The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)

The Shiny Spinning Coffee Pot in the Desert, 17 April 2009

Not a very hard plot to describe: an alien force lands in the desert and soon begins to use animals (and a few weaker-minded humans) to do its bidding. The terror begins when the animals go berserk and start attacking the humans. In the end, the creature is discovered and defeated by something it cannot understand – love (no, I'm not making that up).

The Beast with a Million Eyes was the third movie in a three picture deal Roger Corman had worked out with the cleverly named American Releasing Corporation (later AIP). Because this was the last movie in the deal, there wasn't much money left for a budget as is painfully obvious. Corman's plan to use a mostly invisible, unseen creature that attacked people through thought waves was genius in that it could be done cheaply with little to no special effects. Unfortunately, it makes for one very dull experience. Instead of a cool creature, the movie relies on acting. And as with the special effects, there's little to no real acting taking place in the movie. Most everyone involved is horrible. The only thing of interest to be found in the cast is a very young Dick Sargent of Bewitched fame in his first credited role. The script doesn't help. Actors are forced to say the silliest, most unnatural lines imaginable. The "Million Eyes" of the title are more metaphorical than anything else. The Beast uses the million of eyes of the animals and humans it dominated to see with. Get it? Clever, huh? In fact, the whole title – The Beast with a Million Eyes – is, to say the least, misleading. But I suppose it drew a bigger crowd than a more accurate title like The Shiny Spinning Coffee Pot in the Desert would have. Finally, there's that whole beyond hokey ending where (once again) love conquers all. Oh please! Can we be just a bit more cliché?

Obviously, The Beast with a Million Eyes is far from the best sci-fi movie or the best Roger Corman related movie out there. But it does get a bonus point or two for effort and trying something different. Who knows, with a real budget, real special effects, a real Beast, a real script, and real actors, things might have turned out differently.

3/10