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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome Labs
Released on: February 25, 2025
Director:Montgomery Tully
Cast:Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes, Stanley Meadows
Year: 1967
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The Terrornauts - Movie Review:
The Terroronauts (1967) is an Amicus Productions sci-fi cheapie directed by Montgomery Tully (Clash By Night), and is an adaptation of the 1960 novel The Wailing Asteroid by Murray Leinster, adapted for the screen by another Brit sci-fi author John Brunner. In it a small group of scientist lead by Dr. Joe Burke (Simon Oates, Doomwatch) are determined to prove the existence of alien life by searching the skies with a radio telescope to detect signs of alien life in the outer reaches of space, which has been dubbed Project Space Talk. Burke is aided by electronics expert Ben Keller (Stanley Meadows, The Ipcress File) and his striking office manager Sandy Lund (Bond Girl Zena Marshall, Dr. No). They've been at it for four years and thus far have had no confirmation of alien life, causing wet-blanket Dr. Henry Shore (Max Adrian, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors) to call for the project's termination in 90 days, unless they offer some concrete results. As luck would have it that same night Burke and his team detect a repeating radio signal emanating from a distant asteroid in the outer reaches of the solar system. Excited they decide to use the totality of the project's remaining budget to amp up the radio telescopes broadcasting powers to send a response signal. Doing so triggers a visit from an UFO, which plucks the laboratory right up out of the ground, transporting them, alongside Mrs. Jones (Patricia Hayes, The Last Island) who operates a tea trolley around the office, and the recently arrived accountant Joshua Yellowlees (Charles Hawtrey of the Brit comedy Carry On franchise), back to that distant asteroid where they are put through a series of knowledge tests by a clunky looking robot that looks like a rejected design for the Dalek's from the Dr. Who television series, only much cheaper looking. What's it all about? Well, as we discover very late in the film, the fate of Earth and the human race hangs in the balance, the alien space station on the asteroid is actually an alien defense outpost, and is the last line of defense against a race of planet destroying evil aliens who have been plundering the universe. The tests are meant to make sure that this group of humans are up to the challenge of operating it's alien defense systems.
Notable cast include Max Adrian, a founding member of the the Royal Shakespeare Company who is summing it here for some what must be monetary reason, as the always sneering wet-blanket out to shutter the project, and of course we have Charles Hawtrey from the Carry On comedy franchise as the oft bug-eyed accountant. He's really just doing what he does in every film, offering comic relief alongside the cockney-accented tea-trolly proprietor Patricia Hayes, who gets some of the film's best comedic lines. Of course, I would be remiss as a red, blooded male not to point out the intoxicating presence of the Bond Girl Zena Marshall as the Burke's office manager, she having played the diabolical Miss Taro in the 007 film Dr. No!
Other highlights include Burke revealing early on, in a flashback, that as a child he went on an archeology expedition with his uncle in the South of France, where they found a strange black cube, which his uncle gave him. After accidentally breaking it open it revealed strange blue crystals, and after handling them he had a strange vision while sleeping of an alien world with two moons, which is what inspired him to become an astronomer in the first place. Also, when exploring the alien space station Sandy stumbles onto a device which instantly transports her to an alien planet infested with green-skinned savages who attempt to sacrifice her, which was prominently featured in the advertising for the film, and on the reversible wrap of this Blu-ray as well. While that artwork is not inaccurate it certainly overpromises more than this sci-fi cheapie could ever hope to deliver.
This is a flick with plenty of shortcomings, if you want to tear it up MST3K style it's ripe for for cinematic degradation, but as a monster kid who grew up loving cheesy sci-fi this Amicus production is pretty dang entertaining, even if the alien-invasion finale sort of not only comes out of nowhere, but dips out just as quickly. There's cheap-looking matte paintings and budget store starfields, corny green-skin alien make-ups, a shoddily constructed robot, and chintzy looking brightly painted plywood sets adorned with myriad repurposed electronic gizmos and cabinets festooned with lights, but that sort of stuff is total catnip for me, so I loved it.
