Ultimately, Night of the Blood Beast earns points for trying something a little different during the 1950s sci-fi boom, but its execution falls flat.
Night of the Blood Beast is a 1958 science-fiction oddity directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and produced by the ever-prolific Roger Corman. Written by Martin Varno with credited revisions by Gene Corman, the film stars Michael Emmet as astronaut John Corcoran, alongside Angela Greene, John Baer, Ed Nelson, and Tyler McVey. Made on a shoestring budget of just $68,000 and filmed in a mere seven days, this is very much a product of Corman’s low-budget, high-volume approach to genre filmmaking.
Ironically, the behind-the-scenes history of Night of the Blood Beast is more compelling than the movie itself. Varno’s original script—written in about six weeks—became the subject of a lawsuit after he was paid less than Writer’s Guild of America’s scale and Gene Corman added his name to the writing credits. That production drama is fascinating, but unfortunately it doesn’t translate into excitement on screen.
The story centers on John Corcoran, the first American astronaut sent into space. (Remember, this was made before the U.S. had actually put a man in orbit.) His mission goes disastrously wrong when something strikes his spacecraft, sending it crashing into Bronson Canyon, a familiar filming location for countless low-budget genre films. A crash recovery team retrieves Corcoran’s body, apparently dead but oddly preserved. He has no heartbeat, yet his blood pressure is normal and his blood cells remain active.
As the scientists attempt to understand this medical mystery, strange phenomena plagues the nearby base station: power failures, magnetic interference, and eventually a deadly attack. The culprit is revealed to be an alien creature that has implanted embryos inside Corcoran’s body. When Corcoran inexplicably revives, he pleads for the alien’s life, insisting it is not malicious but merely trying to reproduce and survive.
On paper, Night of the Blood Beast has a genuinely intriguing concept. It even hints at ideas later explored in films like Alien. An extraterrestrial life-form using a human host, coupled with a plea for understanding rather than destruction, was a more thoughtful premise than that many sci-fi films of the era. Unfortunately, the ambition of the idea far exceeds the film’s resources.
The biggest problem is the alien itself. The creature design is distractingly awful, resembling a bizarre mashup of Captain Caveman, a parrot, and something best left undescribed. Rather than inspiring fear or awe, it provokes laughter. For a movie with such a lurid, promising title, Night of the Blood Beast is surprisingly dull. Much of the runtime is spent on stiff dialogue, pseudo-scientific exposition, and an impressive amount of cigarette smoking.
To the film’s credit, it is competently made. The performances are serviceable, the sets don’t look excessively cheap, and the outdoor cinematography in Bronson Canyon is well-lit and professionally shot. From a technical standpoint, there’s nothing outright broken here. But competence alone can’t save a movie that is both visually underwhelming and dramatically inert.
Ultimately, Night of the Blood Beast earns points for trying something a little different during the 1950s sci-fi boom, but its execution falls flat. Without the laughably bad monster, it would simply be boring rather than mildly amusing. As it stands, it’s an interesting curio rather than a must-see classic.
If you’re determined to watch it, the newly restored Blu-ray is the best option and looks far better than the cropped, battered TV prints floating around on streaming services. Still, this is one movie you can safely skip—and not miss much.
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
