Alien Terror (1971) User Reviews

Bizarre Relic

[Steve_Nyland · 3/10 · 14 October 2013]

This movie likely won't be of much use to the bulk of humans infesting the surface of the planet Earth. But it may interest Boris Karloff fans and amateur theatrical detectives who like to dissect bad movies like lab specimens. What you get here is one of the most disjointed and bizarre films ever made, a combination of what appear to be two films edited to seem like a larger whole. The first movie consists of about thirty minutes of footage featuring Boris Karloff playing a white suited scientist who invents a disintegrator ray device. The were filmed on soundstages in southern California, with some ending up in this film and others in FEAR CHAMBER, THE SNAKE PEOPLE and HOUSE OF EVIL.

The second movie was filmed after his scenes were completed in Mexico and attempts to match the Hollywood scenes with actors -- some the same -- wearing similar costumes on similar sets, reciting more or less similar toned dialog & engaged in similar actions. Idea being that they are on one side of the room and Karloff on the other: Sometimes characters who were present for both sessions walk back and forth between the scenes, which is quite strange. Their hairstyles and lighting changes subtly, creating a disjointed viewing experience that overwhelms whatever the script was about.

If memory serves, a space alien in what can only be described as an Art Neveau flying saucer gets wind of the disintegrator ray and decides it is too great a threat for mankind to posses. The alien looks like Yahoo Serious and wears a silver lame space jump suit that reminded me of David Bowie from THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. So did some of the flying saucer's design elements, consisting mostly of beakers with colored fluids bubbling through them. The spaceship is mostly shown from the inside too, requiring the viewer to sort of have to take the director's word for it's existence.

The alien takes possession of various cast members and compels them to sabotage the disintegrator ray, which is probably for the best after the local military gets wind of the situation and decides they want a portable version to serve as a weapon. This results in several conversation scenes where characters veer from the California shoot to the Mexican footage. It's a great lesson in how a film can be constructed, and we can only hope that we can learn from it or the seventy three minutes it runs is a waste.

Fans of Boris Karloff will likely be pleased, he's on screen a bit in this one and looks great in that white suit which sharp viewers will recognize as the same one from THE SNAKE PEOPLE, likely filmed earlier that day. Others are well warned to try something else.

Another One Of Karloff's Odd Last Movies

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 3/10 · 12 January 2007]

"The Icredible Invasion" aka. "Alien Terror" of 1971 is one of the rather crappy and very odd last films of the great Boris Karloff. Released in 1971, two years after Karloff's death, this movie was directed by Jack Hill and Juan Ibanez, who also directed three other examples of Karloff's infamous last films, "Snake People", "The Fear Chamber" and "House Of Evil". While "The Incredible Invasion" is definitely a very crappy attempt of a Sci-Fi/Horror movie it is nevertheless very amusing and worth watching for its value as an unintentional comedy. While the movie does in no way rank behind "Snake People" in its oddity, it does not quite reach the unintentional fun-factor of "The Fear Chamber", as far as I am considered. Nevertheless it is great fun to watch and I could easily watch it again various times when I am bored and want to have a good laugh.

After Dr. John Mayer (Karloff) and his assistant Dr. Isabel Reed (Maura Monti) invent create a ray machine which produces some sort of nuclear power, a ray is accidentally shot into the universe where it hits a flying saucer. Reasoning that this sort of death-rays is too big a threat to the universe, the saucer's captain, a mysterious alien, who actually looks like a human being and wears a bizarre glittering seventies-style disco suit, decides to prevent earthlings from using it. The alien captain therefore lands on earth and possesses the brain of Thomas (Yerye Beirute), a serial killer of women, who operates as the alien's henchman from now on.

It would not be far-fetched to say that the Hill/Ibanez movies were to Karloff what Ed Wood's movies were to Bela Lugosi. Both brilliant actors and great stars of the horror genre, Lugosi and Karloff both ended their careers with some very odd films. Although they are without doubt unintentionally funny and they sure have some fans, however, the Hill/Ibanez films do in now way reach the cult status of Ed Wood's films.

