It Conquered the World: Roger Corman

In the realm of cheesy 50s sci-fi and B-movies, Roger Corman's It Conquered the World is revered with awe and respect. On the surface it doesn't seem to be different from any of the other creature features that Corman so diligently pumped out during the 50s like Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) and The Wasp Woman (1959). But I think I might know why it is so beloved: it approaches its subject matter with deathly seriousness despite its complete absurdity. It begins with a scientist named Dr. Tom Anderson making contact with a race of Venusian aliens with his radio transmitter. He becomes a pawn in their plan to invade earth and take control of humanity with mind control devices delivered via bat-like creatures. After he unsuccessfully tries to assimilate his friend Dr. Nelson, Anderson realizes his mistake. He joins forces with Nelson and a group of soldiers who escaped assimilation to try and kill one of the Venusian aliens who came to earth. It Conquered the World is an astoundingly cheesy film with a non-existent budget, hokey acting by Peter Graves (Dr. Nelson) and Lee Van Cleef (Dr. Anderson), and one of the most ridiculous monsters in cinematic history. Frank Zappa once lovingly described the alien as an "inverted ice-cream cone head with fangs." And yet, despite all of this, the film acts with the solemness of a Shakespearean tragedy. One of my favorite parts is how the aliens manage to cut off all the earth's power, thereby forcing the principle characters to get around via bicycle. And at the very end, Peter Graves delivers one of the dourest, most overly dramatic speeches about the ultimate fate of humanity ever seen outside of the works of Ingmar Bergman. Basically, It Conquered the World is a 50s B-movie that doesn't know it's a 50s B-movie. And for millions of low-budget horror aficionados, myself included, to have it any other way would be sacrilege.

6/10