All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The concept of a blood-sucking alien sounds cheesier than it is in this 1957 B-movie by Roger Corman, its quite classy when you compare it to most low budget Sci-fi films from the time, it doesn't show cheap giant monsters or anything like that (except for one short scene with a cheap little monster that felt really forced) its amusing because of how decently written it is.It has some good performances, likable characters and a good script, its campy, but works for the kind of movie it is. Roger Corman really was one of the best in his field, god knows how bad this could have been without him behind the camera, not only would it be bad, it would have been boring, and that's really the worst kind of B-picture there is.A decent sci-fi movie that's a little under budget at times but manages to be enjoyable. Also, the last shot of the movie works a hundred times better than the entirety of "It Follows."

A human-like alien leaves his dying planet to secure earthling blood that his planet needs.Too bad Corman didn't dump that flying lampshade that apparently sucks the doc's blood. Because that's really the only cheezy element of this otherwise effective monster flick. It's arguably Corman's best. Birch is pretty scary with his deadpan face and perfectly parsed diction. Just don't ask him to take off his glasses. Then too, I wonder what he puts down as eye color. Plus I would give dear Beverly Garland a drive-in Oscar for her sparkly portrayal of nurse Storey. It's a performance far and above the call of a paycheck.Yes indeed, what I remember from my first viewing decades ago is Dick Miller's vacuum salesman. He's so pesky and obnoxious, horns honked all over the drive-in when he got his. And what about the teen-age cutie who opens the film, even if she doesn't stick around. Too bad. Anyway, Corman sure knew his audience since we boys were hooked right then. Nonetheless, for the less hormonally minded, there's a message in the alien madness-- better watch out earthlings, nuclear war can cause a calamity that only a steady stream of blood can help. Okay, so the movie's not exactly Oscar bait. Nonetheless, it's got a better-than-usual Corman script, plus good location staging that keep the usual hokey sets to a minimum. Yes indeed, it's still fun to track the Darvana alien, and maybe honk your horn when Miller gets his.

Roger Corman directed this surprisingly good science fiction/horror picture that stars Paul Birch as a cold-hearted alien from a dying planet decimated by nuclear war. As a consequence, he and his race need blood to survive, and find plenty of it here on Earth. He was brought here by a sophisticated matter transmission device hidden in his house, where he has hired a nurse(played by Beverly Garland) to see to his blood transfusion needs, though she becomes suspicious, involving her employer, a doctor who will have an unfortunate encounter with a bat-like creature brought by the alien... Though low budget, this doesn't hurt the film too much, since it keeps things simple but effective, with a creepy atmosphere and memorable end.

Having only seen this film on TV and in bootleg videos with poor quality, it is great to know that Shout Factory will be releasing the original 1957 Not of This Earth on DVD in January 2011! Great campy fun with the scream queen Beverly Garland at her best. We recently lost Ms. Garland, but she will always be known as Roger Corman's favorite leading lady. Also in the cast as the alien is Paul Birch who also was in the campy Queen of Outer Space and Corman's earlier classic sci-fi film The Day the World Ended as the professor and dad to pretty Lori Nelson. Roger Corman as director really knew how to stretch a budget with Not of This Earth and the black and white photography and score serve to enhance the building suspense. This movie scared me when I was a little kid at the Union Theater in Union, NJ on a double bill with Attack of the Crab Monsters (also on this upcoming DVD). For those fans of Roger Corman's work, I recommend Not of This Earth and for those who wish to discover a little gem of a sci-fi classic, this is the one. Now if they could only get around to It Conquered the World (also with Garland) and a pristine print on DVD of The Wasp Woman that would be great. It's fun to view these 50s sci-fi films which were made on a shoestring but have becoming cult classics all these years later.