From Hell It Came
| From Hell It Came | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dan Milner |
| Produced by | Jack Milner |
| Written by |
Jack Milner Richard Bernstein |
| Starring |
Tod Andrews Tina Carver |
| Music by | Darrell Calker |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists |
Release dates | 1957 |
Running time | 71 mins. |
| Language | English |
From Hell It Came is a 1957 horror film and science fiction film directed by Dan Milner and written by Jack Milner.[1]
Plot
A South Seas island prince is wrongly convicted of murder and executed by having a knife driven into his heart, the result of a plot by a witch doctor (the true murderer) who resented the prince's friendly relations with American scientists stationed on a field laboratory on the island. The prince is buried in a hollow tree trunk and forgotten about until nuclear radiation reanimates him in the form of the "Tabanga", a scowling tree stump. The monster escapes from the laboratory and kills several people, including the witch doctor, whom the Tabanga pushes down a hill to be impaled on his own crown of shark teeth. The creature cannot be stopped, burned, or trapped. Only when a crack rifle shot from one of the scientists drives the knife (which still protrudes from the creature's chest) all the way through its heart does it finally die and sink into the swamp.
Cast
- Tod Andrews - Dr. William Arnold
- Tina Carver - Dr. Terry Mason
- Linda Watkins - Mrs. Mae Kilgore
- John McNamara - Prof. Clark
- Gregg Palmer - Kimo
- Suzanne Ridgeway - Korey
Production
The iconic Tabanga monster was designed by Paul Blaisdell[2] (also known for his work on The She Creature, Invasion of the Saucer Men, Not of This Earth and It! The Terror from Beyond Space) but was manufactured by Don Post Studios. This was the second and last feature film to be produced by the Milner brothers.[3]
Release
It was released by Allied Artists. Warner Home Video released it on DVD in 2009.[4]
Reaction
According to Tim Healey, it deserves an honored place in the canon of the world's worst movies.[5] However, in Leonard Maltin's movie guidebook, the film was rated at 1½ stars (only the second-lowest of seven ratings available), with the comment that "As walking-tree movies go, this is at the top of the list."[6] James Rolfe reviewed it in his Cinemassacre's Monster Madness series, acknowledging the absurdity of having a tree monster "come from hell" rather than a demon or oni.
References
- ↑ Not So Scary... Top Ten Worst Movie Monsters!
- ↑ Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist by Randy Palmer
- ↑ The Strange Creature of Topanga Canyon: Paul Blaisdell, His Life and Times
- ↑ Stomp Tokyo review of film
- ↑ Tim Healey (1986) The World's Worst Movies. London, Octopus Books: 8-9
- ↑ Leonard Maltin (ed.), Leonard Maltin's 2001 Movie & Video Guide, Plume, ISBN 0-452-28187-3. As of 2011, the current edition of the guidebook no longer lists the movie.