TALES FROM THE CRITERION CRYPT
Oct 30, 2009In the spirit of the season, we asked a select coven of horror mavens (including a couple of our own) to write about their favorite Criterion scarefests. 445 . . .
Synopsis
A scientist’s thoughts materialize as an army of invisible brain-shaped monsters (complete with spinal-cord tails!) who terrorize an American military base in this nightmarish chiller, directed by Arthur Crabtree (Horrors of the Black Museum). This outstanding sci-fi/horror hybrid is a special effects bonanza, and a high-water mark in British genre filmmaking.
Cast
| Major Cummings | Marshall Thompson |
| Prof. Walgate | Kynaston Reeves |
| Barbara Griselle | Kim Parker |
| Col. Butler | Stanley Maxted |
| Capt. Chester | Terence Kilburn |
| Mayor | James Dyrenforth |
| Const. Gibbons | Robert MacKenzie |
| Dr. Bradley | Peter Madden |
| Dr. Warren | Gil Winfield |
Credits
| Director | Arthur Crabtree |
| Producer | John Croydon |
| Executive producer | Richard Gordon |
| Screenplay | Herbert J. Leder |
| Original story | Amelia Reynolds Long |
| Music | Buxton Orr |
| Conducted by | Frederic Lewis |
| Lighting cameraman | Lionel Banes |
| Editing | R.Q. McNaughton |
| Set designer | John Elphick |
| Special effects | Ruppell & Nordhoff and Peter Neilson |
Disc Features
- New widescreen transfer, with digital picture restoration and enhanced for 16×9 televisions
- Audio commentary: a conversation with executive producer Richard Gordon and genre film writer Tom Weaver
- Illustrated essay on British sci-fi/horror filmmaking by film historian Bruce Eder
- A collection of trailers from Gordon Films: Fiend without a Face, The Haunted Strangler, Corridors of Blood, First Man into Space, and The Atomic Submarine
- Rare still photographs and ephemera, with commentary
- Vintage advertisements and lobby cards
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
From the Current
Fiend Without a Face
by Jan 29, 2001Invisible monsters suck out your brains!And that’s just for starters. They suck out your spinal cord too. They make crunchy, slurpy, thumping sounds when they crawl. They strangle you with something when they leap on you and bite through . . .
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