On the DVD I rented there were two versions of the same movie, Horror in the Midnight Sun, and Invasion of the Animal People. Although these are quite different, IMDb has these listed together as Rymdinvasion i Lappland. Horror in the Midnight Sun was a fairly decent movie. It's another low budget B movie from the late 50s. A lot of these have their problems and Horror in the Midnight Sun is no exception but it is an entertaining movie. It was also interesting to watch a movie of this genre that is Swedish/American made. It's a Swedish version of a B Sci/Fi monster movie. I'm glad I watched it. It was nothing special but still decent. Invasion of the Animal People was not as good and by itself would be a mess. When seen after watching Horror in the Midnight Sun, it does show how a movie can be cut up, pieces spliced in and the movie changed. Watching to see what and how the film was changed was the only thing I found interesting with Invasion of the Animal People. If you're really into 50s Sci/Fi B monster movies, you should take a look at Horror In The Midnight Sun but if you only have a chance to see Invasion of the Animal People, don't bother.
36 Reviews
Wow, didn't know we could make this kind of movies in Sweden
Enchorde13 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
** HERE BE SPOILERS **
Recap: An apparent meteor lands in the snow cowered wilderness in northern Sweden. Strangely enough it seems like it did a horizontal landing instead of a vertical strike with crater and all. A team of scientists are flown in from Stockholm and travels out to the site. There it is apparent that it is no meteor but an alien spacecraft. At the same time there are reports of a huge monster running about.
Comment: This is a typical B-movie scifi horror kind of thing that were not uncommon in the fifties. What I didn't know that there was one produced and filmed in Sweden. Unfortunately the story could have been better, it contains far to little action, far too little events. The ending is open, no questions answered, and in all honesty, pretty lame. Otherwise, I got what I expected. Some shots of the monster, a little love story and a bunch of minor goofs (such as the usage of a plane that has already been destroyed, but I guess the producers had only one available (they could have changed registration numbers though), and that skiers seem to go downhill almost always.) I think the cast did good with the material at hand, and there are no major errors in the directing either. The story is too thin, that's all. But they got to show some of Swedens landmarks... And it was fun as I have been in the region where the film was shot.
Recap: An apparent meteor lands in the snow cowered wilderness in northern Sweden. Strangely enough it seems like it did a horizontal landing instead of a vertical strike with crater and all. A team of scientists are flown in from Stockholm and travels out to the site. There it is apparent that it is no meteor but an alien spacecraft. At the same time there are reports of a huge monster running about.
Comment: This is a typical B-movie scifi horror kind of thing that were not uncommon in the fifties. What I didn't know that there was one produced and filmed in Sweden. Unfortunately the story could have been better, it contains far to little action, far too little events. The ending is open, no questions answered, and in all honesty, pretty lame. Otherwise, I got what I expected. Some shots of the monster, a little love story and a bunch of minor goofs (such as the usage of a plane that has already been destroyed, but I guess the producers had only one available (they could have changed registration numbers though), and that skiers seem to go downhill almost always.) I think the cast did good with the material at hand, and there are no major errors in the directing either. The story is too thin, that's all. But they got to show some of Swedens landmarks... And it was fun as I have been in the region where the film was shot.
Svedish skiers encounter aliens and an Abominable guy
MartianOctocretr525 March 2007
If you like watching a bunch of people skiing around, you'll love this. An alien saucer lands in the opening round of the movie, and just sits there for about an hour of film running time before anything else involving it happens.
I saw this on one of those late night live-monster host shows, and the riffs the guy did kept the movie from being pretty boring. There's some scientists that want to see the "meteor" that came down, a romance between a couple who flirt on the ski runs, and some other folks that do a reenactment of the mob scene from Frankenstein. You have to wait a long time to see the creature, a really really big hairy guy with ugly teeth, and his brief scene is pretty campy. Still, I liked the Jolly Neanderthal Giant. As for aliens, they show up only once too, just staring at somebody. (One is seen a couple of times from the back, always watching TV).
Innocently silly and mildly amusing. There's loose ends at the end deliberately left for you to ponder. Or laugh at.
I saw this on one of those late night live-monster host shows, and the riffs the guy did kept the movie from being pretty boring. There's some scientists that want to see the "meteor" that came down, a romance between a couple who flirt on the ski runs, and some other folks that do a reenactment of the mob scene from Frankenstein. You have to wait a long time to see the creature, a really really big hairy guy with ugly teeth, and his brief scene is pretty campy. Still, I liked the Jolly Neanderthal Giant. As for aliens, they show up only once too, just staring at somebody. (One is seen a couple of times from the back, always watching TV).
Innocently silly and mildly amusing. There's loose ends at the end deliberately left for you to ponder. Or laugh at.
So bad that it's really fun. Swedish version at least.
marimon6 September 2003
One thing to know about this movie is that it was made in two different versions. One Swedish and one American. Most of the ones who have commented this film has obviously seen the American edition that was edited and added with extra scenes.
From what I've read here and heard from others, the Swedish version is much better, still a really bad movie though, and it's a shame that only the American version has made it to the video market.From what I know the Swedish version only exists in one, maybe two, 35mm copies in Sweden and they are frozen for conservation.
I've seen it a couple of times and I cant help laughing. We used to show it here in Kiruna every year at our film festival, Arctic Light Film Festival, but had to stop because it was to expensive to thaw the film.
From what I've read here and heard from others, the Swedish version is much better, still a really bad movie though, and it's a shame that only the American version has made it to the video market.From what I know the Swedish version only exists in one, maybe two, 35mm copies in Sweden and they are frozen for conservation.
