Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: NR

Synopsis:
Richard Arden (Bernard Kay) from the Ministry of Space Research asks Dr. Curtis Temple (Robert Hutton) to investigate 9 meteors that fell to earth. Unfortunately, an automobile accident that left Dr. Temple with a metal plate in his head prevents him from travelling, so he sends his assistant/girlfriend Lee Mason (Jennifer Jayne) in his place. At the crash site, aliens take control of Lee and the other scientists and then take control of a bank manager (Edward Rees) to obtain a large sum of money. Next, the aliens try to take control of Dr. Temple but the plate in his head protects him. Temple decides to go to the crash site himself but finds it surrounded by an electrified fence and armed guards. When he demands to see Lee, she angrily tells him to go away and not come back. That same day, the residents of a town near the alien compound begin dying of a strange plague. Agent Williams (Michael Hawkins) of Internal Security warns Temple to stay away from the compound but that night, Temple watches a rocket ship launch from the compound into outer space. The next night, Temple breaks into the compound and discovers that the aliens have built a vast underground complex and that the plague victims are still alive. Unfortunately, Temple is captured and the alien controlling Lee orders him to be executed but he manages to escape, taking Lee with him. Hiding out at the home of his friend Farge (Zia Mohyeddin), Temple is able to create devices to protect others from being controlled and to detect the aliens. He also creates a ray gun that kills the aliens without harming the host and uses it on Lee. Since Lee remembers very little of what she did while she was controlled, Temple, Lee and Farge return to the alien complex armed with their new weapons. Stowing away on a rocket carrying Arden and the remaining scientists, the trio are captured and taken to the 'Master of the Moon'. The Master, who is controlling one of the scientists (Michael Gough), tells the trio that he and the other aliens are beings of pure mental energy and that the plague victims are being used as slaves to build a spaceship to return them to their home planet before they die. Luckily, Farge is able to escape and free the plague victims, rescuing Temple and Lee in the ensuing confusion. Realizing he's been defeated, the Master resigns himself to dying on Earth but Temple vows that he will help the aliens get back to their world if they release the scientists they’re controlling. The Master agrees and everybody lives happily ever after.

Type of mind control: Alien 'possession'

Mind control scenes:
The initial mind control takes place early in the movie when Lee and the scientists try to break open one of the meteors. A strange light surrounds Lee and when the light fades she speaks in a strange voice, explaining how ‘control of musculature and vocal chords is awkward but adequate’. She then orders her fellow aliens to take control of the other scientists and the same strange light briefly surrounds them. Lee's voice quickly returns to normal as the alien completes its connection. Other than the bank manager, we don't see the aliens take control of anyone else. We only see them after they've been 'possessed', walking around with intense looks on their faces and carrying out the alien plan.

Subjective Rating: 4 out of 5
There's plenty of mind control in this movie, with Lee and the other scientists spending most of the movie 'possessed' by the aliens. But other than the strange way Lee speaks when she's first controlled, there are no outward signs that she or the other scientists are being controlled, which is the key to the alien's plan. However, even without obvious signs of control, Jennifer Jayne does an excellent job of acting like she's being controlled. The change Lee undergoes when 'possessed' is small but very noticeable. Her voice and body language remain mostly the same but seemingly become more intense. Unfortunately, some of the other actors don't portray their 'possession' quite as well, either becoming too stiff and zombie-like or showing no change at all. I definitely recommend this movie but I wish I could have seen more of Jennifer Jayne and a little less of the 'hero' played by Robert Hutton.