"The Incredible Invasion" is terribly crappy as the Sci-Fi/Horror movie it tries to be, but it can be great fun if watched as the unintentional comedy it is. As far as I am concerned, every serious lover of film should watch at least one of Karloff's odd last films directed by Hill and Ibanez, just for the reason that they are some of Karloff's last films. Some other good reasons to watch "The Incredible Invasion" are lovely Christa Linder and Yerye Beirute, who also was in "The Fear Chamber". Don't expect any suspense whatsoever, but expect an unintentional comedy and laugh your ass off. 3/10

Incredible would be one of the last adjectives in summing up this movie

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 31 July 2013]

Boris Karloff was a great actor, responsible for some of the most iconic performances in the horror genre and most effective in roles that showed menacing and sympathetic sides to his character's personality. Sadly, he was also an actor whose last few films didn't do justice to him or his career. The Incredible Invasion(or Alien Terror) is his last and while it is marginally better than House of Evil and especially Fear Chamber that's not saying much as it is still a mess, if there was a word that this movie is not it's incredible. Karloff of course is the best and only good thing about it, that the role is bigger here already makes it better than House of Evil and Fear Chamber and he performs with class and dignity, which is more than The Incredible Invasion deserved. Apart from Karloff the acting is just amateurish, Yerye Beirute brings unintentional humour in how bad especially he is. The Incredible Invasion is cheap-looking too, you get the feeling from the editing and photography that the movie was done in a matter of days(it mayn't have been but it honestly looks like it) while the sets are tacky and don't exude any atmosphere at all. The music is shrill and strident, while the dialogue sounds incredibly stilted and to even describe the direction is inept is insulting. The story has a cobbled together feel with no thrills, tension, scares or suspense despite having the elements that had the potential to make it so. Instead it was dull, often incoherent, thinly structured and far too strange for its own good. All in all, just a mess. Boris Karloff had a great career, but The Incredible Invasion was a very sad end to it, easily one of the absolute worst final films of any actor. 2/10 Bethany Cox

HORRIBLE LAST PICTURE WITH KARLOFF!

[whpratt1 · 1/10 · 11 March 2003]

Boris Karloff helped the producer and director put this film on the screen. Boris dispite his illnesses and inability to walk around, made this film a classic for all Karloff fans. "Alien Terror" or "The Incredible Invasion" should never have been made, very poor acting with the exception of Karloff, poor photography and sound. It is sad that this film was the last feature film Karloff ever made.

For Karloff Fans Only

[Michael_Elliott · 20 October 2012]

The Sinister Invasion (1971)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

This here was one of the four Mexican films Boris Karloff filmed before his death and this is one that was released after the horror icon had passed. In the film he plays Professor John Mayer who in 1890 has created a ray machine, which he shoots into space. The ray just happens to cross paths with a flying saucer and the aliens decide to come and destroy it but to do so they take over the body of a serial killer. Also known as ALIEN TERROR, THE INCREDIBLE INVASION and about a dozen other titles, this film is probably the most entertaining out of the films Karloff did below the border but that's really not saying too much. This is a hard film to fully understand as the plot never makes too much sense but I'm going to guess this is due to two directors making the picture (Jose Luis Gonzalez the Mexican stuff, Jack Hill the Karloff material). It's also worth noting that the aliens here are so stupid that they have to be the children of those seen in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. OK, one understands why they want to destroy the ray but they've got the technology to do so without taking over the body of this killer. This killer just ends up causing so many problems and yet the aliens keep on using him. The entire subplot with the killer is quite strange to watch but it does add a rather surreal feel to the picture. As for Karloff, he's certainly showing signs of his health issues but he's pretty good here. Unlike the other three films where he's basically just an extended cameo, he actually gets a pretty big role here, which is nice to see. The rest of the supporting players aren't as memorable but we've all seen much worst. The production values are cheap and it's obvious you're not in the 1890s but this could have been much, much worse. With that said, this was released a couple years after Karloff's death and you really have to wonder who would want to see something like this other than those curious die-hard Karloff fans.

Poor film, in most areas

[Sic Coyote · 3/10 · 21 April 2004]

It has poor lighting, poor sound(as everyone except Karloff is dubbed, and on one occasion even he is dubbed, by someone doing a very bad impression. The editing is bad, although this may be down to a poor quality hacked up print, but in general it looks like a cheap film with Karloff's stuff looking like it could all have been shot in a couple of days. There are some classic funny bits, unintentional. I don't know why but I find a woman (possessed by an alien) slapping a man till he just punches her and knocks her out quite funny. *slap slap slap* *thwack* man wins. The plot was not that unusual but it was quite hard to follow what was going on even if you were paying attention. Karloff had a cool voice. 2/10 - Maybe slightly watchable for occasional funny bits.

