It’s simple, really. Something has gone wrong with the Army’s new atomic-powered supercomputer, DMN. It was supposed to open stable wormholes anywhere in the world, but instead has created a rift in the fabric of time and space itself, and the machine is still running on the other side of that rift.
And in a few hours, it will explode, causing the destruction of the entire universe…
Okay, I’ll admit it. I was a bit spoiled by Weresquito: Nazi Hunter, which is perhaps the best film Christopher R. Mihm has made to date: it represented a radical change in approach, one which echoed an entirely different strain of old movies than Mihm’s usual take on Fifties SF. Demon with the Atomic Brain isn’t anywhere near as daring, although it seems less like a Fifties SF film than many of the Mihmiverse films — but not for the reasons you might think.
For those of you coming in late, I should note that Christopher has been making these faux-Fifties science fiction and horror films since The Monster of Phantom Lake back in 2006. We’re talking the sort of homegrown, garage movies made mostly out of love and duct tape that make Teenagers From Outer Space look like it had a big budget. But they are also among the few retro films which respect those films, even if they do occasionally poke a little fun at their excesses.
As I noted in my review for It Came from Yesterday, the idea of parallel dimensions is a fairly recent idea. It doesn’t fit at all in a retro thirties movie, nor does it really fit that well into a Fifties SF film pastiche. The end result is that the story feels more like an episode of The Twilight Zone, even if the basic trappings are those of a Fifties film.
However, we do get the usual fun bits we expect from a Mihm film, from a rampaging stop motion plant monster to invisible aliens — although it isn’t quite as much fun as Cave Women on Mars or Destination: Outer Space. I particularly liked the DMN computer itself, which has clearly given itself a redesign so there will be no question that it is an evil computer.
And the sharp eyed viewer will note a few familiar names showing up on Chris’ characters.
As with any of the Mihmiverse films, there are a lot of recurring characters and situations (I’ll admit, the reference to the aliens from Pluto escapes me! But then I’ve only seen about half of his films) and a lot of familiar faces among the cast. Dr. Bob Tesla, who does a live, weekly horror stage show, gets a minor part this time, after providing introductions for several of the DVDs. And there is a curious detail this time around: a little bit of color finds its way into the black and white world of the Mihmiverse.
I have to admit that I found the sexual politics far too grating this time: certainly they play a larger part than in most of the Mihm films. I really think the part of women in Fifties SF films is due for a reassessment (particularly as we tend to see them solely through the lens of how we look at things, and not how they were seen at the time): I suspect you would find a majority of them are the classic Howard Hawks woman. Think of Pat in The Thing, an intelligent, capable woman who plays even with the boys without complaint on her part (or comment from the boys) and even gets the better of the hero the first time they meet.
However, Demon with the Atomic Brain probably has the best opening of any Mihm film to date — and the best teaser trailer, too, as it used the same sequence. It’s always impressive to see how much can be done on film with so little — a single actor, a neutral background, and some good writing.
However, I am really looking forward to Chris’ next film, one which leaps forward from the Fifties and into something far more Italian; a post-Apocalyptic Spaghetti Western called Guns of the Apocalypse.
I wonder if he’ll use more color this time?
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