azathothpwiggins KILLERS FROM SPACE opens w/ a literal bang, as an atom bomb test results in the requisite mushroom cloud. Dr. Doug Martin (Peter Graves- IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, BEGINNING OF THE END) is along for the ride in one of the aircraft. Oh dear! Something goes haywire, and down they go! The wreckage is located, but where's Dr. Martin? His wife is worried sick! Some time later, Martin simply walks onto his base, w/ no visible signs of injury, save for one mysterious scar! Paul begins seeing visions of floating eyeballs! After a confusing time, including involvement by the FBI, Martin starts to recall what happened to him, thanks to a jolt of truth serum. He tells a story about his having been abducted by a group of pop-eyed aliens. No, honestly, these guys all have cookie monster's spare peepers! They also wear the Phantom's extra outfits... and mittens! They're up to no good, planning an invasion! There are even some "giant", superimposed lizards and bugs running around, apparently filmed at the local zoo's reptile and insect exhibits. Will anyone believe Paul, before it's too late? The problem w/ this movie is that it's an alien invasion movie without an invasion, or any real action of any kind. It just sort of drags along, grinding to a halt whenever something remotely interesting seems to be about to occur! A true rubber mallet to the forehead! A pain lover's dream! Co-stars schlock regular, Frank Gerstle (THE ATOMIC BRAIN, THE WASP WOMAN) as Dr.Curt Kruger...

dougdoepke What can you say about a sci-fi where the biggest effects are eyeballs made of pingpong balls. Even my 6-year old neighbor laughed. Too bad generally good acting is wasted on a muddle resembling the excellent This Island Earth (1955) on a bad day. A virile young Peter Graves gives it his all despite the many provocations. Take that escape in a tunnel where he's menaced by every piece of stock footage on the big critter process screen. And what would these 50's cheapos do without a Bronson Canyon that I've almost got memorized. Well, casting does manage to get Barbara Bestar, a Liz Taylor lookalike, as eye-candy for us guys. But that's really small potatoes since she doesn't get much screen time. At least, not much time compared with the atomic blast footage going off every few minutes. I'm glad the great Frank Gerstle at least picked up a payday and gets a bigger part than usual. Check out his broad shoulders and muscular torso that look like a man at least twice his height. (It's Gerstle who presents Edmond O'Brien with the vial of luminous poison that's killing him in the classic DOA {1950}). That he and the rest of the cast bear up so ably is testimonial to some kind of Hollywood professionalism. Then too, President Eisenhower should get a cast credit since he looks down from the wall through half the run-time. Anyway, in the Ed Wood So-Bad-It's-Good Sweepstakes, this nag never gets out of the starting gate.

Michael_Elliott Killers from Space (1954) 1/2 (out of 4) Peter Graves plays a scientist overlooking atomic tests when he is killed. His friends and family are shocked when he returns to them and it turns out that aliens have brought him back to life so that he can spy for them. KILLERS FROM SPACE is without question one of the worst and dumbest films to come from the drive-in era of the science fiction craze. There's really no brain to be found anywhere in this picture but thankfully it's bad enough in spots to where you can actually laugh at what you're watching. There are several awfully funny moments including a large scar on the chest of Graves, which was apparently put there by the aliens. Throughout the film you'll notice that this scar is sometimes there and sometimes not. Another hilarious thing is the ending, which includes a man pulling on gun on Graves and just wait till you see how easy it is for him to get a gun. This is followed by another very funny scene where a man tries to get the gun from Graves but fails. The look of the aliens is also something so silly that it will keep you entertained in them. They basically have ping pong balls glued to their faces and used as eyes. It's too bad these creations weren't used in THE COSMIC MAN since that film had alien John Carradine landing on Earth in a ping pong ball spaceship. The performances are also pretty bad, including Graves who clearly wasn't an actor yet. The film has some very bad special effects including a sequence where Graves keeps running into giant insects and lizards that the aliens have created. KILLERS FROM SPACE is a really bad movie but it's cult following is deserved due to how bad it is.

lastliberal It really wasn't too bad. It did have some interesting items for an old Air Force hand, seeing Air Police brought a chuckle. hearing the Air Force use the call sign "Tar Baby" brought a cringe.I'm sure Peter Graves would like to forget this one, and the resulting parody, Don't Ask, Don't Tell.It was an interesting little tale of alien abduction and attempts to take over our planet.Do not expect great acting, but it is a glimpse of the past and the thoughts of people in that era. At least they didn't make the aliens look like those in all the abduction tales.