When a film debuts more than two years after the leading man has died, you know you're not looking at a masterpiece!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 10 October 2020]

Boris Karloff was an unusual actor in that as he aged, he didn't slow down making films even though he was a physical mess. He had advanced emphysema and could barely walk due to a crippling back injury and arthritis....but he kept plugging away...mostly in very cheap international productions. But here's the weirdest part of it. He knew he was dying and deliberately filmed parts of MANY films...Mexican and Spanish...with the assumption that the filmmakers would later make the rest of the movie after Karloff's death! I can only guess that he either wanted to leave some money to his family or perhaps he simply couldn't stand NOT acting! As a result, a couple years AFTER Karloff had assumed room temperature, his films continued to appear in theaters. I cannot think of another actor who did this....and it's a bit creepy. "The Incredible Invasion" (aka "Alien Terror") is one of these posthumous productions....and it's the last one to appear in theaters.

"The Incredible Invasion" is available in two forms....with Karloff dubbed into Spanish or the rest of the cast into English. I was only able to find the Spanish language version. My Spanish isn't great by any stretch, but I decided to watch this in order to see just how able Karloff was to make movies at this point life...as well as whether or not the film was any good.

At the end of the 19th century, Professor Mayer creates a weird ray beam that he shoots into space. Aliens aboard a UFO see it and realize that humans are too stupid to have such power, so they dispatch an alien to inhabit the bodies of folks to make them kill. Why they just don't kill Mayer and destroy his ray, I have no idea.

So is it any good? Well, it's not as bad as a few of these later films, such as "Cauldron of Blood" or "The Snake People"...though this is hardly a glowing endorsement!! The acting is occasionally bad but the sets and special effects could have been a lot worse! You also see only a little of Karloff because he was too ill to film more...so they had to film around him and piece it all together later! Sadly, in one scene they obviously had someone don a welding helmet-like hat to hide his face because he was unable to walk about the room. This is reminiscent of a dentist holding a cape over his face in "Plan 9 From Outer Space" in order to pretend to be Bela Lugosi...who had died before being able to film much of the story. Overall, a sad and silly film...one that does NOT beg to be seen today.

Most of Karloff's late career films are either exceptional ("Targets", "The Sorcerers", "The Crimson Cult") or godawful messes (pretty much every other 1968-1971 film). There really isn't anything in between, sadly.

Karloff reveals the Invisible Ray in his final screen role

[kevinolzak · 3/10 · 3 June 2022]

1968's "Incredible Invasion" (Invasion Siniestra or Sinister Invasion) completed the Boris Karloff quartet of Mexican titles for producer Luis Enrique Vergara, as shown by the absence of Julissa as his daughter, replaced by German beauty Christa Linder, Yerye Beirute from "Fear Chamber" cast as the serial killer Thomas. Prof. John Mayer offers the octogenarian actor his greatest screen time at 24 minutes, a forward looking scientist of 1890 whose new invention produces a laser that destroys a boulder (a nice nod to "The Invisible Ray" of 1936), but alarmingly earns the attention of a space invader out to put an end to mankind's interference. Why the alien decides to use an accomplished razor wielding psychotic as a go between, continuing to supply him with more female victims to butcher, makes this a truly unpleasant viewing experience, and once Mayer too falls under the telepathic control of its evil influence (both characters giving off deadly signs of radiation) the picture simply stops dead with no further development. The local villagers are in an uproar as they search for the missing victims, every woman save for Mayer's daughter just another corpse for the morgue, far too much footage given over to sleazy exploits than its ailing star. What could have been the best of this final four is a jumbled collection of ideas that fail to coalesce, though Boris as usual is able to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear in beefing up Mayer's resistance to his brain's unwelcome occupant. The lone alien on display looks like a reject for Gerrit Graham's part of Beef in Brian De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise," essentially a parody before there was such a thing. It's an astonishing twist of fate that this Karloff feature would actually echo the nuclear message of Lugosi's farewell "Plan 9 from Outer Space," whose invaders were just as rash and incompetent, while the mob of torch wielding villagers offer a pleasant reminder of the good old days at Universal. Few people could have caught up with this obscurity until the butchered VHS version called "Alien Terror," not the best way to enjoy Karloff's last screen performance, though sadly ironic is the ultimate fate of writer/producer Luis Enrique Vergara, following his leading man into the afterlife by dying just one year later at a shockingly youthful 47.

