- An astronaut is killed on reentry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly gestating aliens.
- An astronaut returns from space dead. The base that recovered him is then cut off from the outside world by an alien. The revival of the dead astronaut, the death of a scientist, and the discovery of alien embryos inside the resurrected astronaut's body bodes ill for the survival of those trapped at the base and the rest of humanity.—Erik Gregersen <erik@astro.as.utexas.edu>
- The movie opens with a rocket ship being launched at night. Title and credits follow. They are shown over an animated sequence of the capsule's orbital mission. Major John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) is the sole occupant in the capsule and reports mission parameters to the ground. Something goes wrong and he crashes ten miles northeast of the base. Part of the ground recovery and investigation team drives to the scene in a Jeep. Dave Randall (Ed Nelson) and Donna Bixby (Georgianna Carter) are first on the scene and extinguish the flames on John's capsule. Dave checks John for a pulse, but there is none. Donna takes pictures of the crash scene and capsule while Dave reports, via radio, to the rest of the scientific team en route in a stakebed truck. Steve Dunlap (John Baer) is driving the truck. Doctors Alex Wyman (Tyler McVey) and Julie Benson (Angela Greene) are with Steve in the truck. Dave reports that the rocket and controls section are in one piece, but the pilot did not survive the crash. Julie is upset. She was engaged to the pilot, Major John Corcoran. Donna notices something strange about mud around the wreckage. Donna and Dave leave to investigate the area surrounding the crash. A strange moving mass on top of the capsule leaves the area. The team is now all assembled at the crash site and Dave notices the opening in the capsule is now much larger than it was initially. Dr. Wyman enters the capsule to examine John's body. He calls for Dr. Benson to get his medical bag and join him inside the capsule. Julie climbs in to witness the exam. They estimate John has been dead for three hours, but his body is still warm, with no sign of rigor mortis, skin discoloration, or dilation of his pupils. This is very strange. They decide to move him back to the lab for a more extensive medical exam.
The lab is a converted radar monitoring station. While Doctors Wyman and Benson do their medical tests, Dave tries to report to headquarters on the radio, but with no luck. Dr. Wyman proclaims, "By all medical standards this man is dead, no heartbeat, no respiration. Yet his tissues refuse to dissipate." Dave tries next to contact the Air Force on the radio, but interference is blocking his attempts. Upon further examination, Julie notices a strange crescent shaped wound on John's right forearm. Donna enters the exam room and tells Steve that the radio still doesn't work and Dave wants to see him. Dave goes out to check the tower, while Steve continues their attempts to contact the Cape on the radio. Their routine call is already five hours overdue. Another exam of John shows a blood pressure of 120/80, but with no heartbeat, that is declared as impossible. Dave checks the power vault just as electrical power for the installation goes out. Something approaches him and he empties his gun while retreating back to the electrical vault. He screams and the team comes to his assistance. When asked what happened, he replies, "Something hit me. It was big, like a bear. It came from out of the darkness and was heading for the lab. I know I put a couple of shots in it before I went down." They hear breaking lab equipment and run back inside, but with no power they need some source of light. They light storm lanterns and return to the medical section. They find the window broken and Dave finds a piece of a leather-like substance at the window. It doesn't appear that John's body was disturbed. Steve boards up the broken window and sits to have a cigarette.
Julie notices some abnormality in John's blood--a third type of blood cell. Wyman examines the tissue and notes, "Seven hours and his blood is still alive." Doctors Wyman and Benson are stumped. Wyman insists this be reported immediately, but with the radio out someone will have to find a working telephone. Julie explains that the third blood structure, "That big one, that's completely foreign to any blood structure. If that bacteroid is contagious then we've all been exposed." They send Steve to get to an outside telephone, but he notices the electrical system on the Jeep and truck are burnt out. They are stuck with no way out or ability to contact anyone. Dave notices that everyone's watches have stopped. They discover they are in a magnetic force field. Donna notices something on the photographs she took of the capsule. She tells them the opening of the capsule is larger and most of the strange mud is gone. They decide to stay together in one room for the night with each taking a watch. Someone will hike to the nearest town the next morning. Dr. Wyman tries to comfort Julie, who is buckling under the strain of John's condition and their circumstances.
