Customer Reviews
Egg Eyes, Beetle Brows, and Atomic Blow-Outs 
2006-01-27
Peter Graves can't catch a break. First he's killed in a plane crash and then he comes to half-naked and vulnerable in the hands of egg-eyed creatures from outer space who plan to invade earth--because their own world is dying, so they say, but I suspect they're just really in search of a beautician with a really good set of eyebrow tweezers. O-kaaaaay...
This 1954 abomination was directed by William Lee Wilder, brother of noted director Billy Wilder. Apparently Willie began his career as a manufacturer of ladies' handbags and when Billy hit it big in Hollywood he went out west, traded on the family name, and proceeded to make bags of a slightly different kind. These included PHANTOM FROM SPACE and THE SNOW CREATURE, the latter of which is often said to rival THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS as the single worst pseudo-sci-fi horror flick in the entire history of cinema. By most accounts the brothers didn't speak much.
Peter Graves, very young here, arises from the alien operating table clutching his tattered flight suit around him in the manner of a despoiled virgin and manages to keep a straight face when he espies all this bad costuming. He also does a lot of running: from the police, the military, the military police, wife Ellen, and giant alien-mutated cockroaches and such. For his efforts he is rewarded by seeing the aliens explode in an atomic blow out, which he somehow glimpses from what seems to be a bedroom window that unexpectedly appears in what seems to be a hydro-electric plant. Well, don't ask me, I only live here and I only know it is so.
Bad movies can be a lot of fun to make fun of, and KILLERS FROM SPACE is no exception; even so, there is a limit to the number of giggles you can drain off from this one. The movie is good for perhaps two viewings, ideally under the influence, before you palm it off on an unsuspecting rummage sale customer.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
I'll Take This "B" Movie Over A Coma Anyday 2005-09-19
I've seen hundreds of Sci Fi movies over the years. This is one of those you'll wonder whether you've watched it or not a few years down the road. You just can't remember.
All in all, I figure it's still better to watch a so-so Sci Fi movie than "Dances With Wolves" or "Evita". This movie will end up being non-memorable, but it's preferable to being in a coma.
Killers from Space: Low on Credibility High on Goofiness 
2005-07-07
KILLERS FROM SPACE is your standard 50s fare about an alien race trying to conquer the earth. Director W. Lee Wilder shows very little imagination in a plot that I am sure he meant as a cautionary tale of the insidiousness of the Red Menace that was then believed to be lurking under every pot. Peter Graves is the Handsome But Confused Hero who is shot down while flying over a nuclear bomb blast in Nevada. He survives the crash only to mysteriously reappear with a strange scar on his chest. You would think that this scar ought to have mattered plotwise. If a troop of uniformed aliens with impossibly googly eyes were to go to the trouble of kidnapping him for his scientific knowhow, then these aliens should have found a more credible way of extracting this data than merely ordering him to place it under a desert rock. While hiding from the aliens, Graves sees an assorted series of dinosaur sized lizards, spiders, and roaches, all of which are the vanguard of the alien assault on earth.
Truly, this is a nitwit film that allows Grave little more to do than to continually rub his eyes as he views a superimposed set of bugging out alien eyeballs that hover in front of him in every other scene. The climax of his turning off the electricity in the local power plant is so dumb as to be insulting. The only redeeming quality of this film is the hoped for element of plain goofiness that saves it from being a bottom feeder.
Bait perfect for the MST3K crew... 
2005-02-24
If you get a kick out of these kinds of movies (like me), then you will enjoy this one, which is better than most. Read other reviews for the plot highlights, but here are some details I noticed: 1) The planes dropping the nuclear bombs for tests are prop planes, while the jet fighter following to gather data flies a ve-e-e-ry slow circle of about 25 feet in diameter, 2) The call sign for the jet chase plane is "Tar Baby 2" (HOLY CATFISH!! They could NEVER get away with that today...definitly NOT politically correct...tar baby indeed...), and 3) When our hero goes to make a call on a pay phone, he drops a coin in the NICKLE slot...and I know I saw it correctly, because the pump jocky calling the police on our hero dropped a nickle also. What really cracks me up is the aliens are humanoids, but they have these big googly eyes like Cookie Monster or the South Park kids...or like zombies from even older movies...too good for words...
These killers only manage to kill some of your precious time 2004-12-01
Another awful 50's science fiction entry in the never-ending sweepstakes for the Worst Film Of All Time award. I don't want to rush to judgment by calling the director W. Lee Wilder a schlockmeister as others are quick to but there's scant little evidence to the contrary here. And the only thing that the so-called killers from space come even close to killing is the career of actor Peter Graves. Even so I notice that there are a number of defenders with comments here giving this film a 'thumbs-up' as one of the 'so-bad-it's-good' variety. I can't agree with them though. 'Killers From Space' is just plain boring and never manages to generate any excitement or suspense, although it does provide at least a small dosage of unintentional laughs occasionally. The best laughs come when scientist Doug Martin (played by Graves) recalls his experiences while under the influence of truth serum. Martin was pulled from a plane wreckage and though he was dead he was revived by the aliens who then mesmerized him into carrying out a spy & sabotage mission on their behalf. If you must watch be sure to take a good look at the scenes of Martin regaining consciousness on an operating table with a trio of extraterrestrials hovering over him - this is the stuff of UFO legends. Similar stories of alien abduction have been recounted many times in the five decades since this film was released leading one to postulate hmmmmmm...
