Wonderful character development!

Best movie ever!

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

That The Beast With A Million Eyes had a shoe string budget is fairly obvious. Not even a budget for each eye the beast claimed it had.We never do get to see exactly what the alien from the other world looks like. The space ship looked like a large Dalek, maybe the original producers of Dr. Who might have got the idea from this film. The beast inside looked something like the creature that was taking over people and who Jimmy Hunt was trying to warn us about in Invaders From Mars.This thing is yet another alien looking for a fresh world to conquer. His kind can control the minds of lower animals and turns docile creatures like a cow, birds, and the family pet dog into beasts of pray against humans. The creature can see all through the eyes of these animals hence the title.I have to say the film did have an interesting anti-big brother message but it was never quite delivered and the dialog within the family terrorized by the alien was trite and talkie. Paul Birch plays the farm father and Lorna Thayer and Dona Cole are his wife and daughter. Dick Sargent has a supporting role as a deputy sheriff.Roger Corman was still looking for his muse with this one.

*Spoiler/plot- The Beast with A Million Eyes, 1955. In the desert ranch, strange occurrences with local animals and family pets happens after a strange spacecraft lands during the night. The local ranch family becomes tormented by an alien mind-creature and they fight it.*Special Stars- Paul Birch, Lorna Yhayer, Dona Cole, Dick 'TV's Bewitched' Sargent, Leonard Tarver.*Theme- Love of family is the best defense and true positive bond.*Trivia/location/goofs- B&W, Film was non-union made in Palm Springs for only $29,000. Roger Corman took over direction of this project after original director turned in a shabby film. When kitchen screen-door is opened, you see the interior sound stage wall, not the external outdoors of a desert date ranch.*Emotion- This film was unique in one way because it has no redeeming writing, direction, acting, plot, scenery, location, or alien monster to entertain the viewer. It is the worst B-movie film I have seen in many years of being drive-in or B-movie film aficionado. The film's ending is so trite, cliqued', and lack-luster as to make the viewer wish that they had not spent all their time watching this film at all. I rate this film a F- for not having any entertainment value at all. This movie was hugely disappointing and a waste of my time and good film.

THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES is a small brilliant no budget film. It's probably the first existential science fiction film ever made. That's all I need to say about it to explain why I like it.This film was made before the now familiar plot-line of animals attacking humans, like THE BIRDS. In fact, this film reminds me a lot of THE BIRDS, which I think is brilliant but kudos to whoever wrote this evocative no budget wonder. The similarities between the two is really striking. Hitchcock most likely saw this film and was "inspired" by it. Even the low key near minimalistic tone is identical. The existential tone is also unique for that time and was made before TV shows like TWILIGHT ZONE or sci-fi flicks in the late 1960s or 1970s (like Russian sci-fi flicks) made these bleak sci-fi/horror/fantasy themes popular with the general public. Today, these kind of stories are common in movies or TV programs. The B&W cinematography is at times stunning, more than this type of film usually has. Moody and very atmospheric. The sensational title makes sense because the alien uses all the animals to see and control the environment around humans, hence the million eyes. The original title was supposed to be The Unseen and it didn't have the alien part of the end and one can see what they tried to do. But the current ending doesn't destroy the film.Just because the film has no budget, no stars, that it's basically bare-bones, doesn't mean it should be dismissed for the things it tried to do. Yes, the film is far from perfect but I admire it for what it tried to do, certainly in an era that relied too easily on cheesy stuff. It's (intentional or unintentional) low key brilliance.

The Kelley Family find themselves in considerable jeopardy when an evil alien force with the power to control minds lands nearby their ranch and causes all the animals to go into a lethal rage. Director David Kramarsky relates the absorbing story at a steady pace and does a sound job of creating an eerie atmosphere. The solid acting from a sturdy cast rates as another definite plus: Paul Birch as rugged rancher Allan Kelley, Lorna Thayer as his snippy wife Carol, Dona Cole as their cute, spunky daughter Sandra, Dick Sargent as amiable Deputy Larry Brewster, Leonard Tarver as hulking, pathetic mute handyman Carl, and Chester Conklin as cranky old-timer Ben Webber. The shivery orchestral score and the stark black and white cinematography by Everett Baker and Floyd Crosby further enhance the creepy tone. Moreover, the desolate desert location projects an unnervingly palpable sense of isolation and vulnerability. Granted, the hilariously horrendous (much less than) special effects leave a lot to be desired, but overall this film sizes up as a pretty nifty and enjoyable low-budget shocker.