For Fans of Boris Karloff and B-Movies from the 50's

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 17 March 2022]

In the end of the Nineteenth Century, Prof. John Mayer (Boris Karloff) and his assistant, the scientist Dr. Isabel Reed (Maura Monti), accidentally discover a powerful ray. An alien (Sergio Kleiner) travels to Earth to destroy the machine since it would be a threat to the universe. He initially possess the sexual maniac and serial-killer Thomas (Yerye Beirute) to get close to Dr. Mayer during the demonstration of the machine to scientists and military. Dr. Mayer's niece Laura (Christa Linder) meets his acquaintance, the chemical Dr. Paul Rosten (Enrique Guzmán), and Dr. Mayer invites him to join the research. When Thomas gets close to Dr. Mayer, the alien also possess his brain, to destroy the device and his notes. Meanwhile, Thomas is not able to control his impulses and attacks several women with his razor blade.

"Alien Terror" is a Mexican sci-fi-horror film highly recommended for fans of Boris Karloff and B-Movies from the 50's. This is the penultimate Boris Karloff's film and therefore a great attraction for his fans. The edition and the cinematography are terrible, but it is OK for a low-budget movie. The screenplay is not bad. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Alien Terror"

Yet another example of "so bad it's 'good'" cinema.

[Hey_Sweden · 5/10 · 14 December 2019]

Boris Karloff once again gives a performance that outclasses a shoddy production. The last of the four Mexican-American cheesy B's that the genre star made before his death, it stars Karloff as John Mayer, a scientist in 19th century Europe. He's perfected a ray machine; it attracts the attention of a rather harmless looking spaceman. Believing that Mayers' invention must be destroyed, the spaceman (Sergio Kleiner) forces lady killer Thomas (the hulking Yerye Beirute) to work for him, and the psycho infiltrates the Mayer household.

Also starring Enrique Guzman as young scientist Paul Rosten, Christa Linder as Mayers' lovely niece Laura, and an appealing Maura Monti as Mayers' disfigured assistant Isabel, "The Incredible Invasion" a.k.a. "Alien Terror" may be just the thing for some lovers of cinematic trash. Granted, it can be slow and dull at times, with uninspired direction and a silly script co-written by actor Karl Schanzer (whom you may remember as the sleazy lawyer in "Spider Baby"). It doesn't have any real atmosphere, and the score is hilariously ineffective. But it does offer some fun, provided you're partial to this sort of thing to begin with.

As with the other movies, this had Mexico-lensed scenes helmed by Juan Ibanez, and Jack Hill (the B movie great who gave us classics like "Coffy", "The Big Doll House", and "Switchblade Sisters") handling the L.A. studio scenes. (Jose Luis Gonzalez de Leon is credited as a co-director.) Sadly, Karloff's failing health is apparent; he couldn't move about very much, and required the use of a mobile oxygen unit, but he's still effortlessly delightful, giving as much as he can to a fairly standard kind of genre character.

It may be of some interest to people to compare these four movies and decide how best to rank them. This isn't the most entertaining, but neither is it the worst of the bunch.

Five out of 10.

Hammer horror meets alien invasion flick in this Karloff-starring Mexican madness

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 17 March 2015]

There are a lot of things wrong with this movie; the plot is clichéd and routine, the editing and photography bad, the acting and dubbing appalling. Yet, despite of all these detractions, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this science fiction / horror hybrid which successfully mixes both genres by the crude methods of having two sub-plots which regularly clash. So far I've only seen two of the Karloff/Mexican quartet made shortly before the actor's death, but this beats DANCE OF DEATH hands down by never succumbing to boredom.

Things open with two scientists experimenting with radium with machinery that looks like its come straight out of a Hammer Frankenstein movie. Throughout this movie there is a definite Hammer influence in the setting and the costumes, what with the low-cut dresses of the women, the horse and carts that the men drive and the mob of torch-wielding villagers who go on the rampage at the end. Although the poor film stock used and the washed-out colours make this look like a cheap imitation, it's the thought that counts and ALIEN TERROR benefits from the similarity.

The two scientists are soon revealed as Boris Karloff and his female assistant, who has been facially scarred (a typical requirement for the genre). Karloff actually has a fair bit of screen time in this film, I would say about half an hour of it, which was something of a surprise. Obviously all of his scenes are filmed on one set again, and sometimes, hilariously, a double stands in for him just like that guy did for Bruce Lee in GAME OF DEATH. At the end we see Karloff supposedly watching his house burn down, although it's obviously just an actor with fake grey hair - luckily he never turns round! At another time Karloff appears with his mask on while another actor dubs his voice - the only trouble being that a Mexican trying to sound British doesn't work very well. The effect is absolutely hilarious! Anyway, on the arrival of a UFO (animated), an alien visitor arrives on our planet. Is he slimy, scaly, scary? Well, err, no. Actually this "alien" is a blond guy with wavy hair wearing a shiny silver suit! Again, another moment of hilarity comes from his presence. He spends a lot of time lurking in bushes watching people, or hiding out in his UFO, which is commendably surreal with a blue-lighted set. His plan is to destroy all of Karloff's equipment which has the power to destroy the universe - basically this is a variation on an old theme. But first he must possess a number of people into doing his will.