I've seen it a couple of times and I cant help laughing. We used to show it here in Kiruna every year at our film festival, Arctic Light Film Festival, but had to stop because it was to expensive to thaw the film.
Jerry Warren strikes out again with this pretty abominable Swedish yeti sci-fi/horror yawner
Woodyanders29 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Jerry Warren's second contribution to the 50's yeti creature feature cycle after the shockingly good "Man Beast" was this simply abysmal atrocity. This time Jerry took a '59 Swedish sci-fi/horror flick and shot crummy new footage with frequent co-star John Carradine in standard drippy uptight professorial mode for a shoddily slapped together mess which Warren callously released upon an unsuspecting world in '62. The only odd thing about this devious practice is that for once Jerry didn't butcher a south-of-the-border Mexican cheapie as was par for the course for Mr. Warren ("Attack of the Mayan Mummy" and "The Face of the Screaming Werewolf" are among the other cinematic crimes against humanity Jerry committed during his dubious career). The movie relates the insufferably talky'n'tedious tale of an attempted alien invasion force which sets loose a large, lumbering, murderous yeti-like beast who runs amok and wreaks the expected destructive havoc all over the desolate snow-covered Lapland countryside. An international team of scientists, complete with an annoyingly bitchy token female in tow, investigate the spaceship landing site and eventually thwart the nefarious extraterrestrials. The technical credits are strictly from hunger: the dark cinematography unleashes a hideous torrent of unsightly horrible fade-outs, the blaring score sporadically drowns out the banal dialogue (a minor blessing in disguise), screaming newspaper headlines are clumsily used to fill in gaping holes in the saggy story, the poky pace plods along with all the thrilling momentum of a snail on Quaaludes, the characters are all paper-thin cardboard cut-outs with all the appeal and charisma of a smelly dead skunk, most of the big scary moments take place off-screen, and the actors seem comatose throughout. Taking amphetamines prior to watching this clunker is optional, but nonetheless still strongly advised if you ever decide to give this stinker a stare.
Wow...does this film take a long, long, long time to get moving!
planktonrules30 September 2010
For background information, try reading Michael Elliot's review--it's pretty helpful. He explains how this original film was chopped to pieces and new scenes in English were added. You wonder if what the original film actually is about--perhaps it's a very different story!! I've seen a few other films that were pieced together like this--American-International did this a lot in the 1960s.
This is really a single film marketed by Something Weird Video. Despite saying on the box that it's a "Swedish Double Feature", the two titles on the cover are the same film that has been chopped up two different ways--one with John Carradine narrating. Perhaps they didn't intend to fool the viewer, but there is only one full-length film and a few tiny special features. If you do watch it, try "Invasion of the Animal People"--it's unintentionally funnier--though the print is poorer. Also, this version lacks the nudity of the other one--making it more family-friendly.
As I watched this film, I was amazed how incredibly slow this movie was. So much of the film seems to have NOTHING to do with monsters or anything remotely scary. Instead, you see people skiing and a gratuitous nude scene that has absolutely nothing scary about it! In fact, after the initial scene of a crappy looking ship crashing in the snow, NOTHING seems to happen related to this until about 27 minutes in the film when you see a bunch of carcasses of reindeer. This made the film very slow and a bit dull...no...a LOT dull--even with the nude scene. In fact, this lady sure seemed to like to take off her clothes!! However, you don't get to really see the extremely silly monster until about 55 minutes into the movie--by which time you are dying for it all to end! Up until then, you only catch bits and pieces--a hairy arm her, the back of the head there and the like. Coming from Something Weird, I was amazed how non-weird and listless the film was--usually the films they carry are laughably bad--not dull! Or, they are chock full of sex--which this one isn't, either.
A dull flute sound track, a confusing and dull story, a monster who is silly looking but not worth the interminable wait, aliens that look like the Angel of Death from "The Seventh Sign" and an amateurish look to the entire production, this one isn't of interest to bad movie buffs like myself who enjoy films like "Plan 9" or "Eeegah!"--it's just boring and not worth bothering to see. If you do see it, skip to the last 12 minutes--at least this part is enjoyable for it's kitsch value!
This is really a single film marketed by Something Weird Video. Despite saying on the box that it's a "Swedish Double Feature", the two titles on the cover are the same film that has been chopped up two different ways--one with John Carradine narrating. Perhaps they didn't intend to fool the viewer, but there is only one full-length film and a few tiny special features. If you do watch it, try "Invasion of the Animal People"--it's unintentionally funnier--though the print is poorer. Also, this version lacks the nudity of the other one--making it more family-friendly.
As I watched this film, I was amazed how incredibly slow this movie was. So much of the film seems to have NOTHING to do with monsters or anything remotely scary. Instead, you see people skiing and a gratuitous nude scene that has absolutely nothing scary about it! In fact, after the initial scene of a crappy looking ship crashing in the snow, NOTHING seems to happen related to this until about 27 minutes in the film when you see a bunch of carcasses of reindeer. This made the film very slow and a bit dull...no...a LOT dull--even with the nude scene. In fact, this lady sure seemed to like to take off her clothes!! However, you don't get to really see the extremely silly monster until about 55 minutes into the movie--by which time you are dying for it all to end! Up until then, you only catch bits and pieces--a hairy arm her, the back of the head there and the like. Coming from Something Weird, I was amazed how non-weird and listless the film was--usually the films they carry are laughably bad--not dull! Or, they are chock full of sex--which this one isn't, either.