The Terrornauts - Blu-ray Review:
The Terrornauts (1967) arrives on region-A locked Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome Labs newly scanned and restored in 4K from its long-lost 35mm original camera negative. We get a terrific looking image with pleasing, tight-knit grain structures, copious amounts of fine detail and textures, sometimes to the detriment of the cheap-looking low-budget set design and costuming. The colors are poppin' with radiant red, gorgeous greens and pretty pinks throughout, it;s a very vivid production. Skin tones are warm and natural looking, and black levels are solid throughout. The only flaw I noticed was a brief vertical line that pops-up late in the film, but otherwise this is a gorgeous presentation with truly impressive depth and clarity.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, with no issues with age-related source wear. The score by Elisabeth Lutyens (Paranoiac) has eerie moments of theremin as well as some jauntier action-adventure cues, and the canned sound effects with its bleeps and bloops delivers a warm wave of earworm nostalgia.
Extras for this VSL release include a new Audio Commentary with author and film historian Brian Hannan, which is wonderfully in-depth and well-researched by someone who clearly loves 60's sci-fi, and manages to convey loads of info without being too scholarly about it. The 22-min Subotsky the Trailblazer is an interview with Brit writer/film critic Kim Newman, who talks at-length about Subotsky's love of sci-fi and putting it into context of other sci-fil of this era of Brit sci-fi. He speaks about how Subotsky was unusual in the realm of genre cinema in that he actually loved genre and science-fiction, and was a bit ahead of his time, as he was the first person to suggest adapting Marvel Comics stories into film, coming up with an early treatment for Spider-Man, and later adapting EC Comics into the beloved Amicus portmanteau films, while also advocating for kiddie-friendly matinee sci-fi.
The 8-min Archival interview with editor Peter Musgrave, whom speaks about the challenges of editing a low-budget science fiction film. He discusses how Subotsky was both kindly but very hands-on, and at time difficult to work for. Also noting how the producer was an rabid reader of sci-fi novels, and had a great memory for recalling what he had read and why it worked or didn't work, and if it would make a good film. He also discusses how composer Elisabeth Lutyens neglected to compose music for the film's finale, but that he made due with some "brass blasts" she provided, and how that more or less worked well enough.
The last of the disc extras is the 8-min Archival interview with production manager Ted Wallis, who briefly discusses how cheap the film was and generally being dismissive of the story itself, and of how the green make-up used for the alien savages was near impossible to wash off, which lead to some interesting bus rides home for the actors.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring two illustrated artworks, both looks fantastic. We also get a sturdy Slipcover with spot gloss finish, both artworks look terrific, with the back cover of the slipcover featuring a illustration of the striking Zena Marshall in her unbuttoned blouse on the floor with a green alien skull.
The Terrornauts - The Final Word:
The Terrornauts (1967) is the sort of kitschy 60s kitschy science fiction I would have enjoyed on TV Saturday afternoons as a kid with a cereal bowl, and it's still pretty enjoyable even if I've since traded in my bottomless cereal bowl for a frosty pint or two in my middle-age. The brightly painted plywood sets, kooky robots, and miniatures of radio telescopes and alien spacecraft, and green-skinned alien savage still delight me to this day, even if a lot of the seams are obvious, especially in gorgeously restored HD. If you're a fan of schlocky sci-fi and spotting fleeting glimpses of fishing line supporting rocket ships in cheesy sci-fi flicks this is gonna be a banger for sure. The Vinegar Syndrome Labs Blu-ray looks pretty fantastic, and the new and archival extras, as well as the striking illustrated artworks that accompany the packaging, really put the cherry on top of this retro-futuristic slice of sci-fi schlock.
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized THE TERRORNAUTS Blu-ray screen caps!
Like you, I'm a sucker for this era of cheapie sci-fi, but have never seen this one. Can't wait to check it out!