ISLAND OF THE BURNING DOOMED (Night of the Big Heat) (director: Terence Fisher; screenwriter: Pip Baker/Jane Baker/from novel "Night of the Big Heat" by John Lymington; cinematographer: Reginald Wyer; cast: Christopher Lee (Godfrey Hanson), Patrick Allen (Jeff Callum), Peter Cushing (Dr. Vernon Stone), Jane Merrow (Angela Roberts), Sarah Lawson (Frankie Callum), Kenneth Cope (Tinker Mason), Thomas Heathcote (Bob Hayward), William Lucas (Ken Stanley), Percy Herbert (Gerald Foster), Anna Turner (Stella Hayward), Jack Bligh (Ben Siddle), Sydney Bromley (Old Tramp), 1967-UK)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The small northern island of Fara is finding the temperatures climbing into extreme heat conditions and getting hotter each day, even though it is winter, which is usually freezing cold here, as it is on the British mainland, which is undergoing its regular winter weather. A secretive scientist, accused by the authorities of being a quack when he reports to them of the strange happenings on the island, Dr. Hanson (Lee), visits Fara and sets up a science lab in his room at the local inn, The Swan. He collects specimens of the blood from some dead sheep and sets up infra-red camera equipment to film unseen objects on the countryside. He has a surly personality, which doesn't endear him to the locals. But with all the strange happenings taking place: beer bottles cracking in the heat, tempers flairing, cars overheating, sheep dying, sweat stains growing on shirts, strange whirring noises, so intense that it explodes a TV set and causes Bob Hayward (Heathcote) to go off the road and fatally crash his car, there has become cause for alarm among the locals and the scientist becomes looked upon as a savior.
Obviously, there must be a rational explanation for this phenomena, and it is offered by Hanson to Jeff Callum (Patrick Allen), a writer and owner of the inn Hanson is staying at, as he reluctantly tells Jeff that they are being invaded by aliens.
Jeff has his own problems to deal with, which seemed very troubling just a moment ago, as his new secretary has arrived, an attractive vixen, Angela Roberts (Jane), who has her sexy fangs on the married writer, who was once her lover, which made him feel very guilty, since he loves his wife but can't resist Angela's curvaceous body. She has come on her own, as he did not request her to be his secretary, in fact he tells her to leave, but to no avail. Jeff's suspicious wife, Frankie (Sarah), is told by the spiteful Angela that they knew each other before and that they kissed as soon as she met Jeff on the island. Frankie sees them kissing for herself and confronts Jeff, who can't seem to tell her the truth but tells her that she is the only one he loves.
There is a level of flatness to the film, as it is not aided by its feeble dialogue and uninteresting special effects, its incredulous tale, and unexciting tone.
When it is finally decided the heat is caused by the aliens who are starved for energy, that the aliens have materialized here the same way satellite signals work and that they have come to this spot on earth because of the local observatory sending out scanning signals to outer space, which are interfering with them, it doesn't seem to help the story out that there are no special effects to see these aliens.
Dr. Stone (Cushing) puts his life on the line to abet Hanson on his theory, and pays the ultimate price, as he gets burnt to a crisp, coming too close to the aliens and their terrific static noise, which drives him mad until he burns to a crisp.
The plan to dynamite the aliens, whose hiding place is located by Hanson, on the hilly road near the observation post, fails to kill them. But he figures out, that the light attracts them, so everyone in town who has been alerted to the problem, dims their lights and drives without headlights. But all seems gloomy, because if they can't be stopped here, they will surely go on and attack the mainland.
This was just not a good sci-fi film, but I've seen worse, much worse, and somehow or other, this Hammer film was watchable, but barely so. This film should be liked most by fans of either Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing, who will most likely appreciate Lee's stylized performance.
REVIEWED ON 1/31/2000 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
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