A dull flute sound track, a confusing and dull story, a monster who is silly looking but not worth the interminable wait, aliens that look like the Angel of Death from "The Seventh Sign" and an amateurish look to the entire production, this one isn't of interest to bad movie buffs like myself who enjoy films like "Plan 9" or "Eeegah!"--it's just boring and not worth bothering to see. If you do see it, skip to the last 12 minutes--at least this part is enjoyable for it's kitsch value!
I can just picture Ingmar Bergman turning over in his grave!
christopouloschris-5838820 August 2019
Terror in The Midnight Sun (1959), the title I prefer to use, can be summed up thus:
For some, a Viking good time. For others, a bloody waste of time. So bad, it's good some might say, While yet others might suggest It should never see the light of day!
For some, a Viking good time. For others, a bloody waste of time. So bad, it's good some might say, While yet others might suggest It should never see the light of day!
1950s Swedish Sc-Fi, and definitely not from Ingmar Bergman
robertguttman12 January 2014
Mention Swedish cinema and the first thing that usually comes to most peoples' minds is the work of Ingmar Bergman; films full of excellent acting, obscure symbolism and profound psychological insights. Well, "Invasion of the Animal People" is proof that not every Swedish film- maker was up to the standards of Bergman. In fact, this one isn't even up to the standards of Edward D. Wood Jr. A lot of people consider Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space" to be the worst movie ever made, but clearly those people have never seen "Invasion of the Animal People".
The movie begins with an over-long and obviously spliced-in monologue delivered by John Carradine, a monologue that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. That is followed by another long and also obviously added- on sequence filmed in the United States, that seems to have no relation to the remainder of the movie.
The rest of the movie involves a space ship that lands in Lapland, in Northern Sweden. This film probably enjoys the rare distinction of being the only science-fiction movie ever produced that features the people known as Laps (also referred to as "Sami"). The UFO is duly investigated by a team of scientists accompanies by a female Olympic figure skater, niece of one of the scientists who, apparently, just happened to be doing her training in Lapland.
The aliens resemble the character of "Death" from Ingmar Bergman's film, "The Seventh Seal". Have they landed in Sweden in order to play chess with Max von Sydow? Since no other reason for their presence is ever presented, I suppose that is as good an explanation as any. The aliens are also accompanied by a 30-foot-tall troll (I guess that's what they would call it in Scandinavia). How they ever managed to fit it inside their small spacecraft, and why they should have wished to being it with them in the first place, are questions that are never addressed.
Some of the other reviewers have pointed out that there exists a Swedish-language version of this movie that makes more sense. Admittedly, I have not seen that Swedish version. However, "more" is a relative term, because the version of this movie that I did see makes virtually no sense whatsoever. Nevertheless, connoisseurs of really bad 1950s science-fiction movies will definitely want to add this one to their list.
The movie begins with an over-long and obviously spliced-in monologue delivered by John Carradine, a monologue that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. That is followed by another long and also obviously added- on sequence filmed in the United States, that seems to have no relation to the remainder of the movie.
The rest of the movie involves a space ship that lands in Lapland, in Northern Sweden. This film probably enjoys the rare distinction of being the only science-fiction movie ever produced that features the people known as Laps (also referred to as "Sami"). The UFO is duly investigated by a team of scientists accompanies by a female Olympic figure skater, niece of one of the scientists who, apparently, just happened to be doing her training in Lapland.
The aliens resemble the character of "Death" from Ingmar Bergman's film, "The Seventh Seal". Have they landed in Sweden in order to play chess with Max von Sydow? Since no other reason for their presence is ever presented, I suppose that is as good an explanation as any. The aliens are also accompanied by a 30-foot-tall troll (I guess that's what they would call it in Scandinavia). How they ever managed to fit it inside their small spacecraft, and why they should have wished to being it with them in the first place, are questions that are never addressed.
Some of the other reviewers have pointed out that there exists a Swedish-language version of this movie that makes more sense. Admittedly, I have not seen that Swedish version. However, "more" is a relative term, because the version of this movie that I did see makes virtually no sense whatsoever. Nevertheless, connoisseurs of really bad 1950s science-fiction movies will definitely want to add this one to their list.
Ick... I want to wash this movie out of my mind.
icehole424 September 2001
You know it's a bad flick if it has Jerry Warren writing and John Carradine (The Unearthly, Night Train to Mundo Fine) narrating. (True, Carradine was also in Peggy Sue Got Married and The Secret of NIMH, but this was way before that.) Bad special effects crush this movie's hope of ever being decent. This one is one that MST3K didn't do, but should have.
Nice to see Sampo isn't the only bad Swedish movie.
Nice to see Sampo isn't the only bad Swedish movie.
