NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT (1967)
aka Island of the Burning Doomed
Article 2994 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-19-2009
Posting Date: 10-25-2009
Directed by Terence Fisher
Featuring Christopher Lee, Patrick Allen, Peter Cushing
Country: UK

An island near England is having unseasonably warm weather. A scientist on the island discovers that the weather is not a meteorological fluke, but a symptom of something far more ominous…

I’d heard about this movie for years, and I always thought it would prove to be a variation on THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE. Instead, I find it’s a lot more similar to ISLAND OF TERROR, another movie from the same production company. It starts out as an intriguing mystery of sort, but, unfortunately, it’s one of those mysteries that loses its allure once it’s been solved. Several things disappoint me here; the revelation about the cause of the heat, the special effects surrounding this revelation, and the fact that the story ends up getting badly mired in an irritating romantic triangle subplot. It’s also one of those movies where the day-for-night photography is particularly distracting. Peter Cushing does his usual fine job, but his role is too small, and Christopher Lee tries his best with a role that isn’t particularly well-written. All in all, this was a disappointment.