Notes:
Independent-International presents an Al Adamson Production.
Dr. Rynning: John Carradine
Dr. Manning: Robert Dix
Valerie: Vicki Volante
Willy: Joey Benson
Lian Mallian: Jennifer Bishop
Bryce: Bruce Powers
Bob Scott: Fred Meyers
Linda: Britt Semand
Produced and Directed: Al Adamson
Executive Producers: Charles McMullen and
Zoe Phillips
Screenplay: Sue McNair
Music: Mike Velarde.
Summary:
A vampire intensely shouts the opening narration while attacks
on poorly lit streets take place. He implies that vampirism originated
millions of years ago in "deep dark space." Subsequently,
none of this will have any connection to anything.
We cut to a rocket launch. Dr. Manning commands,
"activate launchpad video scanner" [read: turn on the
tv], "activate image stabilizer" [fix the tracking],
and worries when the rocket is "not telemetering" [he
can't see it on tv]. They cumbersomely call the rocketship XB-13.
It is "hit bad" in some kind of collision and they
have to land on a nearby planet. Fortunately "the atmosphere
is identical to ours," which means we don't strain the budget
with helmets and suits.
Dr. Rynning's supposed mild coronary allows
him to stay aboard and render crotchety barkings. All other morons
wander around in various film tints which allow a borrowing of
b&w stock footage: enlarged lizards from One Million BC
(now 30-plus years old!).
Soon we're in another film: a Japanese caveman
movie with interminable battles of one tribe defending itself
against cave-vampires with ludicrous fangs. These sights are
taken to be "intelligent form of life."
The spacefools nab a cavewoman and perform
a magic brain implant which allows her to speak English and explain
the Japanese film, declaring her tribe to be peacelovers except
for their killing for food.
Back on Earth, Dr. Manning justifies the tinting
to his reclining wife with the help of a caulking gun. Honest
to God!
Those Japanese caveidiots encounter bat-creatures
while trying to get "fire-water" (scotch?) The space
explorers decide they should have some of that there fire-water
and that it resembles crude oil. Then we all split up pointlessly.
Bob is killed and Willy is invited to stay on the planet by the
cavewoman Valerie, but the red tint is getting to him and he faints.
Aboard ship, John Carradine is playing with
his chemistry set. He tells the others with the fire-water that
all of them have white-blood-corpuscles-devouring-the-red-corpuscles
syndrome from the poison atmosphere. His armchair detection has
determined that there used to be an advanced civilization on the
planet, but that they abused their thermonuclear powers, destroyed
the civilization, unleashed a deadly virus, and will all be dead
soon. We grab Willy and leave.
Commentary:
For a while, one suspects and hopes that John Carradine will
turn out to be a traitor and a vampire himself aboard the spaceship,
but alas, the film is simply an attempt to recycle footage from
an absurd Japanese cavevampire movie. The film spends most of
its time in self-justification for color problems.