Die Außerirdischen - Gesandter des Grauens

Poster tagline: SOMEWHERE IN THIS WORLD STALKS A THING THAT IS... NOT FROM THIS EARTH!!! It's no wonder why this film, considered by many to be Corman's best, has such a massive cult status in America. The film has hardly any special effects, no eye-candy scenes and the production design is nothing remarkable, and yet it’s great fun. The story itself – an alien under the guise of a weird rich guy secretly killing earthlings and collecting blood samples from them to send via beam to his home planet – has this sweetly bleak, horror overlay, and Corman's favorite actor Paul Birch as the alien is fantastic. He has a sinister expression, which does not show even minimal emotion, and machined monotone diction, yet he does not overact, although the role would tempt him to do so, and his minimalist acting is impressive. Corman directs economically, but despite the fact that you may not be a fan of conversational films (which this one partly is), you want to know what's coming next, what kind of poor bastard the alien will lure to his basement, where he burns his victims in a big oven, and the film builds to a show-stopping conclusion. Then, with an indulgent smile, you can safely overlook the unintentionally comical attack of the alien monster (a kind of bat with a jellyfish-like fan), where Corman didn't bother to retouch the ropes the monster was hanging by. The last shot, which hints at an open ending, or a never-ending battle with the alien race, is a delightful humorous wink by the director. (14.09.2013)

Der geheimnisvolle Mann im Anzug und mit schwarzer Brille, langsam sprechend und mit einer seltsamen Ausdrucksweise, sucht nach Blut, das er auf seinen Heimatplaneten schicken könnte. Eine erstklassige B-Movie-Idee. Damit hat Roger Corman mich nicht gerade umgehauen, aber es ist immer noch anständig (nicht dumm) geschrieben und unterhaltsam. Die Szene mit Dick Miller und seinem Blick in die Kamera à la "Wo bin ich hier gelandet?" ist fantastisch. Und das Filmplakat zu diesem Film ist einfach nur göttlich! (20.06.2018)