Plot: What’s it about?
Warner Bros has recently been releasing a line of films on Blu-Ray under the umbrella of the Archive Collection. They have committed themselves to releasing rare films every week on Tuesday, and I commend them for taking this approach to film preservation. One of their recent releases was the 1956 science fiction film World Without End, which I enjoyed watching but probably does not have a huge potential audience. When From Hell It Came arrived at my door, I immediately realized that Warner Bros. was going to be releasing more of these kitschy sci-fi films from the Fifties. I excitedly popped it in my Blu-Ray player and gave it a whirl.
From Hell It Came begins the film with the ritualistic sacrifice of a young savage named Maku by his tribal leaders. Maku proclaims that if he is murdered he will rise from the grave to extract his vengeance while his turncoat of a wife looks on. Maku is wrongfully accused of collusion with the Americans that had brought disease with them. The disease the savages (who strangely enough look exactly like white people in Tiki/Polynesian outfits) blame them for is actually nuclear fallout from neighboring islands where nuclear testing has occurred. In the island are some American scientists and anthropologists. Lo and behold the young savage grows back out of the ground, at first as a stump with a heartbeat, and then into some form of nuclear-voodoo-plant creature named The Tabanga. The Tabanga is out for revenge! It is up to the scientists, two male and one female, along with some of the local natives to defeat The Tabanga before it is too late!
I felt similar thoughts watching this film to watching Warner’s recent release, World Without End. In every generation there are horror and sci-fi films that take a fear relative to that time and exploit it. This film is a time capsule to when people feared anything “nuclear” due to the devastation of World War II and the fear of Russian warheads lingering in everybody’s consciousness. Also, at the time America was really into Polynesian stuff with Tiki taking over the country’s drinks. This film must have felt exotic at the time and thrilled the young kids who had learned to “duck and cover.”
While not exactly a well-written piece of cinema, I enjoyed this movie for what it was. It is absolutely ridiculous. Genre fans will be thrilled to see the tender loving care that Warner has given the title.
Video: How’s it look?
Warner Bros. did a fantastic job on the transfer of the film using an MPEG 4 AVC codec of a new 2K restoration in gorgeous Black and White. Fans of the film should be very pleased with the meticulous attention to detail that this transfer has been given. Clarity and fine detail are top-notch. Warner is putting up an excellent battle against both Sony and Criterion for who can put out the sharpest film transfers. This is another great example of the solid job that Warner Bros. are doing on their archival releases.
Audio: How’s it sound?
A DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track does the job. As a mono mix front speakers are used for the entire mix. Clarity is solid. I did not detect any dropouts or notable hiss. The sound effects are as generic as they come and they fit what must be considered a somewhat generic film for its time. The score sounds like most sci-fi films of that time, which I mean as a compliment. It is reproduced very well here. Fans will be pleased.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
From Hell It Came is a fun and campy trip into the consciousness of 1950’s America, where nuclear-voodoo-spirit plants could walk the Earth in a film. I particularly liked how “exotic” the casting was for this film. Fans should be extremely pleased with the transfer that Warner Bros. have provided but may be disappointed with the lack of special features.
