Rymdinvasion
i Lappland (Terror in the Midnight Sun)
KlubSuper8
Rymdinvasion
i Lappland was a 1959 Science Fiction made in Sweden. The Swedish version was also
known as Space Invasion from Lapland, there was also various US editions with
added scenes. It was also known as Terror in the Midnight Sun and Invasion of
the Animal People.
The
story is very much the quintessential black and white 1950’s horror from the
skies with weird mutations and monsters. A strange meteor is seen crashing
somewhere in Lappland and this is shortly followed by the discovery of herds of
reindeer which have been brutally slaughtered. The military call in a special
geological team who travel to the remote site to investigate. Along the way one
of the team, Erik, strikes up a bit of romance with the niece of the team
leader Dr. Vance Wilson and this budding love story between Diane and Erik
provides a bit of light relief. Diane is a suitably annoying character played
as a rather undisciplined American who seems to constantly be putting herself
at risk ! (I presume this was the Swedish view of Americans in the fifties!)
What
they find shocks their world. It is not a meteor at all but an odd spaceship
from another world. It seems to have some connection with a huge 20 foot
creature which is destroying local villages and killing all those in its way.
What it actually wants is never really clear. It destroys everything it
encounters, picking up and crashing buildings and causing avalanches, yet
a bit like King Kong takes a liking to
Diane and carries her around unharmed. That’s until he is cornered by the
Lapplanders, set alight and falls off the cliff with the alien craft flying
back to wherever it came !
This
is a truly 1950’s sci fi, alien invasion, creature shock classic. It is rare
and not often seen so this is a great edition to have. The picture is as good
as one could expect for the age, the sound is fairly clear but with some background
noise every so often.
What
is especially nice are the extras: Bertil Jernberg in Lapland: An interview
about the film, a gallery, some biographical data and a couple of extra films.
13 Demon Street: Iskall lidelse (The
Girl in the Glacier)
This
is an episode from thriller-TV-series by the team behind the film. Torsten
Lilliecrona is an archaeologist who happens not only to find a nude stone age
girl in a block of age hidden deep inside a mine, but falls in love with her at
a distance and then goes out of control and murders his colleague to keep her
all for himself ! Swedish/US Production 1960
The Lapland Reindeer Ritual
Where
young Lapp women practise age old rites.
This
is a nice and unusual DVD from KlubSuper8 which is great fun and The Girl in
the Glacier is a rather impressive short film too !