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The Brain Eaters

Play trailer Poster for The Brain Eaters 1958 1h 0m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 17% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Young Glenn Cameron (Alan Frost) finds a 50-foot cone sticking out of the ground near a small Illinois town. He reports his discovery, and the government sends a UFO committee, headed by Sen. Powers (Jack Hill) and scientist Dr. Paul Kettering (Edwin Nelson). Soon, they learn several townspeople have vanished, including Glenn's father, Mayor Cameron (Orville Sherman). But, when he returns, he is under the control of a mysterious creature attached to his brain, and an alien siege begins.

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The Brain Eaters

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Rob Humanick Suite101.com The cast has their heart in the matter but this is a strictly paint-by-numbers affair. Rated: 2/5 Oct 26, 2011 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Enjoyable lightweight B-film horror flick. Rated: B- Apr 1, 2009 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 21, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (27) audience reviews
Edward K Horrible. The only redeeming quality is the short running time. Low budget. Terrible acting. Stupid plot. Stupid music. Even Leonard Nimoy’s short role is t enough to save this dog. Woof! Woof-woof! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/17/24 Full Review nick s A fun concept that could have been a classic. The actors were capable. But the directing and script came up short in my opinion. Often the cast were standing stiffly trying to explain the plot or reveal the parasites motives. It made the actors look daft and the movie ameteurish. Some of the camera work was subpar, with characters framed poorly or Dutch angles so out of place it looked like someone bumped the camera. I couldn't make it to the end. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/11/23 Full Review Serge C Spooky mood, decent creatures, young Spock cameo & love that poster 🍿 Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/31/23 Full Review delysid d as far as 1958 B movies are good, this is good Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/19 Full Review Audience Member Do you enjoy suffering through bad movies? If so, you'll love this one. It's terrible! Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member A team of local scientists discover alien parasites when they investigate a mysterious, three-story-tall, cone-like object that has appeared outside of town. It becomes obvious that the parasites' first victims, who's minds have been taken over, are the town's leading citizens. "The Brain Eaters" released in 1958 is a classic science fiction story than blends both the other worldly with the creature feature concept that explodes later in Hollywood b-movies. The film stars Edwin Nelson, Alan Frost, and Jack Hill. Written by Gordon Urquhart and directed by Bruno Vestor the film is a cookie cutter format that spawned in the 1950's bringing much of the science fiction short stories to life on the drive in and theater screens across America. "The Brain Eaters" story has been reinterpreted many times over the years. Most notably "Puppet Masters" and "The Faculty". The story is as eerie and classic as "Body Snatchers" and one of the best sci-fi premises to break through the 1950's craze for everything extraterrestrial. I am pretty sure that in this film the parasite invasion which is soon found to be from our own prehistoric beginnings is actually a metaphor for communism fears that ravaged the middle of the 20th century. I don't normally get that deep into a films meaning because for me it takes a lot from the shear enjoyment of the story. "The Brain Eaters" is cut and try in its concept, showing a clear path to the end by exposing the enemy right from the beginning, leaving no real room for suspense or drama. The story moves more like propaganda than fiction thriller. The dialogue is your basic 50's arrogance of American triumphant over any and all threats. However simply from a nostalgic approach to appreciating all that came before "The Brain Eaters" is one of the best examples of Man's fears of the unknown and the growing threat of the new fields of scientific studies. "If we explore to much into our world would we somehow destroy ourselves?" This is still the burning question today, and "The Brain Eaters" is one of the first time we see those questions explored in science fiction writings spawn a b-movie craze that has spanned the decades since. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Young Glenn Cameron (Alan Frost) finds a 50-foot cone sticking out of the ground near a small Illinois town. He reports his discovery, and the government sends a UFO committee, headed by Sen. Powers (Jack Hill) and scientist Dr. Paul Kettering (Edwin Nelson). Soon, they learn several townspeople have vanished, including Glenn's father, Mayor Cameron (Orville Sherman). But, when he returns, he is under the control of a mysterious creature attached to his brain, and an alien siege begins.
Director
Bruno VeSota
Producer
Ed Nelson
Screenwriter
Gordon Urquhart
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 5, 2018
Runtime
1h 0m
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