NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST (1958)
Article #611 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 11-16-2002
Posting date: 4-12-2003

A man comes down from outer space carrying the embryos of an alien life form.

This American International cheapie has some interesting ideas, and the story seems somewhat like a cross between two pictures from Executive Producer Roger Corman, notably, ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS and IT CONQUERED THE WORLD. Unfortunately, both of those movies have better acting and a more solidly realized script; this movie suffers from poor exposition, lackluster direction, and uninspired performances, all of which contribute to making the movie a lot duller than it should have been. Certainly, the idea of a man being made the host for the fetuses of aliens would get better use in ALIEN twenty years later, but this is probably the first time the idea was used. It’s a little sad; with a little more work on the script, more care and a better cast, this one could have been a winner rather than a disappointment. This was not AIP’s finest hour.