From Hell It Came

I saw From Hell It Came (1957) for the first time as part of the Sivads of March film festival this past Sunday afternoon. As the final event of the 4-day festival, it was a priceless example of some of the hokey horror featured in Fantastic Features. Lots of fun was had by all, and there were plenty in attendance even for this last film. This is another in a long line of seriously sexist horror films -I'm still surprised when I hear people wax eloquent over how wonderful the 50's were. I couldn't believe the clothes the female scientist brought to wear on this primitive assignment! The monster reminded me a bit of the talking trees in the Wizard of Oz movie, except that somehow, though this monster could walk, it didn't have nearly the sense of movement that Dorothy's trees did. Director Dan Milner also directed The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues.

trailer, with commentary:


view the entire film:



Stomp Tokyo calls it "goddamned wretched" and says,

From Hell It Came is viciously slow going, with long chunks of uninteresting dialogue, uninteresting characters, a romantic subplot that borders uncomfortably on harassment, and worst of all, a strolling monster.

DVDTalk says it "is a competently directed but absolutely hilarious horror romp known as one of the silliest of 50s monster movies" and rates it "Awful and Very Entertaining". WTF Film criticizes the racism, the sexism, the propaganda, the acting and the production and warns, "this one is definitely better left as a fond memory of days long since passed," though they like one scene: "the image of it [the monster] rising from the depths of a fire pit is a welcome exception, and as iconic as anything in cult cinema history." The New York Times is reported to have offered this review: "To Hell it can go."