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.