Four time loser on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater
kevinolzak15 November 2017
"Invasion of the Animal People," though carrying a 1961 copyright, is actually a 1958 production originally titled "Rymdinvasion i Lappland" (Space Invasion of Lappland), made in Sweden by Hollywood director Virgil Vogel, coming off a pair of marginal Universal entries, "The Mole People" and "The Land Unknown." The arctic setting certainly provides a more interesting backdrop than anything that happens on film, as a trio of aliens burrow into the snow and ice, allowing a solitary creature to escape, approximately 20 feet tall and covered in fur. We only get to see the 'animal person' during the final two reels of an 80 minute feature, actually 9 minutes longer than the original, despite several scenes of exposition shortened and streamlined (Warren's theatrical edit lasted under an hour at a mere 55 minutes). The perpetrator of this 'new' movie was our old friend Jerry Warren, a hustler adept at taking other people's films and making a fast buck out of them, adding newly shot footage of his own that adds nothing but running time. Such was the case here, as John Carradine supplies three minutes of on screen narration to open the film, after which we only occasionally hear his sterling voice propping up the deadly dull proceedings. Warren needlessly begins his version with an abominable 17 straight minutes of new dialogue heavy scenes, utilizing actress Barbara Wilson for proper continuity, so by the time we reach the original footage it's a painless rendition of the unreleased "Terror in the Midnight Sun" (interrupted by only two additional Warren-shot scenes). Gorgeous brunette Barbara Wilson did a fairly daring nude scene in the Swedish version, also a veteran of pulsating pulchritude in "Teenage Doll," "Blood of Dracula," and "The Flesh Eaters." Screenwriter Arthur C. Pierce continued in the genre vein with "The Cosmic Man," "Beyond the Time Barrier," "The Human Duplicators," "Mutiny in Outer Space," "Women of the Prehistoric Planet," "Dimension 5," "Cyborg 2087," "The Destructors," and "The Astral Factor." Jerry Warren deserves some small credit for hardly tampering with what he had, but not for the two additional reels of nonsensical claptrap. Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater aired this Carradine title on four occasions between 1968 and 1971.
A study in clichés
sarastro717 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
A rating of 3 out of 10 is almost too good for this collection of dull and lacklustre clichés. It has everything that this kind of movies from this era *always* has - silly romantic music, a silly girl that gets into trouble for acting like a teenager and then hooks up with the dashing, handsome hero, only to become the object of the aliens' infatuation (complete with screaming and fainting)... And almost the entire first half of the movie is devoted to the cast frolicking (and making romantic innuendo) at a ski resort right next to the "meteor" that they've come there to investigate! There is nothing in this movie that hadn't, even in 1959, already been done a dozen times.
An annoying movie.
An annoying movie.
Schlock oddity from Scandinavia
darius_m_klein23 August 2008
This hauntingly atmospheric monster flick was one of my favorite creature features on Saturday afternoon TV when I was kid. It was known as "Invasion of the Animal People" (a great title, in my opinion - sleazemeister distributor Jerry Warren deserves credit). The talky and inane tacked-on beginning, while unnecessary, doesn't take up enough time to detract from the film's crude, grainy, and ultimately mesmerizing beauty. A UFO lands in the snows of Lappland, and its bald, telepathic (?) occupants accidentally unleash their twenty-foot tall hairy humanoid pet. The latter then terrorizes the local Sami as well as Swedish cross-country skiers. The on-location Arctic locales give the film a look and feel which is unique in drive-in horror history.
Pretty good Swedish SF movie destroyed by Jerry Warren
preppy-318 September 2004
This was a 1959 Swedish/American co-production. In the Lappland of Sweden a meteor crashes. Turns out it's not a meteor--it's a spaceship from another world. For no given reason--a huge, hairy monster comes from the spaceship, walks around, causes destruction and kidnaps a woman who has come with a team of scientists to explore the "meteor". Can anything stop this monster?
And what does it want?
There are lots of things wrong with this film--it has a romantic title song (for a SF feature!!!!); it opens with hysterically lousy special effects showing the spaceship landing; the monster doesn't show up until 50 minutes in (the film is only 70 minutes long); endless skiing footage; lousy acting (particularly Babara Wilson); laughable lapses in logic (note how conveniently Wilson's busted ankle is ignored). Also there's a pointless and fairly explicit nude shower scene which has no bearing whatsoever with the story! Still, it has an intelligent script; it's well-directed; takes place in a most unusual setting; has a very scary-looking monster and moves pretty quick. No classic but interesting.
It came to American in 1962. For some reason producer Jerry Warren destroyed it. He changed the title to "Invasion of the Animal People" (?????) and added John Carradine to the cast (probably for marquee value). Carradine opens up the film with the most insipid speech I've ever heard (it makes next to no sense) and narrates portions of it. Warren added dreadful new footage (badly shot and acted) which added nothing to the story; gave it a really silly new opening (involving Wilson); says it takes place in Switzerland (????); rearranged footage and cut out huge chunks. What is left is a hysterically bad, incomprehensible mess! I believe Carradine later said this was one of his worst movies (he's not kidding). It's known as being a camp classic.
But now BOTH versions are available on DVD. It's more than a little interesting to see how Warren totally destroyed a fairly good movie. It's a good thing the original is now available for people to view. "Invasion" gets a 1 (I wish I could give it a zero) but "Terror" gets a 7. Like I said, no classic but pretty well-done...and how many monster movies do you know that were made in Sweden?
And what does it want?
There are lots of things wrong with this film--it has a romantic title song (for a SF feature!!!!); it opens with hysterically lousy special effects showing the spaceship landing; the monster doesn't show up until 50 minutes in (the film is only 70 minutes long); endless skiing footage; lousy acting (particularly Babara Wilson); laughable lapses in logic (note how conveniently Wilson's busted ankle is ignored). Also there's a pointless and fairly explicit nude shower scene which has no bearing whatsoever with the story! Still, it has an intelligent script; it's well-directed; takes place in a most unusual setting; has a very scary-looking monster and moves pretty quick. No classic but interesting.
