DVD review: The Earth Dies Screaming
September 12th, 2007 in Dvd, Reviews, Sci-Fi, classic, horror
For those of us who still enjoy watching horror and science fiction films from the Sixties, the Midnight Movies label is back, with Twentieth Century-Fox joining MGM for the fun, and the titles spanning from the Fifties through the Seventies. Unlike MGM, which has been issuing their Midnight Madness DVDs from films acquired from American International and United Artists, the Fox films are from their own library. While some of the films, such as The Mephisto Waltz, were main features, other films were clearly made as parts of double feature combos, or as second features.
A case in point is The Earth Dies Screaming, made in 1965. It’s a great title for a less than great film. The movie was produced by Robert Lippert who provided low budget features for Twentieth Century-Fox for more than a decade. Clocking in at slightly more than an hour, The Earth Dies Screaming was designed to be booked on the bottom half of double features. The C list cast is topped by forgotten actors Willard Parker and Virginia Field, with Dennis Price, the star of the classic Kind Hearts and Coronets getting third billing. Fans of Hammer horror films might want to note that The Earth Dies Screaming was directed by Terence Fisher who does what he can within the confines of a meager budget.
The story may well have been the source of inspiration for a more critically acclaimed and commercially successful film. Consider that the film begins with people dying mysteriously. A group of survivors find each other and band together against the unknown, and unseen enemy. What they have in common is that while the air was temporarily poisoned, they were in isolated quarters with individual ventilation systems. The dead people start coming back to life as mindless zombies set to kill the surviving humans. Did a young Danny Boyle and Alex Garland see The Earth Dies Screaming? I wouldn’t be surprised if they had. The opening premise may remind some of 28 Days Later.
Contemporary audiences will more likely scream with laughter than with horror, especially at the sight of the robots sent to terrorize the earthlings. In addition to Terence Fisher’s efficient direction, the film features a terrific score by composer Elizabeth Lutyens, an underappreciated film composer as well as one of the few women in this field. The Earth Dies Screaming is not exactly a classic, but it is worth a look as a film that may have inspired a few future filmmakers.
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