And thus I commemorate my first year on Epinions with a review of... The Hideous Sun Demon (1959). An odd choice, perhaps, but it should not surprise too many readers, given that my very first Epinions submission was a review of Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda!

Minimally produced B-films of the 1950s and 1960s are rarely thought of as being personal; truth be told, they are usually considered as a safe way to make some easy money between more “respectable” and costly projects. As far as writers and directors go, few real names have emerged from the B-film ranks, and rarely will critics attempt to study the inner coherence of a given writer or director's body of work. The few exceptions - among them Ed Wood, Roger Corman and Edgar G. Ulmer - merely tend to confirm the rule.

Given all this, The Hideous Sun Demon is an intriguing oddity. In the first place, the purposely delirious title will probably pique the interest of many cult film aficionados. But its most noteworthy attribute is the fact that it was co-written, co-directed and produced by its star, Robert Clarke. (Clarke, who died on June 11 at age 85, mostly played in B-films throughout his long career, notably in Ulmer's overlooked The Man From Planet X [1951].) To call it an auteurist project would be far-fetched, but this is about as personal as a low budget science-fiction film of the 1950s can possibly be, barring Ed Wood films such as Night of the Ghouls (which I have previously reviewed here) or Plan 9 From Outer Space.

As the 75-minute black and white film begins, doctor Gilbert McKenna (Clarke) is hastily brought to a local hospital because he has been exposed to dangerous radioactive materials. Initially, he shows no secondary effects. Still, while slowly recovering from the traumatism, he goes outside, and the sunlight acts as the catalyst of a metamorphosis: he temporarily becomes a monstrous, lizard-like creature. As is often the case in such films, several scientists with thick accents go on about the causes of his plight and its possible cure... but all the while, McKenna's nagging alcohol problems resurface and he stubbornly ignores the advice he had been given. It doesn't take long before he reverts back to being a sun demon, and soon enough, police corps are on his trail in the wake of a murder he committed after a metamorphosis.

Earlier in this review, I suggested that The Hideous Sun Demon was a science-fiction film... but that's not exactly true. This movie actually blends several genres, the main triad being science-fiction, horror and film noir. The presence of the first two genres is self-evident, in that: an ordinary man's physiognomy is significantly altered as a result of failed/dangerous scientific experiments, while his new identity is firmly entrenched in the creature feature sub-genre of horror films. But The Hideous Sun Demon takes a film noir turn through its main character's dishevelled behaviour and the shady bar he sometimes visits to drown his sorrow. The nightclub singer he meets there is a (mostly underwhelming) variation on the archetypal femme fatale character; the gangster who seems to be the woman's agent and protector also recalls many similar film noir figures.

In many ways, 1950 sci-fi/horror films are synonymous with creature features. In this crowded subgenre, The Hideous Sun Demon has decidedly been overshadowed by a slew of other movies. This can readily be understood, as we are not dealing with a masterpiece, but the film's man/monster might still be its most underrated element. To me, it manages to stand out for three reasons: it actually looks rather good, with modest but decent make-up and effects; its appearances are judiciously scattered throughout the film, as per the well-known “less is more” approach to horror and suspense; the scenes in which it stars are directed with an unexpected sense of pace and timing. The narrative is fairly minimal, especially when the monster is either present or about to appear, but this somewhat elliptical storytelling - in part imposed by the minimal budget, to be sure - is artistically rewarding as well. The introduction is raw and powerful, sending the viewer straight into the drama (the initial accident is never shown). The final fifteen minutes are competently done as well, and just as direct; I especially appreciated the lack of a corny epilogue after the last few images.

While ultimately delivering the goods as an old-fashioned cult film, The Hideous Sun Demon is not without shortcomings. The direction tends to be uneven, and becomes downright clumsy during the various fight sequences - the camera pulls back a little too much in these moments, revealing in detailed fashion the badly choreographed battles (the actors themselves took part in them, and it shows). And even though the film begins with a terse introduction, it then assaults viewers with overlong and static exposition scenes that dilute the power of what went on before. In fact, the two doctors/scientists whose role is mainly to advance the plot are not very well acted, to say the least (by comparison, Robert Clarke gives an agreeably demented performance - complete with over-the-top exclamations and sneering threats - as the titular antihero). But The Hideous Sun Demon being a cult film through and through, such an aspect has its own charms. Speaking of cult charms: both the VHS and DVD copies of the movie feature several trailers, including that of The Hideous Sun Demon itself... and it proves to be the best trailer of the bunch. I even lifted one of its tag lines for the title of this review.

* * *

In short, this unoriginal but strangely endearing creature feature should be seen by cult film aficionados. It is one the least known films of its genre, but it does warrant a closer look.

N.B.: This piece is a much expanded version of a capsule review initially submitted to Amazon.

Recommended:
Yes