After a herd of reindeer are mysteriously found dead following a meteor crash in a remote part of Lapland in northern Sweden, soldiers and a geologist are called out to investigate.
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I saw the original 1958 Swedish version of this icebound sci-fi movie called TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN as opposed to INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE, the version which Jerry Warren distributed on TV after cutting out extraneous material and adding John Carradine as narrator. My advice is for viewers to always watch the original versions of such films wherever possible as the repackaged versions are invariably disappointing.TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN is a low budget and often laughable film in which very little happens during the slow-moving narrative. A cheesy meteorite crash-lands in the Arctic circle at the movie's outset and a plane-load of investigators are sent to investigate. There's also a figure skater thrown into the mix and lots of wooden dialogue from the English-dubbed actors. Eventually, and not until around the hour mark, a giant monster breaks loose and goes on a rampage. The creature looks like King Kong with a pig's snout and is completely ludicrous. The ending reminded me of THE WICKER MAN although with worse effects. Cult movie lovers will lap it up.
I recently obtained a copy (part of the excellent Sci-Fi Gold series) of Invasion Of The Animal People off E-Bay and found it OK if a little slow moving in parts.A spacecraft crashes in a remote area of Sweden and the Army and a geologist are sent to investigate this. They discover dead Reindear and then a huge hairy Yeti type monster on the loose which has come from the spacecraft. It kills some people and more animals and, as often in these movies, the monster kidnaps a girl.You don't actually get to see the monster until later in the movie and then it is mostly in the shadows.The copy I have is the American version directed by Jerry Warren and starring John Carradine.Although far from the best 1950's monster movie, Invasion Of the Animal People was fairly enjoyable if a little slow moving at times. To sum up, fairly average.Rating: 2 and a half stars out of 5.
One thing to know about this movie is that it was made in two different versions. One Swedish and one American. Most of the ones who have commented this film has obviously seen the American edition that was edited and added with extra scenes.From what I've read here and heard from others, the Swedish version is much better, still a really bad movie though, and it's a shame that only the American version has made it to the video market.From what I know the Swedish version only exists in one, maybe two, 35mm copies in Sweden and they are frozen for conservation.I've seen it a couple of times and I cant help laughing. We used to show it here in Kiruna every year at our film festival, Arctic Light Film Festival, but had to stop because it was to expensive to thaw the film.
Unlike most of the people who have reviewed INVASION OF THE ANIMAL PEOPLE here, I actually own the film. Which is not to say that I recommend it wholly, but the film does have its quirky charms.If you are unfamiliar with Jerry Warren films, then I'll tell you a few things about him. His films are paste-together jobs, usually bought from other countries(this one is Swiss),and reedited with unrelated footage of Americans, sitting around talking. This film has plenty of all those elements, and it looks like the original film was far better than the American version.First of all, although the Animal Person is cheap-looking, it is a welcome change of pace. There was definitely some care put into the costume, and the way the costume was photographed. All the Animal footage was done before Warren got his hands on it.He included scenes of John Carradine and Robert Burton talking. And talking. And it never has much to do with the other film, the one directed by Virgil Vogel. But, this strange brew of film cuts and loose ends has a certain sedative quality to it. When viewing the location footage, it is fairly serene and technically sound. The climax is shoddy, but this is a minor complaint in view of the footage Warren shot.I feel for you Vogel. INVASION...has some moments that will have you rolling in your seat, all unintentional. But, it is hard to recommend this to serious film fans because it is hardly a film, just a pistache of two separate directors' works. I would love to see the original foreign version of this film, but I will probably have to settle for the Warren-ized version. By default, this is Warren's best film, although he tried hard to undo that as well.Skip FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND or I WAS A HIPPY VAMPIRE, and skip this one too, unless you're in the mood for a REAL BAD movie.