GL84 After a series of strange communication failures in a small town, a rescue party finds the cause to be rooted in a strange alien-like parasite from the Earth's core latched onto the necks of the townspeople, leaving them to stop the impending invasion.This one wasn't all that great but is certainly worthwhile. The big thing with it is the fact that the film is not even an hour long, so it's got major problems already in trying to cram enough material that actually works in a decent, full-length release into a shorter amount of time, rushing along through everything despite their being no need to do so, cutting down the action to a few brief inserts that are fun but definitely could've been stretched out, a totally pointless narration running over everything that doesn't need to be there and several other rather big problems that really don't help to elevate it's 50s Sci-Fi origin, admittedly fun suspense in the part of who's under the spell and who isn't and what happens once the creatures are loose, which is barely explored but could've been good. Overall, this one was fine but had a lot of problems going for it.Today's Rating/PG: Mild Violence

Tom van der Esch What is there to say about this movie? Not an awful lot really. It's a standard (almost cliché) black-and-white movie about parasites latching onto the necks of people, controlling them and eventually making them die.The acting is mediocre, the story develops slowly and the effects are ... well, 'okay' for it's time. If you are a fan of movies from this age, then go ahead and watch it. It's only an hour long though.One thing I should mention is Leonard Nimoy (you know, Mr. Spock?). Barely recognizable, but he is indeed in this movie.I give this movie 6 out of 10 stars, since it has all the charms of a movie of it's age. Enjoyable for the fans, but not really outstanding.

xnet95 I was really primed to watch this one - expectations were high (how could they not be with a title like "The Brain Eaters"?). Well, as often as happens in life, the reality didn't match the expectation. Actually, this movie made me a bit angry because of the wasted potential. I love seeing old black and white monsters, but this movie showed virtually no monsters. What's the point of making a "monster movie" if you only show the monsters for a total of 10 seconds out of an hour - very lame! Plus, NONE of the characters in this film are likable, which is a very important aspect of a successful film. I didn't care about any of them. They were all either stupid or jerks or arrogant or useless. The doctor was the only one who showed any good qualities, but his stupidity outlined below rendered him useless.1. A lot of damage was done by the people who were infected by these creatures. ALL of that damage could've been avoided by checking everybody to see if there was a little furry thing attached to the back of their necks. It seems pretty obvious to me... 2. How about when the doctor shot the bullet into the cone and it bounced around and he said, "The point of origin is the point of return." If that's true, why didn't he get injured as the bullet came back to the point of return?3. The doctor crawls into the cone and is gone for a long time. Everybody is worried about his safety. He finally comes out and says that the tunnel in the cone just winds around and there was nothing inside. WHAT!?! Where were the two missing doctors that appeared later in the film? Where were all the creatures that were with them? This point really got on my nerves.4. In the lab, the doctor dissects one of the creatures and tells his assistant/girlfriend that the creatures can split apart and regenerate. While he's telling her this, he leaves a piece of this thing HE KNOWS has the ability to hurt people unguarded on the table. While he is distracted, the thing crawls onto his arm and injures him. He uses fire to get it off, but then hurries out of the lab without making sure the thing is really dead. And what about the big piece he cut the little piece off of? Nobody seems very concerned that these two pieces could hurt people in the future. 5. Later, the doctor and the mayor's son go to the teletype office to see if any message came back from the governor. They end up fighting two people that are controlled by the monsters. After our heroes beat these guys up, they just leave them there. What's up with that!?! Kill them, tie them up, get the monsters off their backs, but don't just leave them lying there to cause more damage later. ARRGGH!Sorry, but it goes on and on and on...

Paul Andrews The Brain Eaters starts with the newly engaged Glenn Cameron (Alan Frost) driving his lucky fiancé Elaine (Jody Fair) to the small American town of Riverdale in Illinois to break the good news when they see a sudden bright flash. Glenn & Elaine stop to investigate & discover a large metal cone that's 50 feet tall by 50 feet across at it's widest. In Washington Senator Walter K. Powers (Cornelius Keefe as Jack Hill) takes full responsibility & flies out to Riverdale where he is met by Glenn who just happens to be the Mayor's (Orville Sherman) son, Glenn informs Senator Powers that his Father has mysteriously disappeared & there has been 3 unsolved murders in the area recently. Glenn takes Senator Powers to the cone where Dr. Paul Kettering (Ed Nelson), Dr. Wyler (David Hughes) & their assistant Alice Summers (Joanna Lee) are busy running all kinds of tests on the unidentified object. Kettering informs Senator Powers that he is baffled by the cone, eventually they all end up in the Mayor's office who has suddenly reappeared. After some macho rubbish between the Mayor & the Senator about who is in charge the Mayor pulls a gun out & makes a run for it but is shot by a cop. Kettering & a somewhat unemotional Glenn examine the body & discover two holes in the back of his neck. Kettering performs an autopsy & discovers that the Mayor was being controlled by an alien parasite previously unknown to man, Kettering puts two & two together & comes up with the startling theory that these parasites have come from the cone. But since the parasites got to the Mayor who else is being controlled? The mystery deepens even further when an expert in bio-chemistry , Professor Helsingman (Saul Bronson), who has been missing for the past five years turns up out of the blue. Kettering & his team face a race against time to stop the parasites before they take over the entire human race!Directed by Bruno VeSota The Brain Eaters is nothing to get excited about. The script by Gordon Urquhart supposedly based on Robert A. Heinlein's novel The Puppet Masters fails to make the most of it's obvious potential, the potential for paranoia is wasted. The film makes it perfectly clear who is controlled by a Brain Eater & who isn't. Film's like John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) & Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) brilliantly uses the mistrust between characters to heighten tension & make us, the viewer, question who we should believe & put our faith in. The Brain Eaters has none of this which hurts the film badly as it's very predictable & doesn't even attempt to try & pull any surprises. The dialogue is clunky, awkward, static & feels dated as is often the case with 50's Sci-Fi but there are a few laughs to be had if you listen closely enough. To give it some credit it moves along like a rocket, there's no boring exposition here even going as far as having a few scenes narrated rather than try & condense the information into an ordinary conversation & at only an hour long it doesn't outstay it's welcome. The Brain Eaters themselves are rarely seen & when they are they look like wigs with antenna's. There's no blood, gore or violence & the special effects are generally poor as you would expect. The acting is very wooden & everyone looks & sounds like they're reading their lines from cue cards, & yes Leonard Nimoy does make an appearance even if it's hard to make him out you'll definitely recognise his voice. Director VeSota fails to bring any scares, atmosphere, style or originality to the film as a whole. Overall I thought The Brain Eaters was an OK way to pass an hour but could have been more & at the end of the day fails to distinguish itself from any other 50's black & white Sci-Fi film of which there are many better ones available. One to watch only if your desperate.