The Crawling Eye (AKA The Trollenberg Terror)
Directed by Quentin Lawrence
Written by Jimmy Sangster; story by Peter Key
1958/UK
Tempean Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Philip Truscott: Cute little things, aren’t they?
Alan Brooks: Yeah. I’m gonna throw a bomb at that one. You watch on the screen, see what happens.[/box]
Slow pace and a cardboard alien hamper what could be an intriguing premise in this British B feature.
As the movie begins, climbers are rappelling down the face of Trollenberg in the Swiss Alps. Suddenly one of them falls. The other two try to save him until one of them sees that his face has been ripped off.
Segue to a train car, where our hero Alan Brooks (Forrest Tucker) is on his way to that a same mountain. In his compartment are two sister en route to Geneva. One of them, Anne is irresistibly compelled to get off at Trollenberg. We find the sisters perform in a mind reading act. No signals are necessary as Anne actually is telepathic. She keeps getting terrifying visions of death on the mountain and something seems to be pulling her there.
Alan goes to visit his friend Professor Crevett at his mountain observatory. Both believe the strange phenomenon Alan observed in the Andes is repeating itself. Something, which is protecting itself with a cloud and intense cold, is mighty annoyed.
Don’t come here looking for camp or laughs unless you watch the MST3K version. Nothing about it grabbed me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDGwCMcLs_M
Trailer