It came to American in 1962. For some reason producer Jerry Warren destroyed it. He changed the title to "Invasion of the Animal People" (?????) and added John Carradine to the cast (probably for marquee value). Carradine opens up the film with the most insipid speech I've ever heard (it makes next to no sense) and narrates portions of it. Warren added dreadful new footage (badly shot and acted) which added nothing to the story; gave it a really silly new opening (involving Wilson); says it takes place in Switzerland (????); rearranged footage and cut out huge chunks. What is left is a hysterically bad, incomprehensible mess! I believe Carradine later said this was one of his worst movies (he's not kidding). It's known as being a camp classic.
But now BOTH versions are available on DVD. It's more than a little interesting to see how Warren totally destroyed a fairly good movie. It's a good thing the original is now available for people to view. "Invasion" gets a 1 (I wish I could give it a zero) but "Terror" gets a 7. Like I said, no classic but pretty well-done...and how many monster movies do you know that were made in Sweden?
Dreadful attempt at Swedish sci-fi
arthur_tafero31 August 2018
Rror in the Midnight Sun
This low-budget sci-fi is different, if nothing else. It starts off a meteor falling in Scandinavia. Then it switches to a "civilized" country where doctors smoke cigarettes on airplanes; a sure sign of consideration. We are introduced to two ugly scientists; one of which looks and acts like Borat, and the other looks and acts like Boris Bedinoff (Rocky and Bullwinkle). Finally, we introduced to the boring good-looking people who are destined to be the leads in the film. However, there was one bright spot, as one Scandinavian is dressed up as a Norte Dame cheerleader. Then we are hustled back to the boring, good-looking scientist who can't act and his medalsome (she is an Olympic Champion) new girlfriend. Then about fifteen minutes of the film is chewed up at a ski resort, while we suffer through the philandering scientist (he has a girlfriend back home). The assignment turns into a vacation at the ski lodge with a pretty skater; not quite a good sci-fi strategy. After the painful bonding of the young daters and even more painful nightclub song, we finally get to move the film forward.at the 26 minute mark; you can fast -forward to this 26 minute mark right from the first few minutes and not miss a thing. I Will not reveal the rest of the film, but it is much better than the first 26 minutes; except for the extremely annoying American Olympic skater. A spaceship carrying Bigfoot has arrived, and of course, the best thing to do is shoot first and ask questions later; for those of you not familiar with the Socratic method; that aint it. Too much skiing, and not enough plot development. Sweden needs to stick to Bergman. Not recommended.
This low-budget sci-fi is different, if nothing else. It starts off a meteor falling in Scandinavia. Then it switches to a "civilized" country where doctors smoke cigarettes on airplanes; a sure sign of consideration. We are introduced to two ugly scientists; one of which looks and acts like Borat, and the other looks and acts like Boris Bedinoff (Rocky and Bullwinkle). Finally, we introduced to the boring good-looking people who are destined to be the leads in the film. However, there was one bright spot, as one Scandinavian is dressed up as a Norte Dame cheerleader. Then we are hustled back to the boring, good-looking scientist who can't act and his medalsome (she is an Olympic Champion) new girlfriend. Then about fifteen minutes of the film is chewed up at a ski resort, while we suffer through the philandering scientist (he has a girlfriend back home). The assignment turns into a vacation at the ski lodge with a pretty skater; not quite a good sci-fi strategy. After the painful bonding of the young daters and even more painful nightclub song, we finally get to move the film forward.at the 26 minute mark; you can fast -forward to this 26 minute mark right from the first few minutes and not miss a thing. I Will not reveal the rest of the film, but it is much better than the first 26 minutes; except for the extremely annoying American Olympic skater. A spaceship carrying Bigfoot has arrived, and of course, the best thing to do is shoot first and ask questions later; for those of you not familiar with the Socratic method; that aint it. Too much skiing, and not enough plot development. Sweden needs to stick to Bergman. Not recommended.
Sweden's contribution to the cheesy horror movies of the 50's
Eboreg11 August 1998
Actually it's a Swedish-American collaboration. A spaceship (that looks VERY much like a meteor) crashes in Northern Sweden before the eyes of some Samis. Some people, including the young geologist Erik Engström and the American Dr Wilson, travel up to a village in the vicinity to take a look at the ship - and Dr Wilsons beautiful niece Diane. At about the same time the aliens (who never speak, but sound kinda like synthesizers) release their pet - a hilarious, 3 metre high, furry monster with ridiculous teeth (you've got to see it for yourself). I guess you get the picture. Without spoiling any of the fun I can say that the rest of the story involves wrecking of Sami villages, a totally uncalled-for nude scene (well, almost) , and a love affair (WHO could it be between?). This is a 50's monster turkey with real class, it has all the cliches and very few dull moments. If you watch it until the end, you get to see a visual effect that is BY FAR the worst one I've ever seen.
I can't imagine why Lapland cinema never caught on.
soulexpress31 December 2018
Slap together a bunch of stock footage, hire John Carradine as your narrator, and come up with a cockamamie story about aliens loosing a Bigfoot-like monster in the wilds of Lapland, and you have this hour-long cinematic suppository. Take out the padding and you get about 30 seconds' worth of plot.
Cheesy monster flick from Sweden
Leofwine_draca17 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I saw the original 1958 Swedish version of this icebound sci-fi movie called TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN as opposed to INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE, the version which Jerry Warren distributed on TV after cutting out extraneous material and adding John Carradine as narrator. My advice is for viewers to always watch the original versions of such films wherever possible as the repackaged versions are invariably disappointing.
TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN is a low budget and often laughable film in which very little happens during the slow-moving narrative. A cheesy meteorite crash-lands in the Arctic circle at the movie's outset and a plane-load of investigators are sent to investigate. There's also a figure skater thrown into the mix and lots of wooden dialogue from the English-dubbed actors. Eventually, and not until around the hour mark, a giant monster breaks loose and goes on a rampage. The creature looks like King Kong with a pig's snout and is completely ludicrous. The ending reminded me of THE WICKER MAN although with worse effects. Cult movie lovers will lap it up.
TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN is a low budget and often laughable film in which very little happens during the slow-moving narrative. A cheesy meteorite crash-lands in the Arctic circle at the movie's outset and a plane-load of investigators are sent to investigate. There's also a figure skater thrown into the mix and lots of wooden dialogue from the English-dubbed actors. Eventually, and not until around the hour mark, a giant monster breaks loose and goes on a rampage. The creature looks like King Kong with a pig's snout and is completely ludicrous. The ending reminded me of THE WICKER MAN although with worse effects. Cult movie lovers will lap it up.
It had potential
doppleganger1969211 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I gave this motion picture a 5 out of 10 mainly for the female lead - Barbara Wilson is not the greatest actress but she certainly is easy on the eyes - and the creature effects, especially the scenes with scale model structures and tents, which put me in mind of Dawson Palmer in the palm tree bark-covered union suit as the cyclops for "Lost In Space" (the pilot and the first season episode "There Were Giants In The Earth"). *Spoiler alert* The story had potential: was the creature an experimental animal, a pet being transported in a flight gone wrong, or a prisoner of the mysterious pointed-head aliens? Fleshing out any of those would have made for an interesting plot turn. Instead we are left wondering why it landed on Earth, and why did it kill men but protect a woman? Why didn't it defend itself at the end? A better script (and a little less skiing) would have elevated this movie above the MSTK-3000 worthy "B" movie it actually is.
Taking the filmmakers to tusk...er task.
mark.waltz4 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Looking like a bad combination of a disfigured warthog and a Teletubby or giant Muppet, the creature here is one of the dumbest looking monsters in cinema history. It is like a shag carpet that needed a mower two tone it down, and does nothing but grunt and walk slowly through the snowy tundra stocking a Swedish skiing beauty who is on a scientific exposition and ends up being able to walk and run even though she's just broken her leg after hitting a tree while skiing.
it isn't just a ridiculous looking monster that is hideously bad. It is the film as a whole, starting off with absolute nonsense showing a bunch of scares simply going absolutely nowhere, which is exactly the direction that the film goes in. we all of a sudden see a bright fiery ball of something flying through the sky and going into a snowy Bank, leaving a tunnel to where the object has become lodged. The creature itself doesn't show up until 20 minutes before the film is over, and by then, you might have given up.
There are apparently are more than two versions of this film, and I'm not about to search out the other ones, one of which includes later added footage with John Carradine. It is obvious that this film is bad in any format, and I have too many films of this nature to explore to go back and see an alternate version where only the structure is slightly different. it is fortunate that the actors really don't talk all that much, mainly yell and scream when the monster does appear. The creature could have been pelted with snowballs filled with rocks and toppled over a mountain, and that would have been much better than anything that happens here. It is cheap and tacky, and the creature, as well as the surviving prints, deserve to be sucked in by a giant vacuum cleaner and dumped in the deepest parts of the Klondike so it is eradicated for the waste of film it is.
it isn't just a ridiculous looking monster that is hideously bad. It is the film as a whole, starting off with absolute nonsense showing a bunch of scares simply going absolutely nowhere, which is exactly the direction that the film goes in. we all of a sudden see a bright fiery ball of something flying through the sky and going into a snowy Bank, leaving a tunnel to where the object has become lodged. The creature itself doesn't show up until 20 minutes before the film is over, and by then, you might have given up.
There are apparently are more than two versions of this film, and I'm not about to search out the other ones, one of which includes later added footage with John Carradine. It is obvious that this film is bad in any format, and I have too many films of this nature to explore to go back and see an alternate version where only the structure is slightly different. it is fortunate that the actors really don't talk all that much, mainly yell and scream when the monster does appear. The creature could have been pelted with snowballs filled with rocks and toppled over a mountain, and that would have been much better than anything that happens here. It is cheap and tacky, and the creature, as well as the surviving prints, deserve to be sucked in by a giant vacuum cleaner and dumped in the deepest parts of the Klondike so it is eradicated for the waste of film it is.
Okay Swedish Fifties sci fi thriller transformed into laughably bad American movie
mlraymond9 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of those late, late show classics that used to fill up air time in the wee hours of the morning. Now that the original Swedish version is available, it's amazing to see just how much was changed and re-edited by Jerry Warren to the point of being practically incomprehensible.
The original version may not be great art, but it does have a fairly logical plot and something resembling character development. It's worth seeing at least once. This is the version known as "Terror in the Midnight Sun".
The Jerry Warren version is familiar to American viewers as "Invasion of the Animal People" and is truly funny with its new footage of American actors mostly sitting around and talking, with portentous and solemn voice-overs by narrator John Carradine. Except for the fact that these new scenes are performed and filmed in a marginally more professional way, they could easily be mistaken for an Ed Wood movie. The truly wonderful opening has John Carradine lecturing about science and man's quest for knowledge, while sitting amidst a jumble of machines intended to give the impression of a laboratory. You could almost believe that he's stalling for time and making it up as he goes along,improvising impressive sounding phrases that actually mean very little. After the main credits, he appears again, this time standing next to a globe, as he lectures some more about how little we know about the universe around us.