The possession occurs via a translucent "blob" (briefly seen, but it looks just like THE BLOB) which melts into the victim's hand. I'm not making this up. The first to go is a swarthy man called Thomas, who also happens to be a sadistic sex murderer who receives sexual pleasure from hacking up his female victims with a straight razor. Thus the scene is set for a number of non-gory but pretty grisly murders in which the females are at first seduced and then killed. Incidentally, this is a very sexist film, in which EVERY female character wants a man to be with and only has one thing on her mind - sex! Subservient isn't the word.

After a string of murders (as there is apparently no police presence in the village, nobody cares), Thomas eventually reaches Karloff's laboratory where Karloff himself is possessed by the "blob". They also find time to fit in a cool scene where a bunch of flowers wither and die because of the radiation the "blob" emits. More people die, a bland young scientist hero investigates, Thomas is wounded and butchered by the vengeful villagers and the alien presence is destroyed - only for Karloff to blow up his equipment anyway, and for the alien to leave happily! Which begs the question...why didn't the alien just go and ask Karloff in the first place? It would have saved an awful lot of time and effort.

The acting is generally bad but fun to watch, of course with the exception of Karloff who once again gives his all and is the best actor in the film. However, honours must go to Yerye Beirute's snarling turn as the sex murderer, for managing to create such a loathsome, despicable character. Plus, a couple of the female leads are given more to do than usual, including one getting possessed by the alien herself in a shocking twist. Everything else about the film is pedestrian, but in the mish-mash of plot ideas, there are a couple of neat twists. The "alien possession" theme would later be explored (through much better special effects) in the likes of THE HIDDEN, which came twenty years later. ALIEN TERROR may be cheap and dodgy entertainment, but it passes the time quite nicely and is a bit better than you would expect from its lack of pedigree.

Yerye Beirute ROCKS

[k-schwertl92 · 7/10 · 9 July 2013]

I don't know what it is about this one actor, but Yerye Beirute ROCKS. Not because he was a good actor (he was OK) but because you can make so much fun about his character in FEAR CHAMBER/THE TORTURE ZONE (Roland) and in THE INCREDIBLE INVASION/ALIEN TERROR (Thomas). They are both so over the top you have to make fun about them.

I had a pretty good time with this film. Taking it for what it is, this film is very enjoyable. Enjoy it with some good friends and have some beer and you will find yourself having a wonderful time. The hardly makes any sense, the dialogues are beyond bad, ... It's a very special kind of a stupid film and very enjoyable as well.

There's some kind of an anti-nuclear message in it, but it's a very forgettable one.

A fabulous disaster

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 18 January 2021]

Boris Karloff's last film, this Mexican/American combo platter is really something else. Much like Isle of the Snake People, Fear Chamber and House of Evil, the main action was filmed by Juan Ibáñez while Jack Hill took care of the American footage and anything Karloff appears in.

The story takes place in Gudenberg, as Professor John Mayer (Karloff) has invented a laser weapon that runs on nuclear power. As he tests it, he nearly shoots down a UFO, which leads to aliens coming to our planet to shut down his plans.

That's what they claim the plot is, but man, this has some twists and turns and veers off into some strange places. Which, you know, is just how I like it.

Karloff has an assistant, Dr. Isabel Reed, which is pretty woke for 1890 to have a female mad scientist. She's played by Maura Monti, the Mexican Batwoman and she just might be in love with their Igor, who is named Thomas (Yerye Beirute, who was made for roles like these and as the big heavy in movies like Ladrones de Cadaveres). Sure, he just happens to be a sex murderer and an alien gets in his brain and all his victims suddenly become radioactive and this run-on sentence should explain just how convoluted this movie is.

Somehow, Christa Linder (Night of 1000 Cats) figures into this as Karloff's niece and the eighty-year-old horror hero - never far from oxygen and frequently sitting - gets possessed by aliens who finally make him blow up his entire house just to prove a point that man is not ready for nuclear power.

I watched this whole thing and really was baffled by every single minute, which is often how I judge a movie that I love. Bring on the nonsense!