Good Professor Elliot (Raymond Bond) has set up shop on an island near the Scottish Moors. A newly discovered planet dubbed “Planet X” (no word on if it contains the extremely rare Alludium Phosdex, the shaving cream atom) is traveling close to Earth. The Professor has invited his friend reporter John Lawrence (Robert Clarke) to see the planet as it passes by. Professor Elliot has the unscrupulousDr. Mears (William Schallert) as an assistant.
Elliot’s daughter Enid (Margaret Field) is also on the island. Lawrence and Enid hit it off and go for a walk where they discover a strange cylinder probe. Professor Elliot is fascinated by it but Dr. Mears wants to profit off of the new alien metal. One night Enid stumbles across a spaceship that has landed in a field. A strange looking alien is inside and when Enid brings her father back to the ship a ray turns Professor Elliot into a mindless easy to control zombie.
Enid manages to break Professor Elliot free and the next day they all return to the ship thinking that it must have come from Planet X. Not wanting a panic or a circus they decide not to alert the authorities. They find a strange alien in a space suit that doesn’t speak English. Not sure what the creature wants they take it back to their base where Dr. Mears starts torturing it unbeknownst to the rest of the group. Then things get out of hand.
Director Edgar G. Ulmer was known for directing many low budget B-movies but he did make some excellent films among all the low budget quickies. His 1934 The Black Cat is fantastic and his foray into the sci-fi horror with this film is pretty solid too. The alien is a little hokey looking but Ulmer keeps things moving and builds tension nicely.
