The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

The Earth Dies Screaming (1964)

Dir. Terence Fisher

Some sci-fi B-Movies from the 50s and 60s are like a subgenre unto themselves: one in which the title is the best thing about the entire production. The Earth Dies Screaming is a hell of good title — no doubt inspired by The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) — but it's overwhelmingly misleading because the Earth itself is fine. Its inhabitants, on the other hand, aren't fine, but there's very little 'screaming' involved, which I'm grateful for. In fact, the movie opens with a prolonged eerie silence, reminiscent of a John Wyndham story.

It's a bold move to have no dialogue for so long, considering the entire movie lasts only 62 minutes, but it works and is arguably as good as it gets. Everything that follows is paradoxically less interesting by comparison.

The characters are basic, recognisable types, but function well enough, either as vehicles for social commentary and/or internal conflicts.

The rural location is typical of low budget British productions, in part because it's effective, but it's disappointing that so little effort was put into clarifying the invading force's motivations. We learn almost nothing about the ones pulling the strings, other than half-assed speculation from the featured human survivors. It feels as if the writer(s) couldn't be bothered to invent some.

The moments of tension and 'white-eyed' horror are often well-realised, which is something that director Terence Fisher was good at, but even he couldn't save the film from a weak ending that seems like it was simply abandoned, perhaps in favour of an evening stroll or a fireside whisky.

While I genuinely do enjoy the movie, overall, I don't think it would be as fondly remembered as it is if not for the title. The screenplay isn't strong enough on its own to warrant such longevity.