As the scenes in the cave continue to play out Martin tries to affect an escape by following several pathways in the caverns. He soon comes across the aliens really big "animal armies" (that's what they called them!) which are supposed to ravage the earth so the aliens can assume control of the planet. It's an endless tour of countless insects but the emphasis is clearly on a plethora of spiders - but what "animal army" would be complete without the dreadful and frightening giant horned toad? All of these scenes are done with the usual rear projection screen with Graves doing his best to look scared. There is a brief scene where the aliens demonstrate to Martin how they will dispose of the overgrown creatures after they are no longer needed that puts a whole new twist on the term "smoking roaches". But by far the funniest sequence in the film is during the last few minutes which has Graves running through a power plant wearing a bathrobe and his pajamas frantically trying to turn off the power! Now that is the kind of 'action' that turns Grade-Z movies into film folklore. But what 'Killers From Space' is best known for are the aliens absolutely awful makeup design. Once seen the eggy eyeballs will not be forgotten. I guess you might say they see the sunny-side of life.
Fortunately for Peter Graves he was able to overcome these meager beginnings to get memorable roles in the classic movies 'Stalag 17' and 'Night Of The Hunter' and went on to become a household name with starring turns in the television series 'Mission: Impossible' and later the two 'Airplane' movie spoofs. In case you didn't know the director, W. Lee Wilder, is the estranged brother of Billy Wilder - and it's clear to see that Billy had all the talent in his family! The story's author is listed as Myles Wilder and although I can't be sure I'm going to guess that with that last name he is some sort of relative or family member also. The screenplay author is William Raynor who wrote the screenplays for such 'classic' movies as 'The Secret Of Outlaw Flats', 'Murder Without Tears', 'Timber Country Trouble' and of course he even provided dialogue for Francis the Talking Mule in 'Francis In The Haunted House'. Consequently I got just what I was asking for when I put this DVD into my player here at home. Although I didn't like this movie at all I gave it three stars only for the few brief sequences that gave me giggles and because they are several others here who thought enough of it to classify it as 'so-bad-it's-good'. Judge for yourself...if you must!
ALPHA DVD VERSION 
2007-01-03
ONE OF THE ALL TIME CHEEZIE 1950'S SCI-FI CLASSICS...RIGHT ALONGSIDE "THE GIANT GILA MONSTER", "KILLER SHREWS", "ATTACK OF THE 50FT. WOMAN", "TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE" AND "THE GIANT CLAW"...DID I LEAVE OUT "THE MOLE PEOPLE" & "HORROR AT PARTY BEACH"?...LET'S NOT FORGET "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE", "ROBOT MONSTER" & "BEGINNING OF THE END"!!!!
DIRECTED BY BILLY WILDER'S LESS FAMOUS BROTHER W. LEE WILDER (PHANTOM FROM SPACE), THIS IS THE MOVIE WITH THE ALIENS WITH THE PING PONG BALL EYES!!! THEY WEAR HAND-ME-DOWNS FROM OLD REPUBLIC SERIALS, & THREATEN TO TAKE OVER THE EARTH WITH GIANT REAR-SCREEN PROJECTED INSECTS & SUCH. STAR PETER GRAVES STUMBLES ABOUT AIMLESSLY IN THE BRONSON CANYON CAVES.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE CONVERSATION AT A WILDER FAMILY GET-TOGETHER?
BILLY: WHAT YOU BEEN UP TO LATELY W. LEE?
W. LEE: GOT A PRETTY GOOD PROJECT GOING. YOU?
BILLY: I'M DIRECTING JACK LEMON, TONY CURTIS & MARILYN MONROE IN "SOME LIKE IT HOT".
W. LEE: OH YEAH!...I'M DIRECTING PETER GRAVES IN "KILLERS FROM SPACE"!!!
BILLY: GEE...I HOPE IT'S BETTER THAN "PHANTOM FROM SPACE".......
........BUT, YOU KNOW, OVER THE YEARS, I'VE SEEN "SOME LIKE IT HOT" MAYBE TWICE...BUT "KILLERS FROM SPACE" I'VE SEEN AT LEAST A DOZEN OR SO TIMES & HAVE IT ON BOTH VHS & DVD!!!
I WAIT FOR "SOME LIKE IT HOT" TO SHOW UP ON TV ON TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES...