All this is quite enjoyable, but the so bad it's good stuff really kicks into high gear with the next sequence, as two befuddled police detectives try to figure out why a young woman was found running around in her pajamas, apparently being pursued by a UFO. To help them out, another man joins them, holding a human skull that appears to be a Woolworth's Halloween decoration, and lectures at length on the inner ear, while they smoke cigarettes. Then, a solemn man interviews the unhappy mother of the victim, with Carradine helpfully letting us know that the scientist " had known the girl all her life".Eventually, they decide she's okay and she flies to"Switzerland" to take part in an ice skating competition and flirt with a handsome young scientist and then get carried off by a big hairy creature from a space ship.
This is simply one of the most entertaining for the wrong reasons movies I've ever seen. Aficionados of bad science fiction movies should seek this out.
The original version may not be great art, but it does have a fairly logical plot and something resembling character development. It's worth seeing at least once. This is the version known as "Terror in the Midnight Sun".
The Jerry Warren version is familiar to American viewers as "Invasion of the Animal People" and is truly funny with its new footage of American actors mostly sitting around and talking, with portentous and solemn voice-overs by narrator John Carradine. Except for the fact that these new scenes are performed and filmed in a marginally more professional way, they could easily be mistaken for an Ed Wood movie. The truly wonderful opening has John Carradine lecturing about science and man's quest for knowledge, while sitting amidst a jumble of machines intended to give the impression of a laboratory. You could almost believe that he's stalling for time and making it up as he goes along,improvising impressive sounding phrases that actually mean very little. After the main credits, he appears again, this time standing next to a globe, as he lectures some more about how little we know about the universe around us.
All this is quite enjoyable, but the so bad it's good stuff really kicks into high gear with the next sequence, as two befuddled police detectives try to figure out why a young woman was found running around in her pajamas, apparently being pursued by a UFO. To help them out, another man joins them, holding a human skull that appears to be a Woolworth's Halloween decoration, and lectures at length on the inner ear, while they smoke cigarettes. Then, a solemn man interviews the unhappy mother of the victim, with Carradine helpfully letting us know that the scientist " had known the girl all her life".Eventually, they decide she's okay and she flies to"Switzerland" to take part in an ice skating competition and flirt with a handsome young scientist and then get carried off by a big hairy creature from a space ship.
This is simply one of the most entertaining for the wrong reasons movies I've ever seen. Aficionados of bad science fiction movies should seek this out.
Kinda a mess
BandSAboutMovies8 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Known internationally as Terror In the Midnight Sun and in its native Sweden as Space Invasion of Lapland, this movie was brought to the U.S. by Jerry Warren, who cut 25 minutes from its running time - including a nude shower scene with lead actress Barbara Wilson - as well as shooting a new beginning featuring narrator John Carradine. Of course, when he sold the film to syndication later, a whole bunch of new material had to be shot to pad out the film's running time. That new footage features several doctors discussing the mental problems of the lead character. Warren also shot a new UFO abduction scene. Never let it be said that the maker of The Wild World of Batwoman didn't keep up on trends.
However, in Fred Olen Ray's book The New Poverty Row, he did reveal "I'd shoot one day on this stuff and throw it together...I was in the business to make money. I never, ever tried in any way to compete, or to make something worthwhile. I only did enough to get by, so they would buy it, so it would play, and so I'd get a few dollars. It's not very fair to the public, I guess, but that was my attitude...You didn't have to go all out and make a really good picture."
Diane Wilson and scientist Erik Engstrom just want to fall in love, but all the mutilated reindeer keep getting in the way. That's because three humanoid aliens have a gigantic and hairy fanged beast that they're commanding to tear up houses and eat Santa's steeds. Yes, this movie is years ahead of modern paranormal theories that place Bigfoot in the employ of grey extraterrestrials.
Virgil W. Vogel, the director of this movie, also was behind The Mole People. He was an editor on Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man and Touch of Evil, too. Most of his career was spent directing for television, which he did all the way up to his death in 1996.
However, in Fred Olen Ray's book The New Poverty Row, he did reveal "I'd shoot one day on this stuff and throw it together...I was in the business to make money. I never, ever tried in any way to compete, or to make something worthwhile. I only did enough to get by, so they would buy it, so it would play, and so I'd get a few dollars. It's not very fair to the public, I guess, but that was my attitude...You didn't have to go all out and make a really good picture."
Diane Wilson and scientist Erik Engstrom just want to fall in love, but all the mutilated reindeer keep getting in the way. That's because three humanoid aliens have a gigantic and hairy fanged beast that they're commanding to tear up houses and eat Santa's steeds. Yes, this movie is years ahead of modern paranormal theories that place Bigfoot in the employ of grey extraterrestrials.
Virgil W. Vogel, the director of this movie, also was behind The Mole People. He was an editor on Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man and Touch of Evil, too. Most of his career was spent directing for television, which he did all the way up to his death in 1996.
Silly American/Swedish coproduction
siderite18 October 2012
The story in this film is that somewhere in Sweden there is a meteor crash. Only it's not a meteor, it's a space ship. And it has some sort of alien animal in it, probably called Laika. Hapless "investigators" of the meteor, together with a ridiculously good looking girl (her acting is equally ridiculous at times), come into conflict with the animal. The end is reminiscent of Frankenstein.
