NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT

(vt Island of the Burning Damned) Film (1967). Planet. Dir Terence Fisher, starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Patrick Allen, Sarah Lawson, Jane Merrow. Screenplay Ronald Liles, Pip Baker, Jane Baker, based on The Night of the Big Heat (1959) by John LYMINGTON. 97 mins, cut to 94 mins. Colour.

   An island off the UK coast experiences a freak heatwave, during which there are a number of mysterious killings involving fire. The culprits turn out to be ALIENS who resemble giant fried eggs and are attracted to any source of heat. At the climax the few survivors are saved when a thunderstorm destroys the aliens: water, it seems, dissolves them. Lymington's pulp novel was certainly not rational sf, but it built up anatmosphere of claustrophobic tension which the film lacks.

   JB