In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made, artificial satellite into orbit. This satellite, Sputnik 1, sparked a panic in Cold War America over Soviet technological superiority. While Americans watched the sky with wonder and horror, Roger Corman saw something else: another popular trend that could make him a quick buck. And lo and behold, 8 months later Corman released War of the Satellites, a film where a mysterious alien race repeatedly thwarts mankind's attempts at interstellar travel. When a brave group of scientists and astronauts dare to confront and rebel against the alien race's warnings, their leader is murdered and replaced with an alien imposter tasked with stopping them...by any means necessary. This film is part The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and part Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), only with a fraction of the budget. Much like any other Corman film, half the fun in watching War of the Satellites is spotting all of the tricks and short-cuts he used to trick the audience into thinking they were watching a much better film. My two favorites: the early United Nations scenes featuring a whopping 10 (give or take about 10) delegates representing the entire world and a chase scene near the end that I could swear was filmed by making the actors run down the same hallway 3-5 times. War of the Satellites is not technically a good film, but it is a fascinating glimpse into the paranoid fantasies of late 50s America.
5/10
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