Outside something approaches the lab, seen only in shadow. While the others sleep Dr. Wyman was attacked. Dave and Steve wake and investigate. They find Wyman strung up with half his head missing. Blood is still dripping on the floor below the body. They notice John's body is missing from the examination table. As Dave and Steve take Dr. Wymans body down, John's body, hidden from view, stands up. Donna sees it and screams. They are all momentarily shocked to see John alive. Julie tells Steve to help him to the table. John tells Julie he is all right, then inquires about Dr. Wyman. They ask John if there was anyone else in the room with Dr. Wyman, but John can't remember. They suspect John may have been involved. John complains that his head and neck hurt. They discover another crescent shaped wound on his neck. Julie explains to John that he has been clinically dead for hours. John then explains his condition in medical terms, exactly as Dr. Wyman might. John further explains, "In some way, I think Dr. Wyman is influencing me. I think he may be a part of me now." Now the team is very suspicious, and John adds, "It didn't come here to destroy." A re-examination of John's blood shows the abnormal cells are gone. John stands in front of a fluoroscope. Shrimp-like creatures have infected his body. When confronted about their destruction, a large, birdlike creature (Ross Sturlin) crashes into the lab. They fire their weapons at the creature with no effect. A thrown lantern, which starts a fire, drives it away. John argues that the creature should be left alone, but Steve and Dave want it dead and plan to use fire and track it down the next morning. Julie gives John an injection of sodium amytal to sedate him. She is left to guard her patient with a Very pistol or flare gun.
Steve, Dave, and Donna start walking back to the capsule. They notice their watches are working again. Suspecting the creature is in the capsule, Dave and Steve fire a flare inside, leaving Donna a safe distance away. The creature appears and grabs Donna and drags her away. Steve and Dave give chase. They fire at the creature and it releases Donna and escapes in the brush. Donna is unhurt, and they decide to return to the lab.
While Julie is at her desk, John retrieves the pistol, but does not use it. He tries to convince Julie to leave the creature alone and assures his fiancée that, "It's not dead, and they won't be able to find it." He knows there is something inside him, but he's not afraid. John insists he lead them to the creature, but in the open and during daylight. Dave speculates that the two sources of magnetic disturbance come from John and the Creature, and that the anomaly is the only thing keeping John alive. They agree to John's plan, but Steve and Dave want an insurance policy and make Molotov cocktails to carry. While preparing their bombs, John comes in to examine Dr. Wymans body. Dave and Steve confront John. He volunteers he's receiving impulses, but insists he can exercise free will.
The next morning all five set off for the Creature's lair. John senses where it is located and leads the group. They walk over hills to a ravine and a cave (Bronson Cave, Griffith Park in Los Angeles). John leaves the group and runs into the cave. He talks to the Creature, "I brought them to you. They don't understand. I'm not sure I do. How can I help to communicate with us?" The creature, using Dr. Wyman's voice, talks to John. It claims to want to help give humanity a better way of life. John and the Creature exit the cave to talk to the four waiting outside. They are surprised to hear Dr. Wyman's voice coming from the Creature. They approach and listen as the Creature tries to convince them it came to help and it has been waiting up in space to get to the Earth's surface. It announces that within the hour a new generation of its kind, that John is carrying in his body, will be born. John realizes the Creature is here to conquer the Earth and that his sacrifice is the only way to stop the invasion. John begs his colleagues to kill him. John decides to take his own life with a knife and the Molotov cocktails burn the Creature. While on fire, the Creature warns, "You are not ready, but we will still save you. In your quest for self-destruction you will send up more satellites, and we will be there waiting to come again." We close with a long shot of Steve, Julie, Donna, and Dave walking away from the cave area.
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By what name was Night of the Blood Beast (1958) officially released in Canada in English?
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