Victor Knudsen So, I think I have this thing with watching old low-budget sci-fi films. I could spend a whole day watching some of these flicks from the 50's and 60's. "The Earth dies Screaming" is a UK produced science-fiction film released in 1964. As most of this kind of films it follows a very easygoing storyline; After an alien attack some survivors gather up in a small village in England. Even though it is a very weak-kneed story is was not as bad as you think. In the Late 50's and 60's production companies, Hammer and Amicus produced a large number of films like this one. "The Earth Dies Screaming is not a Hammer or an Amicus film, but it still captures the same tone and mood as them. This is not a coincidence because of the director, Terence Fisher, has worked on tons of Hammer's films. "Horror of Dracula" (1958) and "The Curse of Frankestein" (1957) is possible his most famous of all of the numerous films he has directed. Though it was cheesy, it fits in the perfectly right mood of a classic hammer film. With a running time of 62 minuts it is a fun horror/sci-fi film to watch.

AaronCapenBanner Terence Fisher, veteran Hammer Film Studios director, directed this strange science fiction tale that sees a returning astronaut shocked to discover the Earth seemingly deserted, and being invaded by clunky-looking robots! He does encounter some survivors, who tell him what they know about the invasion, and so plan a counter-attack to defeat these robots. Even at just over an hour, this is a remarkably slow, tedious film, with cardboard characters and a clichéd, ineffectual storyline. Title is laughable considering what goes on in the film! Was produced by the same British company(Lippert) that had made the equally poor "Curse Of The Fly". Forget it.

Theo Robertson This is a prime example of how to draw an audience in to a cinematic story . People all across the English countryside suddenly fall dead . Cut to opening credits with a creepy film score then cut to a perplexed survivor driving and stopping at a village strewn with corpses . Something dreadful has happened and the audience know they're going to be watching a spine chilling classic of British cinema For reasons unexplained the producers then decide to ruin the film by .... well not explaining anything . As the story continues we're introduced to one note human characters and eventually robotic villains . Who are these robots ? Obviously they were created by a higher alien intelligence . The aliens it seems can then bring the dead back to life in traditional zombie fashion though this is never explained how or why . Nor is it explained the motives of this invasion . In fact the audience spend so much time asking themselves questions any enjoyment of the film becomes totally negated It's obvious that this movie is movie is produced as a simple B movie to be shown as a precursor to a main feature hence the very short running time . It certainly doesn't suffer from a disjointed feel meaning that the lack of explanation and the all too easy method to defeat the robots comes from script level . This is a pity because if the screenplay especially the exposition and characterization had been developed more then it could have been a classic highly regarded Brit sci-fi movie

Scarecrow-88 Fascinating opening to Terrence Fisher's "The Earth Dies Screaming" has the human race of a village in Northern England collapsing into a state of catatonia(it appears as if the locals were rendered unconscious while in the middle of their daily routines)while a small band of survivors collect at an inn in an attempt to join forces so that they can move together because larger numbers can lend each other a hand instead of facing whatever "enemy" has caused the cataclysmic crisis alone individually. Willard Parker is a pilot, Jeff Nolan, who tries to band together an assemblage of people who gather reluctantly with one another, such as the sneaky Quinn Taggart(Dennis Price) and irresponsible drunk Otis(Thorley Walters) hoping to salvage a possible catastrophic situation. Nolan believes that most cities are in the same condition as their village, and the group find another frightening threat to contend with..robotic machines who are under the power of a signal from an electronic tower somewhere, and those human victims lying in the streets are used as mindless slaves with blank eyes who seem to be at the command of the machines whose touch paralyzes anyone that comes in contact with them. Meanwhile other characters include Peggy(Virginia Field)who becomes very dependent of Nolan while Quinn wants her to himself, actually holding her a gunpoint demanding she come along with him. Violet(Vanda Godsell)was Otis' companion, an unfortunate victim who confronts the machines not knowing what danger they were. David Spenser is Mel and Anna Palk is his pregnant wife Lorna..they service the plot as an "Adam and Eve" for this apocalyptic, character-driven melodrama formatted in a sci-fi thriller scenario.At only a mere 62 minutes, we watch as our cast come to grips with the dilemma they find themselves. The idea that a toxic gas released in the atmosphere causing instant death to those who breathe it unknowingly(it isn't visible, a silent killer)doesn't seem so far fetched even(or especially)in today's modern world. There's just something so eerie regarding the sight of bodies lain strewn in the streets as a reminder of what can happen ever so quickly. "The Earth Dies Screaming" really has a whopper of an opening, the way a car slams into a brick wall, a plane crashing in a forest, a train derailment, a traveler falling dead, human zombies marching at the command of robots, it's all quite unusual and spooky. No broadcasts from either the television or radio. Just the repeated humming sound which works as a beacon that sends the machines on their way towards seizing as many human slaves as possible. We never get a clear definition as to who was behind this attack, and that may make this plot all the more scarier, the thought that we may not know who is on the offensive at any given time, a quiet predator as deadly as the toxic gas which led to the devastating collapse of civilization..one moment, we are living our normal lives, the next, bodies lying throughout street corners. If you can look past the hokey title, the movie might just work for you. It has it's share of suspenseful sequences where characters like Peggy almost become trapped by the human ghouls and robots, and the understanding that, at any time, the robots could return. Sure, as a B-movie, there's a resolution to the terror they face, but, it's a nice ride until they get there. Nice lead role for Parker, as the source of confidence and strength for the group who need to be motivated since the crisis seems awfully bleak. Interesting method behind the short few who were "exempt" from the same fate as their species..they were fortunate enough to be in areas guarded against the gas which took countless lives. It was nice to see a thriller, in B&W, made by Fisher, proving how versatile he could be, not just a director of classic horror from the Universal brand.