Australia's Imprint Films recently celebrated five years in the business of physical media, and they continue to impress by bringing lesser-known films to Blu-ray.
Their first release back in May of 2020 was for 1953's The War of the Worlds, so it's thematically fitting that the newest entry in their Tales of Adventure box sets is a collection of five more sci-fi flicks from the 1950s.
As with previous volumes, the release comes in a hard box containing the films spread across four region-free Blu-ray discs. The four numbered snap cases feature artwork and release details, and the films included in Collection 5 are The 27th Day, The Night the World Exploded, This Island Earth, The Devil Girl from Mars, and The Gamma People. Heck, they even toss in a bonus film (in SD) called The Underwater City!
First up is a good movie with a killer premise -- The 27th Day (1957). Five people around the world including a journalist, a Russian soldier, a scientist, a Chinese peasant, and a horny British woman are taken by an alien being with an interesting proposition. He gives each of them a small device capable of destroying human life in a specified area on Earth, but if they can each go 27 days without using it, the aliens will leave the planet in peace. But if any of them use it? The aliens will make Earth their own.
William Asher's The 27th Day kicks off with a fantastic setup of the "what if?" variety, with a focus on human nature as the deciding factor. It's reminiscent of Richard Matheson's story "The Box" in how it gives people an immense power coupled with equally immense cost -- with the question being, is it actually a cost if it only affects someone else? It feels like a missed opportunity that this one hasn't been remade yet, as it offers up a world of possibility, but that's not to say this late 50s original doesn't do good work as it still delivers some intriguing character drama and big ideas.
The five characters react differently to this new responsibility resulting in some interesting developments and conversation starters. If there's a misstep here, it's with the ending, which is something of a cop-out fueled by the Cold War times it was produced within. Still, the journey remains more engaging and thought-provoking than your typical 1950s sci-fi film.
The 27th Day is presented in high-definition, and the disc is free of extras.
Included on the same disc is The Night the World Exploded from the same year. It follows a group of earthquake scientists, pseudo seismologists, who suggest a big 'quake is imminent. No one believes them until it actually happens, and when the group goes digging for even more accurate data they discover the cause of the tremors -- an unusual element rumbling beneath the surface -- will cause the Earth to explode in just one month. The race is on to stop Element 112!
Fred F. Sears' The Night the World Exploded is something of a misfire, despite that fantastic title. It still manages to be mildly entertaining with its ticking clock premise, but its blend of overly chatty characters and dull stock footage struggles to carry viewers through to the end. We do get some minor miniatures which are always fun, but at just over an hour long, the film just can't reach the level of memorable... outside of that awesome title, obviously.
The Night the World Exploded is presented in high-definition, and the disc is free of extras.
Next up is the somewhat better known This Island Earth from 1955. A hotshot atomic scientist is saved from a plane crash by a strange green glow, and things get weirder from there as his lab receives a mysterious device from an unknown source. Surprise... aliens are behind both events. It seems they're already here on Earth and need our help in fending off a different alien threat.
Universal's Technicolor sci-fi thriller might not get the love of bigger and better genre efforts, but This Island Earth remains a fun time that pops on the screen. It looks good, despite the dated optical effects, and it maintains a good energy throughout. The story sees our lead scientist, Cal Meacham, whisked away to the hills of Georgia where he meets his alien benefactor, but when the aliens prove to be less than benign, the film ups the ante on action and effects.
The film is a favorite of legendary directors like Steven Spielberg and Joe Dante, both of whom have given it nods in their films (E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and Explorers, respectively). Is it odd that no one suspects the people with giant foreheads are aliens? Sure, but it's a fun time, so just go with it and enjoy the intergalactic alien action, which includes battles with some beautifully designed, big-brained creatures.
This Island Earth is presented in high-definition, and the disc includes the trailer, an alternate 1.33:1 aspect ratio version, and the following extras.
- Commentary by Heath Holland from Cereal at Midnight Podcast
- Trailers from Hell segment with Joe Dante
Next is the alluringly titled Devil Girl from Mars that hit screens in 1954. It's a typical day in the Scottish Highlands as a group of people gather at a remote pub for relaxation, beverages, and cover from the police. It's the perfect setting for a murder, but instead, it's a tall alien woman who walks in and turns the place upside down. She's there for men, and she won't be leaving until she gets some.
Devil Girl from Mars is another case of a film title suggesting far more fun than the film can muster, but director David MacDonald still squeezes out enough of a good time to make a watch worthwhile. There may not be a mystery to solve, but the roster of characters offer up a good mix of melodrama and minor thrills -- and that's even before the dominatrix arrives!
I joke, but Patricia Laffan's leather-clad, short-skirted alien Nyah seems like someone accustomed to issuing orders with a lash and a snarl. She creates an engaging dynamic with her announcement that she's here to collect men, as her own have died out after a brutal war along the gender divide. It seems ripe for commentary on social politics and gender, but the film instead gets straight to plot as the humans struggle to resist Nyah and find some way to stop her.
More chatter on the gender war would have been welcome, but as it stands, there's enough here to entertain as the people find themselves trapped by Nyah and her giant robot. Some live, some die, and Earth's men are ultimately saved by a heroic act of sacrifice. By a woman? Ha, no. Still, it's a fun watch.
Devil Girl from Mars is presented in high-definition, and the disc includes the following extras.
- Commentary by film historian Phillipa Berry
- Commentary by novelist/critic Kim Newman and journalist Barry Forshaw
- Invasion from Outer Space: Interview with film critic Jon Towlson [11:20]
- Interview with Kim Newman [18:14] - Newman is always a fun, informative speaker on genre fare as he knows his stuff and is entertained by all of it, and that trend continues here.
The final disc features 1956's The Gamma People. An American and a Brit enjoying a train ride through Eastern Europe find themselves trapped in the small unknown country of Gudavia, run by metaphorical Nazi children and mindless thugs. It seems a scientist turned glorious leader is perfecting mind control, and now these visitors, journalists sitting on a huge story, will have to fight their way to freedom.
There's the kernel of something interesting in The Gamma People, especially as the kids are highlighted as future fascists, but it doesn't get the attention you're hoping for beyond the genre angle. Of course, genre thrills are always welcome, but even there we're stuck with a lot of talk, somewhat uninteresting protagonists, and a bigger story that the film can't fully address.
Still, and has been the case a few times here, the setup and initial execution are more than enough to engage the viewer. The protagonists, one a big and brash American and the other a lecherous Brit, entertain despite themselves, and there's a slight sense of fun running parallel to the danger. At under 80 minutes, it's enough to keep you entertained.
There are no proper special features to be found with The Gamme People, but the disc does include a bonus feature film in standard definition. The Underwater City, known as Amphibia City in the film, hopes to be a man-made metropolis for people to live on an increasingly populated Earth. It's not easy creating utopia, though, especially when it's all wet and filled with constant dangers.
Look, you're either onboard at the very start when "divers" move slowly "underwater" while bubble machines spit out bubbles from their backs, or you're not. If you stick with it, though, you get another short, perfectly okay tale exploring the dangers of sci-fi premises and the hubris of man.
As with the previous volumes, Tales of Adventure Collection 5 offers up a mixed bag of films that are mostly pretty okay. While not a ringing endorsement for any single movie, taken as a whole this is a fun set capturing cold war science fiction tales about humankind being as curious about the unknown as they are fearful of it. These are nice collections for genre lovers.