1970
Director- Hugo Fregonese, Tulio Demicheli
Cast- Michael Rennie, Karin Dor, Craig Hill, Patty
Shepard, Ángel del Pozo, Paul Naschy, Manuel de Blas, Ferdinando Murolo, Gene
Reyes
A group
of aliens, masquerading as humans, are on Earth to prepare it for invasion.
Their own planet is about kaput and they’ve set their eyes on earth. Their plan
is to use Earth’s greatest monsters, Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s
monster, and the Mummy, as their weapons against humanity. This combination of
science fiction with gothic horror characters is a brave choice. Paul Naschy
himself wrote the original script. Supposedly he was promised a big budget and
that may explain his ambitious script. However, the budget didn’t pan out, the
directors changed part way through the film, and whatever potential the film
had was not realized. Naschy himself was inconsequential in the film. His part
was rather small which his reflected in him getting sixth billing.
The
movie, from its opening title sequence has a silly feel, a cross between a late
60’s Euro comedy and Plan 9 from Outer
Space. However, the movie doesn’t commit to being either fun or scary. It
gets stuck somewhere in the middle.
I
suppose fans of monster mash movies like Monster
Squad or House of Frankenstein will enjoy the chance to
see all of these monsters together on the screen. I think the Frankenstein’s
monster looks either smug or sleepy, however the Mummy looks really good. The
actor was very skinny and it gives the Mummy a real desiccated look. The other reason to see it is that it is part
of the Waldemar Daninsky series. For my money, this series got a lot better
after Assignment Terror.
One other note, if the lead
alien looks familiar, it’s because he is
played by Michael Rennie (the alien Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still), in what would be his final film role
before his death a year later.
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