Wow! Such a good movie.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I remember this inane movie from the "Creature Features" that used to air from 8:30 to 10:00, Saturday night, in NYC in the 1970s (whether on channel 9 or channel 11 I can't recall, though "Chiller" had better movies than "Creature Features").Even though my bedtime was nine--I was about eight--my folks would let me stay up till ten on Saturday to watch this foolishness.The creature, who looked like a walking tree with a wizened, exaggerated face, was called a TOBBONGA or a TOBOGGAN or something. There was a knife sticking out of its heart. He had been sacrificed--or executed--for some reason (I think he was framed by "the bad guy") and was then buried standing upright in a hollow tree trunk. The witch doctor is the bad guy's descendant. He wears a crown made of, like, long, sharp bones--maybe the tusks of warthogs (which, as I recall, do NOT live on South Pacific islands, but, rather, on the southern African veldt). The toboggan throws him down the mountainside after knocking off his hat, and he gets impaled on the spiky bones.At the end, our heroes kill the rampaging toboggan by shooting at the protruding knife and driving it further into the creature's "heart." And they didn't even get to ride the toboggan . . .

A wrongfully accused South Seas prince is executed and returns as a walking tree stump.They write it out on the screen,then you actually see it happen.Just one example of the time filling in this short movie.20 minutes could have easily been cut out and no one would have noticed. Definitely a very cool looking monster but not much of a fighter. He walks extremely slow and leans to one side so of course it's nearly impossible for the natives to escape him. He lovingly tosses one girl into quicksand,then murders a guy by gingerly rolling him down a hill. It never looks like they are on a tropical island,I'd guess southwest US. It's basically a movie about how dumb the natives are and how the great Americans save them and teach them the error of their primitive ways. Plus they have a girl do the worst Australian accent you will ever hear. The plot almost makes sense and the acting isn't half bad.This is a must see for fans of the genre.

I first viewed this on a Saturday afternoon TV creature feature in the 1970's during my suburban youth. I believe it was channel 5 in New York.The film provoked in me a feeling of confusion and disorientation (who made this? Why? Did they think it was scary? Or realistic? Or entertaining? And seriously, a walking tree monster? WTF?) that I would later recognize as similar to the effects of mild-altering hallucinogens.Today, some three decades later, I am revisiting From Hell It Came for the first time since that fateful day.We can tell right off the bat that we're dealing with a low budget (but perhaps not ultra low budget) production when the Allied Artists logo comes up, along with the credits over painted illustrations. Yes, those were in style in the 1950's and even many mainline, major studio blockbuster releases had them, but, still, they can be done quite economically.The next worrisome sign indicating Hollywood lunkheadedness comes with practically the first shot of the movie, where we see South Pacific aboriginal peoples sticking pins into a voodoo doll. Duh. Voodoo is from West Africa, a good 6,000 miles away. (And why do they have to stab a voodoo doll at the same moment that they are stabbing the real man?) But, okay, let's keep on going with this ridiculousness.Then "my father died from the Black Plague." Oh really? Was the Black Plague a big concern in the 20th Century, even in developing areas? Then, of course, the evil witch doctor hates the Americans and the man being unjustly executed is enamored with "our friends the Americans" who "only want to help us." Unjust execution leading to the possessed tree stump that comes back to life later in the film is out of the way quickly. We then move on to the American protagonists within the first five minutes. Scientists doing some kind of experiment on "a tiny Pacific atoll" for reasons that aren't made too clear. Supposedly "studying the natives," I guess for reactions to nuclear fallout. But if so, why do they have a lab full of beakers and test tubes, and not anything remotely resembling a doctor's office? Anyway, that radioactive fallout from the recent nuclear bomb tests is "quite safe, no more than a dental x-ray." Uh huh. Sure."Those drums sound like trouble." Cheese. Haven't we seen that bit only in EVERY other jungle movie ever made? "No need to be nervous, the natives on this island are peaceful enough." However, that evil witchdoctor is stirring up trouble by keeping the locals "chained to their centuries old superstitions" instead of the clearly superior approach of the enlightened ones. Science!The inevitable arrival of a romantic interest for the male lead (a fellow lady scientist) heralds increased stakes for the hero and the B-story as we get into Act Two. Conflict between the heroic scientist and the megalomanical witch doctor for the hearts and minds of the gullible natives now ramps up, as we await the overdue arrival of Tabonga, a walking tree stump possessed by the spirit of the dead native with a distorted human face carved on it. This is a sight of such goofy idiocy that it burns an indelible mark on the minds of all who witness it. I was itching to hit the fast forward button so I could feast my eyes on this spectacular vision, instead of wasting time with the romantic escapades of the two leads or the science vs. superstition A story. We get a few teases and foreshadowings, but for my money we have to wait far too long for walking tree stump action goodness. It was not until the 34th minute that we hear the phrase "tree monster" and the name "Tabonga", followed by a music sting. CLASSIC! But, I forced myself to stay with it and watch the whole movie. As usual, the scientists are done in by their Achilles heel: their desire to study the monster "for science" (if they are good intentioned) or for personal gain (if they are bad intentioned), instead of burning the devil spawn alive at the first sign of potential trouble. Of course, the hero wants to destroy the thing as soon as they have taken it back to their lab, where they have chained it to a table and performed "surgery" on it.Tree surgery, I guess.Well, you just knew it had to happen like this, didn't you? Now it's time for the monster to break its chains and go on the proverbial rampage. When we finally see the walking tree monster at minute 47, it is so hilarious that it's worth the wait. It is a monster so slow and lumbering that possibly only the creature from The Creeping Terror surpasses it in lack of fright.Can our heroes use their superior science, wits and pluck to put an end to its reign of terror? I'll let you figure it out. (Okay, they actually only just shoot the thing with a gun and it falls into the quicksand pit which is mandatory in every single jungle adventure movie.)This is a sublimely silly motion picture and supremely enjoyable. One of my absolute favorite Fifties Monster flicks. Get to know Tabonga!

Todd Andrews the nominal star of this film had a film and TV career that ran the gamete from bad to good and even great. Early in his career he went by the name of Michael Ames and stared in such films as 1944's "Voodoo Man" opposite Lugosi,Zucco,and Carradine "and Return of the Ape Man" with the same baddies.Later he had his own TV series "The Gray Ghost" 1957-58. He was also in the last broadcast episode of Twilight Zone " The Bewitchin' Pool" 1964. He also appeared in "In Harm's Way" 1965 with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas.Gregg Palmer who plays Kimo, made his mark playing tough guys, both good and bad.He was in a lot of movie and TV westerns and detective shows. His other foray in 1950s black and white horror films was in " Zombies of Mora Tau" made the same year as "From Hell It Came'. He was also in "The Creature Walks Among Us" in 1956.Actually, this is the best black and white movie made in 1957 about a walking tree.