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Fiend
Without A Face
review by Terry Wickham
"Invisible monsters suck out your brains!" It sounds so silly doesn't it. Surprisingly, this 1958 film is anything but silly. It's actually a neat little science fiction/horror film that capitalizes on the 50's atomic/nuclear power craze. Instead of atomic bombs, this tale focuses on how a nuclear power generator being used by the Air Force to create radar, is diverted by a local scientist into thought monsters. In the film they are referred as "mental vampires." They make bumpy, squishing sounds when they crawl. When they attack; they jump up attaching themselves to the back of your head, suck out your brain and spinal chord too! If that's not scary, I don't know what is. Director Arthur Crabtree plays the film straight and the results are entertaining. The special effects by Ruppell & Nordhoff and Peter Neilson are plentiful and inventive for their time. The film was shot in England and passes for what could be the United States. I thought Marshall Thompson did a fine job as Major Cummings. He's actually believable except for one laughable fight scene. Kynaston Reeves brought dignity and British royalty to the Professor Walgate character. Actress Kim Parker is a good looking woman who sports those cone shaped bras, so prevalent back in those days. There is supplement material that comes along with the movie, which includes lively audio commentary by genre writer Tom Weaver and executive producer Richard Gordon. There's also an insightful chronological photo breakdown of the history of the British science fiction horror film by Bruce Eder. There are also trailers, photo gallery and coming attractions for Fiend as well as The Haunted Stranger, Corridors of Blood, First Man Into Space, and The Atomic Submarine. We can thank The Criterion Collection for letting this little monster into our homes. They never cease to make important films available to us.
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