Fiend Without a Face (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

I love this movie and I'm happy with the DVD. My only minor qualm is that the transfer from film is either out-of-focus slightly or comes from a slightly blurry print. I understand some of these old films are hard to get great masters to work from so its noty a big deal. The price was right and I'm glad I have it.

In the wilds of Manitoba something is killing the locals and drinking their brains. Naturally the military base and its nuclear reactors are suspect but nobody thought to check on the reclusive mad scientist. He created floating brain monsters that have a hungry for human brains drinking them out of the victim’s skull like a vampire.Great 50s sci-fi. It hits all the beats, good science, bad science, angry villagers, pretty young assistant, bland military hero, and a really cool monster. The brains are mostly invisible, invisible monsters are great for reducing the budget but when they show up they look really good. The deaths of the brain monsters are surprisingly gory for a 50s sci-fi movie with the monsters probably a first for a sci-fi monster movie being vulnerable to bullets, as well as axes, and chunks of wood. It swiftly and efficiently glides through its 74 minute run time with ease. It is just the right amount for a movie like this. Too little and you don’t build enough tension, too much and the movie drags. The movie makes excellent use of the black and white photography to give some scenes a gothic feel. You can always tell that in the 50s when sci-fi took over as the acceptable horror they still wanted to make horror movies. Our hero’s trip to the local cemetery and exploration of the crypt shows they really were thinking of this as a horror movie. Remember don’t think too hard near a nuclear power station or bad stuff happens.

I have been looking for this movie on DVD for YEARS! I opened it up to where the disc was & saw the movie poster art for the movie inside. I thought that was COOL.

Haven't seen this movie in a long time.Just wanted it again last night

They were keeping the science real, even correctly describing how the "control rods" (damper rods) were necessary to control the reactor through the movie. However, in the end, they used the "American plan" and blew up the control room, which is NOT the way to shut down a reactor. Oh, well. I'm glad the unlikely CNS (central nervous system) monsters were not visible until the end. Never saw a nervous system yet with strong crawly appendages.It was interesting that they were able to get the look and feel of an American science fiction movie by using Canadian and American actors without ever leaving England.

I loved watching this old classic and recalling rainy Saturday afternoons in Beaumont, Texas, watching movies just like this and sleeping with the lights on that night! This one is sort of funny now but it has some decent special effects, for the time, and a good storyline, even if it does sort of ripoff "Forbidden Planet," like so many do. I highly recommend this old favorite!

This movie is, at times, eerie, suspenseful, corny and very interesting. It is a very well-done flick. Marshall Thompson is the only name I recognize in the cast. It can also be a bit scary and startling. This one centers around a "Mental Vampire" and has some scenes that are of film noir with the angles of lighting and shady. But, I don't want to reveal too much about this movie because it really can get interesting for a "B" Movie. Don't let this one get by you, I know there are some other people out there who are into the same sort of stuff that I am into. I can't be the only one, CAN I?

Jeff Shannon sums up my feelings with those 2 words, but if you enjoy reading shameless praise and rantings feel free to continue:This film, which I first saw when I was about 8 (back when they actually had things like triple-features in theatres), is just about the creepiest thing I've seen TO DATE. I'm not talking gore here (which it has in abundance and works great in B&W): I'm talking 'nightmare quality' story and cinematography. I saw this available in Criterion format and knew it was time to buy.Now you might think I'm squemish, going all sissy over a 50's B&W British horror film - almost a misnomer in and of itself!But I'm here to tell you I found and continue to find this film more chilling than 'Dawn of the Dead', 'Maniac', 'The Thing' (both versions) or any Lucio Fulci gorefest. Why?Everything was just right, from the stop-motion of the brains slithering across the lab floor to the diharettic sounds of blood burping from thier perforated corpses. Eeeeesh. I get chills just thinking about it.Not that it will stop me from watching it again this weekend...

I remember seeing this horror film when I was about 10 years old and it scared me to death. I watched it just last week and it still holds a lot of thrills and when things begin to happen, well...all I can say is that it still gives me the creeps!!Any movie from the Criterion collection is superb. Criterion cleans and restores the film and cleans up thesound. "Fiend Without A Face" is no exception. I'm glad that I purchased this 50's Horror classic.

a must for 1950's sci-fi fans.fiends are real creepy.don't see much of them until last 30 minutes.has kind of a british/canadian touch.

Was a present for someone.... They were pleased with it.

I watched this film when I was a youngster when the cinema's used to put on a B film(then an intermission) then the main film. So it was nostalgia but the film is actually superb. I can't even remember what the main film was.

Fiend Without a Face is directed by Arthur Crabtree and written by Herbert J. Leder and Amelia Reynolds Long (story The Thought Monster). It stars Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Michael Balfour and Kim Parker. Music is by Buxton Orr and cinematography by Lionel Banes.Some sort of invisible assailant loose on the Canadian border and is attacking a U.S. Army Base and the local residents in the surrounding area. The locals are convinced it has something to do with the nuclear power plant, the army not so, especially since the unseen foe's modus operandi is to suck out the brains and spinal cords of its victims!A mental vampire. A fiend!Wonderfully bonkers Brit sci-fi horror that nicely build premise and characters to then unleash the beasties in all their stop motion gory glory. It's a pay off well worth your patience, which when it comes down to it is not a lot to ask for in a movie that doesn't even run to 80 minutes. Standard clichés of many 50s creature feature schlockers apply, such as romance, straight backed heroics, dumb decisions made and averted, nice characters, bad characters, silly dialogue and some incredibly creaky science.The principles of thought control.The budget is obviously not stretching to great heights, but Crabtree was adept at creating great suspense and atmosphere with minimal cash funds, as he proves here. There's a sense of paranoia drifting over everything, perfect for the 50s fear of the nuclear age, and scenes such as when our hero is trapped in a mausoleum are skillfully crafted for maximum impact. Then the last 15 minutes arrive and it's The Alamo as our roll call of survivors try and stave off the attack of the killer brains! Delightful creations that look like brain snails with spinal cords that leap around and attach themselves to the victims necks.The effects are nifty for the era, the gore equally so, while the sound effects, and Orr's brilliant musical score, are of a real high quality. Daft for sure, but not insultingly so like so many cheaply turned out films of the time, this is a 50s sci-fi horror fan's fun bag ticket for a good night in. 8/10