The Trollenberg Terror (1958)

not as good as all the hype

Expected more

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

In the 1950s and 1960s, if you were a British movie company, you stayed away from "genre" movies like this unless you had the resources and deep pockets of a company like Hammer Films. If you want to know why, just watch this very low budget British genre production. Being done on a shoestring, it is a really cheap-looking effort, with ample stock footage as well as flimsy sets and special effects. Actually, it's kind of hard to criticize the special effects because there simply aren't any on display for the bulk of the running time. The movie instead goes the route that one British actor labelled as "illustrated radio", with endless talk that is boring. It takes forever for the title creature to make an appearance, and while there is some unintentional amusement to see its rampage when it finally appears, the laughs are too little and too late to save the movie. Watch a Hammer movie instead if you want to see some old school British horror.

The filmic adaptation of a 1956 UK TV serial of the same name, The Trollenberg Terror is a whole bunch of fun and not deserving of the stinker reputation it has in some sci-fi loving circles.Action is set in Trollenberg, Switzerland and concerns a creature from outer space that has taken residence in a radioactive cloud atop of the Trollenberg mountain. As the bodies start to pile up and various climbers go missing on the mountain, the United Nations send a boffin to help the local scientists to hopefully solve the mystery.The effects work has been the source of some disdain, and in truth it's poor but not the worst from the 1950s pantheon of "B" schlockers. The back projection scenes are crude, but again in keeping with the fun aspects of the genre and era. However, Jimmy Sangster's screenplay is tight and produces brainy conversations and strong sequences.Horror comes by way of headless bodies turning up and that once sane people turn into maniacs as "the terror" weaves its magic. On the normal human side the narrative is given a boost by Janet Munro's (excellent) telepathic darling, something which troubles the visitors greatly and puts her in grave danger. The psychological aspects of the story mark this out as a genre piece of worth.Elsewhere director Quentin Lawrence does a study job with what is available to him, Forest Tucker is the hero in waiting, playing it reserved like, and Warren Mitchell proves good foil for Tucker and the Terror! It's not a great film, but it is a good one, let down in some tech departments for sure, but strengths elsewhere make up for its flaws. 7/10

I was scared to death by this movie at 6 when it was 2 years old. Later I found it in a movie store marked as one of the worst science fiction movies of all time. I bought it. The movie no longer scares me but it is well written and can be watched again and again if you don't mind drinking,smoking and offering the same to others when you want to be polite. I liked the acting, writing and story which to me were not over the top and let me add I like movies but am not a huge fan of 1950s science fiction. I am not fond of classics from that era when we were fighting the cold war and the aliens represent evil. The special effects are not special but if that makes no difference to you, this is a good movie.

It's 1958, and that's as good a year as any for some low-brow hokum.I also saw this as a kid, though some time in the early 1960's and on television. And I don't mind saying that it gave me quite a scare.Tension builds surprisingly well for what is patently a B-movie. And that is a clue to good direction. The actors are all from the second division, which helps in a way because it makes the 'ordinary' characters they play seem more believable.There are some suitably gruesome killings which ratchet-up the tension as the 'mysterious cloud' begins to drift about. Whatever's in there must be pretty nasty. 'Mysterious Cloud'; has there ever been a horror/thriller that didn't have one? 'The Fog', 'Independence Day', 'War Of The Worlds', 'The Mist'; you just can't beat a mysterious cloud for - well, clouding things with mystery.When the monsters finally disclose themselves, you either laugh out loud or hide behind the sofa. Huge eyes with a bunch of whiplash tentacles: no evident brain, no discernible digestive tract; these are just horror-props plain and simple. Interestingly, the beasties attack an avalanche-proof observatory and manage to shatter the thick, concrete walls. Presumably they just stare them to bits.Half a century ago; a credible, unquestioning audience gobbled their popcorn in a state of shock at the terrible aliens, 50 years on we can all have a good laugh at such truly terrible aliens.The bug-eyed monster never got better than this.