolaus Jr.

Film Editing by
Jodie Copelan

Art Direction by
Daniel Haller

Makeup Department
Harry Thomas	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Bohrer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bob White	....	assistant director (as Robert White)

Art Department
Karl Brainard	....	property master

Sound Department
Herman Lewis	....	sound

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)
• Balboa Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sinister Cinema (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Astral Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Creature from Galaxy 27
The Monster from Galaxy 27

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

This was released in one of American International's prepackaged double features. It was paired with Roger Corman's She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), which had been sitting on the shelf for a year and a half.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Steve runs into the cave after the creature, the sound indicates that he is really running on a wood floor.

Quotes:

Dr. Alex Wyman: A wounded animal that large isn't good!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Night of the Blood Beast (#8.1)" (1996)

Aliens breeding within and on the rampage

I recently picked up an American import of Night of the Blood Beast from a market stall for £2.00 and was certainly pleased I did. This is one of Roger Corman's better efforts.

An Astronaut returns from outer space presumed dead, but when a small group of people take him back to their remote lab, they find signs of life in him when examining his body. Afterwards, a strange looking clawed and beaked alien creature is on the rampage and kills one of the doctors. The astronaut then comes back to life and we learn that the sings of life in him earlier are actually aliens breeding within him. The doctors then head for a cave where they think the creature is and kill it by setting it on fire and the astronaut is killed too.

The filming locations for this movie may look familiar as it was filmed at Bronson Caverns, where many of these movies were shot including It Conquered the World and Robot Monster.

The cast is mainly made up of unknowns, the only star I've heard of is Ed Nelson (Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Brain Eaters).

This is worth catching if you get the chance. Enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.