Rainey Dawn
As awful as this movie is "Eyes" kinda like it. There's not a lot that really happens yet quite a bit happens. Examples: loud airplane or buzzing noise, then cow keeps kicking over it's milk pail, birds swoop down on the father... but all this will start increasing over the course of the film.A lot of the movie deals with the drama between the daughter and her mother (her mother is jealous that her daughter will have more opportunities in life) - the father is sometimes dragged into it too. There is also a weird farmhand, he's mute so no one knows his name. They call him Him, but his name is Carl.The film is slow building but give it a chance. It's pretty bad but a fun B sci-fi overall. I can't believe how I was drawn into this one and watched until the end... no fast-forwarding at all.4/10
mark.waltz
Poor old Caroline won't let anybody milk her. Black birds attack, and Tippi Hedren is nowhere in sight. Old Duke bares his fangs and scares mother into pet-o-side. A mute ranch hand gets tired of the naked pin-ups in his Jud Fry like guest room in the barn and heads out into the desert, beckoned by some high-pitched sound. And poor mother can't even make a cake, burning it twice. It's her daughter's birthday, and while this family is obviously estranged, she's going to try. Will she wrap up the dead dog in a huge box with a bow on it as her present? All these questions and more await you in the Donna Reed Show of science fiction movies.Actually, this is more of a survival film than science fiction, that element totally understated. In one sense, that makes you want to like it more, because it's more psychological than supernatural. There are definite comical moments, particularly silent comic Chester Conklin's issues concerning trying to milk his beloved cow, but that unfortunately leads to tragedy. There are some very tense moments, but the final confrontation with the visitor from outer space is totally silly, with the vision of some kind of creature (a spider with one huge eye it looked like) inside the spaceship. Acting is OK with Lorna Thayer a bit emotionally over the top as the mother. Paul Birch tries to remain dignified throughout the proceedings. Dick Sargent has a small role as a local law enforcement officer. You won't totally hate it, but most likely, you'll just find it rather unsatisfying.
Spikeopath
It's all very well trying to forgive production values etc, by proclaiming that the writing has metaphors for the red scare, unity is powerful etc, but when the dialogue is delivered in such amateurish autocue fashion it struggles to impact. Add in to the mix that for the 75 minute run time the film is immeasurably dull, where someone off screen throwing a rubber blackbird at a car or live chickens at Lorna Thayer doesn't count as dramatic thrust, well you got exactly what The Beast with a Million Eyes is, namely an awful film.Plot finds the isolated Kelley family menaced by animals and their mute handyman when a spaceship lands near their home. Hence that is the million eyes of the title, as in a multitude of creatures of nature acting as surrogate baddies for the one beast in the ship. Which, as it turns out, proves to be a funky puppet we see at the end of the show.There is undoubtedly good ambition here, but the cold hard fact is that the budget wins the day, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. With bland interiors of the farm house rampant, and stilted camera work operating outside, film rarely appeals visually either. The poster art rocks, mind, and an opening shot of a tree with many eyes grabs the attention, even if it proves to be a false dawn.Midnite Movies DVD series have paired it with the equally dreadful Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, don't be fooled by those who say either film is a classic of low budget sci-fi, both films are the epitome of awfulness and should be avoided by those who want to keep their sanity in tact. 3/10
Woodyanders
The Kelley Family find themselves in considerable jeopardy when an evil alien force with the power to control minds lands nearby their ranch and causes all the animals to go into a lethal rage. Director David Kramarsky relates the absorbing story at a steady pace and does a sound job of creating an eerie atmosphere. The solid acting from a sturdy cast rates as another definite plus: Paul Birch as rugged rancher Allan Kelley, Lorna Thayer as his snippy wife Carol, Dona Cole as their cute, spunky daughter Sandra, Dick Sargent as amiable Deputy Larry Brewster, Leonard Tarver as hulking, pathetic mute handyman Carl, and Chester Conklin as cranky old-timer Ben Webber. The shivery orchestral score and the stark black and white cinematography by Everett Baker and Floyd Crosby further enhance the creepy tone. Moreover, the desolate desert location projects an unnervingly palpable sense of isolation and vulnerability. Granted, the hilariously horrendous (much less than) special effects leave a lot to be desired, but overall this film sizes up as a pretty nifty and enjoyable low-budget shocker.
AD
