Target Earth
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Movie Reviews of Target Earth
Movie Review: Raw Panic The Screen Never Dared Reveal!
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently saw this movie, and I have to admit it was pretty fun. Yeah, it was fairly cheap and cheesy, but a good, solid sci-fi b-movie. The story revolves around a group of individuals who find themselves trapped in recently evacuated city. Not knowing why the city is empty, they start looking for answers and find that the city has been taken over by an army of killer robots from space. (Well, for budgetary reasons, there is only one robot, but they use it again and again to create the illusion of many.) And the space robot looks pretty hokey, but whatever....did anyone else notice the sort of misogynic treatment of the women in this movie? Maybe this was par back in 1954, I don't know, but it seemed almost comical they way the men ordered the women around, telling them to keep quiet or to shut up and such. I also thought it was funny how Mort Marshalls' character, Charles Otis, was introduced, provided some exposition, and then was efficiently eliminated. Don't get me wrong, as his character was highly annoying, and a quick departure was welcome, but it all seemed a little to convienent. The story moves along, and there is a side story with the army trying to find a weakness in the alien invaders, devise a method to overcome them before they have to use atomic weapons on the city. The picture and sound are pretty good, and there are a few extras, including a sort of video homage and biography to the producer, Herman Cohen, who also made movies like I Was A Teenage Werewolf, I Was A Teenage Frankenstein, and Horrors Of The Black Museum. There is also a commentary track by either the producer or the director, I can't remember which.
Movie Review: A guilty pleasure, but great B movie entertainment
Summary: 3 Stars
Forget all of the national conflicts our planet has--the Venusians have now invaded with giant robots armed with death rays. That is the premise of this classic B movie science fiction matinee flick. All of the baby boomers remember those low budget sci-fi flicks that all us guys went to see. Well, this is one of the better ones, and actually features decent if not great acting, terrible special effects, but an actual storyline that I found surprisingly engaging after not seeing this flick for around 40 years.
A few people awake in a city to find it evacuated. Each missed the evacuation for his or her special reason; one woman had tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide with sleeping pills. They soon find that the city is menaced by huge electronic robots armed with death rays. Earth's (propeller-driven) bombers and artillery are powerless against the Venusian invaders, who are plainly the advance guard of a full-blown invasion.
Human technology carries the day (after all, we are all still here). No spoilers here.
As I noted above, this film, unlike some of these old science fiction matinee films, actually has a decent storyline and acceptable acting. Kathleen Crowley, in my opinion, turns in a particularly nice performance. Overall, this film is great fun and nostalgia, if one's expectations are not too high. I enjoyed it.
Movie Review: What If There Was An Invasion, And Nobody showed up?
Summary: 3 Stars
TARGET EARTH is basically a zero-budget War Of The Worlds. There are no alien ships. There are no spectacular special effects. No deep messages or insights into the human condition. Nope, this is sci-fi stripped down to it's basic elements. A small band of people, led by Frank (Richard Denning), have awakened to find the city of Los Angeles deserted except for themselves and a small army of killer robots from Venus. Due to financial constraints, there is only one robot. It is basically an old furnace with flexible dryer-duct legs. Sadly, the robot is only seen about 4-5 times, as it was fairly entertaining to watch while it lumbered along. The rest of the film has our not-so-merry bunch trying to stay out of the robot's way. A couple of them are hit by it's death-ray, and it does come crashing through a plate-glass window at one point. Otherwise, it's just vacant street scenes and discussions among the survivors about an invasion and devastation we never actually get to see. Of course, there's plenty of grainy old military stock footage as well. TARGET EARTH is not a bad movie, it's just not a classic. I still recommend it for diehard sci-fi maniacs...Movie Review: An overlooked minor gem, but NOT in widescreen
Summary: 3 Stars
You know, I'm not one of those people who insists movies be presented in widescreen. Especially for older movies, it's just not that big of a deal. But TARGET EARTH screams out for a widescreen transfer from the first HORRIBLY CROPPED FRAME. You can't even read most of the opening credits because of the sloppy transfer job. It's inexcusable, especially when you refer back to the box and see "Widescreen" prominently printed on the cover.Having said that, this was my first exposure to this taut, cheap little invasion flick, and I was fairly impressed. The black & white photography adds much to the feeling of isolation and desperation experienced by the characters. And the robot is pretty decent, by 50's sci-fi standards. Heckuva climax, too. But you'll have to see that for yourself.
Recommended for any fan of classic science fiction.
Movie Review: Pretty Good Tale of the Apocalypse. Not one of the best of it's kind but entertaining.
Summary: 3 Stars
Based off the excellent short story, "The Deadly City" by Paul Fairman, arrives this interesting 50s Sci-Fier. The story is about how a group of disparate people awaken in a metropolis to discover it abandoned and that there all alone....save for some hostile enemy robots! Well directed and with decent acting, the film uses it's Black and White cinematography quite efficently to build isolation and tension. The Robots are both cheesy and imposing, if that makes any sense. This film could have been somewhat better had characterization taken a more front seat and the film didn't slip into melodramatics. The short story was highly superior in it's terror, and even if this is a low-budget, much could have been made of this. Still, not completely unworthy of re-reviewing, especially for Sci-Fi buffs.