I can't say I didn't enjoy the film. It has some sort of flirting going on between sexy American girl and manly Swedish skier, a funny looking alien animal and some scenes that were really hilarious, like the one where the aliens appear and each one has a separate eerie tone associated with their appearance on the screen.
Bottom line: not completely awful, but quite a waste of time.
I can't say I didn't enjoy the film. It has some sort of flirting going on between sexy American girl and manly Swedish skier, a funny looking alien animal and some scenes that were really hilarious, like the one where the aliens appear and each one has a separate eerie tone associated with their appearance on the screen.
Bottom line: not completely awful, but quite a waste of time.
Strange...
stepphan14 September 2006
Can't actually rate this movie, it's so bad that it's good. It's either one or ten. The Swedish actors are talking really bad English, you can't believe it. For example "Who are you?", meaning "How are you." Microphones are visible sometimes. And at the "Royal Academy of Science", it's a handwritten paper sign pinned to the door. Very funny. In one scene, the hero leaves the heroin and is skiing downhill for a couple of minutes. Then the monster arrives at the girls place. She screams, and the hero hears it. Turn around and continue skiing downhill back to were he left her! And yes, "Lapplanders" live in Sweden, but they name themselves "Saami", "Lapplanders" are the inhabitants if the Swedish county "Lappland". And yes Saami hang around in funny hats, but not all the time.
Very entertaining, especially if you're Swedish!
DennisAlexis5 May 2010
I'm from Sweden, and they don't make many horror/sci-fi movies here, so it's really nice to finally have this classic on DVD!
Sure, it's really cheap and a bit slow sometimes, but it's still entertaining, especially if you're Swedish and recognize some of the famous guest stars.
I have to say that I also like the monster design, it's quite unique, and the whole mountain setting gives the movie a great atmosphere.
The acting is quite good too. I especially enjoyed the beautiful Barbara Wilson. Swedish actor Gösta Prüzelius also appears in the movie. He is best known for his role as Reidar in 1990's soap opera "Rederiet".
By the way, famous Swedish singer Brita Borg, the girl singing in one of the scenes, passed away last night. She was eighty-three years old.
Sure, it's really cheap and a bit slow sometimes, but it's still entertaining, especially if you're Swedish and recognize some of the famous guest stars.
I have to say that I also like the monster design, it's quite unique, and the whole mountain setting gives the movie a great atmosphere.
The acting is quite good too. I especially enjoyed the beautiful Barbara Wilson. Swedish actor Gösta Prüzelius also appears in the movie. He is best known for his role as Reidar in 1990's soap opera "Rederiet".
By the way, famous Swedish singer Brita Borg, the girl singing in one of the scenes, passed away last night. She was eighty-three years old.
Skis and planes should've been the title.
Aaron137524 June 2020
This film seems to be a film about some sort of invasion and there is an animal person, but not people. What it really seems like though, is a film about flying in airplanes over mountains and skiing the countryside while guys occasionally talk on radios. We get aliens that do nothing but monitor and then terrorize a girl and we even get John Carradine in a both acting like a science and saying science like stuff. We get very little monster action though as the film is way more interested in showing planes and skiing.
The story starts out with Carradine talking before moving to a scene that seems to have little to do with the rest of the film. A woman running scared from her home as strange sounds penetrate our ears! Then we move to another country as a meteor crashes and a woman strands a guy on a ski run and she will later abandon him as the monster shows up a little over halfway through the film. Dogs bark! People flee and the monster inexplicably changes sizes sometimes seeming like a really tall person and at other looking taller than the ski cabins.
The film is not good as it is such a mishmash of different things. I have no idea why or what the scene from the beginning was. It may have made sense if it happened after what happened in this film. The aliens seemed pointless as they are never explored as it seems you could of just had the monster without them being present. And why did that woman insist on coming along every time? Heck, why do the women insist on coming along in every horror movie. If I was told wait right here in the confines of the safest place around while we chase the blood curdling monster of death I would be like 'sure'.
So, not a very good film unless seeing people do a lot of flying in the mountains and skiing through the countryside excites you. It does not me and when they really ramp up the excitement we are watching guys on radios constantly call out to no one and then have a long discussion of what could be the reasoning of the people not responding. At times in the flick we even get a monster appearance or two before they have to dial it back and go to skiing again because we cannot have too much excitement upon the screen!
The story starts out with Carradine talking before moving to a scene that seems to have little to do with the rest of the film. A woman running scared from her home as strange sounds penetrate our ears! Then we move to another country as a meteor crashes and a woman strands a guy on a ski run and she will later abandon him as the monster shows up a little over halfway through the film. Dogs bark! People flee and the monster inexplicably changes sizes sometimes seeming like a really tall person and at other looking taller than the ski cabins.
The film is not good as it is such a mishmash of different things. I have no idea why or what the scene from the beginning was. It may have made sense if it happened after what happened in this film. The aliens seemed pointless as they are never explored as it seems you could of just had the monster without them being present. And why did that woman insist on coming along every time? Heck, why do the women insist on coming along in every horror movie. If I was told wait right here in the confines of the safest place around while we chase the blood curdling monster of death I would be like 'sure'.
So, not a very good film unless seeing people do a lot of flying in the mountains and skiing through the countryside excites you. It does not me and when they really ramp up the excitement we are watching guys on radios constantly call out to no one and then have a long discussion of what could be the reasoning of the people not responding. At times in the flick we even get a monster appearance or two before they have to dial it back and go to skiing again because we cannot have too much excitement upon the screen!
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