hyped garbage

Disturbing yet enthralling

Absolutely Fantastic

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Director Nathan Hertz tried his best to make a quality Monster movie, but being restricted by resources and a limited budget, he left us with a this B- Picture. Upon viewing it, many audiences responded with giggles, laughter and considerable derision. For others who watched with interest, this was not that bad a Sci-fi effort. O.K. so it wasn't top notch, it did have a credible leading man John Agar who plays Steve March and a somewhat constricted, albeit hooky script. Joyce Meadows plays pretty Sally Fallon the love interest with Robert Fuller as Dan Murphy holding down the rest of the cast. The story as weak as it is, tells of a Giant Brain invading Earth and seeking a planet where he hope to create a superior species and a base for Universal conquest. It is learned, although the invading Brain is criminal in nature, he is soon followed by a second equally Powerful Brain out to thwart his plan. The movie is standard Black and White in plot and if one doesn't expect too much will entertain any attentive child. For an early 1950's Science fiction movie, it still made it to many Monster Magazines of the day. Today it's considered an early Monster classic. Recommended to the Child in all movie goers. **

The Brain from Planet Arous starts as nuclear physicist Dr. Steve Marsh (John Agar) & his friend Dan (Robert Fuller) detect blasts of radiation coming from the nearby Mystery Mountain, the two decide to drive out there & investigate the unusual phenomenon. Once there the two scientists discover a large floating alien brain from the planet Arous named Gor, the alien brain Gor is evil & kills Dan with a blast of radiation & possesses Steve's body & takes complete control of his mind. Gor becomes infatuated with Steve's fiancé Sally (Joyce Meadows) as he plans world domination, Gor causes a passenger plane to explode & crash before ordering representative's from all leading nation's to a summit meeting where he demands all of Earth's resources be handed over to him so he can build the most fearsome invasion fleet the Universe has ever seen. Gor is power mad & will stop at nothing to rule his home planet Arous & destroy any other that tries to stop him...Directed by Nathan Juran under the name Nathan Hertz (Hertz was Juran's middle name) this is yet another ludicrous but entertaining sci-fi film that is silly, camp & unintentionally funny but also highly enjoyable in a cheesy & charming sort of way. I am sure most viewers will dismiss The Brain from Planet Arous as a cheap nonsense but if you have a fondness for infamously bad films such as Robot Monster (1954) & Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) then you have to see this as it's on par with both of those. The script for The Brain from Planet Arous is ridiculous, a giant alien brain with glowing eyes arrives on Earth (it's never explained how he gets here since he seems to need a spaceship to get back to Arous which he has to build) & possesses a scientist & develops lurid & sexual desires towards Sally while another giant alien brain who is good & here to capture Gor also arrives & possesses Steve's dog George! It all sounds silly & it is but I found it infinitely entertaining, at only just over 70 minutes long it moves along like a rocket, the dialogue isn't as bad as some other sci-fi films from the same period & there are one or two effectives moments. The character's are alright even if Sally & her father seem rather relaxed, unshocked & unconcerned about the giant talking alien brain they meet! There are also a few other howlers here, the idea that a scientist can say with 100% accuracy that no force on Earth could have made the plane crash & that aliens are responsible is lazy while Steve seems to know a lot about Mystery Mountain if he can tell a pile of rocks at the base weren't there a year ago! I mean a rock fall might have happened & did he memorise every rock at the base the last time was there a year ago? Wouldn't a nuclear scientist have better things to do? The for some reason Sally knew that the bodies from the plane crash were burned like Dan yet she was not allowed to see the bodies & told to go away at the scene of the crash so how did she know?The production values are alright, obviously a really low budget film the special effects aren't too bad considering. The giant brains look silly but because of what they are & the concept that they represent rather than because of bad special effects if you see what I mean. The only really bad effects shots are the planes exploding which are less than impressive. There's some stock footage of an atomic bomb going off & destroying a town & a wimpy crash at the start. The sexual advances & the way Gor talks about Sally must have been quite strong for it's day, he forces himself upon her a couple of times trying to rip open her top & take her bra off, George the dog comes to her rescue but get a kicking for it's trouble in yet another scene that seemed quite strong for it's day.Filmed in black and white on a budget of about $58,000 the ever popular Bronson Canyon was used as a location (maybe Gor's cave was the one that the mighty Ro-Man from Robot Monster hung out in...). The acting varies, John Agar is alright as are most of the main cast but some of the smaller roles are filled with really bad actor's.The Brain from Planet Arous is another highly entertaining film that I really liked, it's difficult to recommend it & give it more than five out of ten but I would rather watch this again than a lot of the crap that gets released these days. A top guilty pleasure.

A vintage entry in the realms of megalomaniac alien brain cinema ( I can only think of one other example but I like to think there are more out there), The Brain from Planet Arous mixes fear and bizarre amusement and makes a fair, if not quite successful effort of pulling it off. The story sees nuclear researchers Steve and Dan investigate the mysterious (and therefore aptly named) Mystery Mountain, only to discover a disembodied, ill intentioned brain. Quick as a flash it possesses Steve, then its back to civilisation to get some world conquering in motion... This all sounds like classic demented stuff and sadly it isn't, that is to say it is fairly demented but no classic. Events are mostly too restrained until the last 20 minutes and the idea of having a floating brain as an antagonist is highly amusing at first but a novelty that can ill sustain an entire film. Recognising this the film is splashed with oddball humour, the aforementioned Mystery Mountain (surely this can't have been intended seriously?), the evil brain conversing with Steve and openly mentioning its carnal desires on his wife and a couple of other touches I won't go into. Veteran director Nathan Juran keeps the slightly thin shenanigans bustling along, a jolt here, some well deployed stock footage there and best of all committed acting. Sometimes films like this suffer from wafer thin characters and instantly forgettable actors, but here this isn't the case. John Agar oozes maniac intensity as the possessed Steve, playing up with gusto, he also pulls off convincing desperation at his plight. Joyce Meadows makes for a compelling heroine as his frightened but resourceful and canny fiancée, while women in a lot of these films counted for little more than eye candy her character actually has some backbone and the film is better for it. Thomas B. Henry pulls of a good job as her father as well, smartly grasping the situation and doing his best. There seems to be a trend in these films of people near instantly credulous of the other worldly menaces they face, perhaps a comment on the fears of the time and perhaps over simple writing, it sure is fun to see straight talking military types barely bat an eyelid at having to face all kinds of strange creations. By and large this is quite watchable and entertaining stuff, but it doesn't often sparkle and its final confrontation is a bit disappointing. Tension only really flares for a little while and the hoped for heights of lunacy aren't maintained, nor are there any surprises. It just about does the trick though, worth a watch for the devotees but others can safely pass it by I think.

I haven't read all the comments, but I'm sure someone has already mentioned that the planet's name, AROUS is but missing an "E" at the end, and that it is pronounced throughout as "eros". Someone has, however, mentioned that Joyce Meadows is hot! Gor may have been a bad guy, but I'll bet John Agar was happy to have him aboard for those pashing scenes with this underrated, sensual actress. Some of the more erotic scenes you'll see in films from the white-picket Fifties.That aside, if you discount the asinine brain special effects, John Agar is truly scary in a few scenes, especially when his eyes become metallic bursts, and the comment on unbridled power sought after by so many right wing maniacs in history brings it succinctly into the atomic age.