THE ALPHA DVD IS VERY GOOD, AN IMPROVEMENT ON MY VHS TAPE...& THE COVER IS GREAT TOO!!!
1950'S SCI-FI FUN. ONE OF THE BEST OF IT'S KIND. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
endearing minor s sci-fi B movie 2006-11-06
Peter Graves plays Dr Doug Martin ,whose plane goes missing during a nuclear test in the Nevada desert .He is at first presumed dead but eventually turns up with no memory of anything and with his chest covered in what appear to be surgical scars.
Under hypnosis it emerges that he has been kidnapped by aliens from Astro Delta who are intent upon using him as an unwitting ally in their plans to take over the world ,a scheme which also involves giant reptiles and insects .
The special effects are what mainly lets this movie down -they are truly lamentable even by the standards of low budget mid 50, science fiction ,and the bug eyed aliens are especially silly with their black costumes and patently false bug-eyes .
The idea is quite imaginative and the pace is brisk with a nice line in Cold War paranoia both with the alien invasion plot and the approval given to the role of the FBI snoopers .Poor acting is no help either .
It is watchable but scuppered by technical inadequacay
classic science fiction 2006-08-17
I like the old science fiction movies,they are more realistic than some alien melting from a bad acid trip in the latest sci-fi movies they have now,maybe the producers of the sci-fi movies of now were acid heads!how ever they show a great lack of imagination and fill in their movies with special effects when there isn't any acting talent in the actors ,to dazzel the uneducated audience with this garbage,is to call them stupid, and the stupid audience will eat this garbage up!eat up!stupid!
Stupid enough to be fun 2006-06-23
This has got to be one of the first "alien abduction" pictures. Peter Graves stars as a nuclear scientist kidnapped and brainwashed by a gang of aliens with great big googly Muppet eyes. When he regains his memory, everyone thinks he's nuts, babbling about flying saucers and giant insects. But is he? Graves and his wife sleep in seperate beds...guess the marraige isn't going so hot, huh? This is another film from the Mills Creek Sci-Fi Classics thingy, and while it isn't quite a schlock classic like Teenagers From Outer Space or Robot Monster, KFS isn't entirely terrible either. Mildly recommended for one of those nights when you have a ton of time to kill.
B-Science Fiction Alien Movie 2006-02-02
This movie has all the trappings of classic B-science fiction movies. There are the cheesy aliens, the hokey, out-sized critters, awful space craft special effects, and lots of stock footage of aircraft that do not match the scenes or each other. In other words, this is great stuff. But wait, there is more! Peter Graves is the star!
Dr. Douglas Martin (Peter Graves) is monitoring test explosions of nuclear weapons from a jet. As Dr. Martin and the pilot are flying around, which is shown by an obvious model performing impossible turns, they see something unusual on the ground. Faster than you can say "I was kidnapped by aliens," their jet crashes into the ground, killing both. But wait, here comes Dr. Martin up to the main gate of the military base. We later found out that those evil aliens saved Dr. Martin so that he could help them learn when the next nuclear test is.
Everyone is suspicious of Dr. Martin because he is acting strangely. When he offers to take out the garbage his wife knows he has been brainwashed by aliens (okay, I made that up, but it could have happened!). After acting weird for a while, Dr. Martin returns to the aliens, where we learn that aliens from a planet that is dying want to move to earth, where the property values are higher, there is food for their giant critters collection, and, I almost forgot, our sun still shines.
What the aliens have been doing is stealing the power from our nuclear explosions. They have been saving it up in special nuclear power containers, which they keep powered by energy stolen from our electric grid. The aliens want the nuclear power because it will (as everyone has known forever) help their giant critter population explode, eventually eliminating every human on earth, which will then allow the aliens to move in. Of course, Dr. Martin immediately realizes that the evil aliens can be readily defeated by calmly explaining to the local authorities about the aliens and their giant critters waiting in caves in the ground, stealing the energy from our nuclear explosions, and they will insist the power grid be turned off, which will then unleash the nuclear energy, destroying the aliens. Have you ever wondered why no one listens to the one person who can save mankind in these movies?
I liked this movie. It was fun catching the mistakes in the stock footage (one kind of helicopter takes off, it becomes another kind of helicopter, and then switches back to the original - this is great stuff). It was also fun seeing the blown-up shots of horned lizards, tarantulas, and various insects, even though the gigantic invertebrates could not survive in our gravity. I guess the theory in these movies was that if you were going to stretch science, may as well totally throw science out the window. I also found it interesting that the super-sophisticated aliens needed Dr. Martin to tell them when the next nuclear explosion was going to happen. You would think these people had never heard of a circuit breaker.
Anyway, this was a fun movie with lots of veteran actors, such as Frank Gerstle, who also appeared in "The Wasp Woman," and John Frederick, who appeared in "The Alligator People." You just know that the actors in this movie are all class. If you like 1950s era B-science fiction movies, this one is, while less than great, worth a watch.
