Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Bergorks
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Jemima
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
geezer-mw
The reason I've rated this film as awful is down to the fact that I am watching a truly AWFUL "colorized" version of this otherwise brilliant black and white film on Talking Pictures (Channel 81, Freeview UK), a channel that generally prides itself on showing old and often obscure black and white films, as I type this review. Would Talking Pictures Kindly obtain an ORIGINAL Black and White copy of this film and run that in future? I'd much appreciate it- this version I'm watching is ghastly!!!
Dhawley-2
Just having watched this film for the first time in many years (and not really recalling much of it) was an exercise in frustration. No need to cover the premise, as other reviewers have done so in detail. As a long-time sci-fi fan with a fondness for British made films, I expected a lot more from this than it delivered. As other reviewers note, the film does offer great atmosphere, reminiscent of the Quatermass films and other British sci-fi greats. Beyond that, it is a true mystery how others' can call this a 'gem'. More like a lump of coal.There is some interesting camera work in this black & white effort, and the acting is generally pretty good (although John Saxon was pretty dull, turning in a perfunctory performance at best). In spite of these positives, it doesn't take long to see that this film is very, very lame. Crummy special effects (the alien's 'claw hand' looks like it came from a Halloween shop), the makeup of the 'night caller' at the end was inconsistent with his appearance during the rest of the film (and lousy makeup at that), the premise of having an alien from Ganymede transporting to earth with money, a refined British accent and the ability to drive a car, rent an office, etc. is never explained, nor is the fate of the '200 plus' girls abducted. The 'visitor' assures that they 'won't be harmed' but that's it. This could have been a very good film. It certainly started out well enough, but as noted by others, the further into the film one got the worse it got. I felt cheated out of the 84 minutes I spent watching it. As a big fan of 50s and 60s sci-fi films, I'm not too picky. There are many low-budget films of those eras and of that genre that are immensely entertaining. This is not one of them. And one final note: it would hardly be possible to find a more inappropriate title song for a science fiction film than the one used in this film. It was like something that might be used in a 'B' romance film, lyrics excepting. Awful. It nearly caused me to stop the film before it started. Regrettably, I sat through it all. Yawn.
piker-4
This is the kind of science fiction movie that Monty Python made fun of in that episode with the tennis-playing Scotsmen and the killer blancmange. John Saxon, who is too American to participate, literally disappears from the story about an hour in. I don't want to give away any plot twists but it really feels like they were making it up as they went along - when the alien's evil plan becomes clear you'll laugh your head off. Science Fiction by people who don't like science fiction. Having said that, the acting is pretty good if you have a long attention span and you like bad movies, this can be very entertaining. Think of it as a Quatermass movie without a central character.
Chris Gaskin
The Night Caller is one of several low budget British sci-fi movies that were made around the mid-1960's and is one of the best. Others include Invasion and Unearthly Stranger. I found this one quite good.A strange sphere from outer space lands on some moorland and the Army recover it and take it to the local research station. During the night, it starts to glow and making a strange bleeping noise at the same time. Just after, a woman who works there sees a figure dressed in black and nobody believes her at first. They do when a strange footprint is found and a car makes off from the research station at high speed. Despite a lot of shooting, they fail to capture the driver, who is the alien. In London, women start to disappear, all after applying for a job advertised in the Bikina Girl magazine. The woman who works at the research station applies but she is killed. The police eventually close in on Medra (the alien) and we get to know he is from one of Jupiter's moons, Ganyemede and wants these women to take back with him, which he does. The sphere then takes off in a ball of fire. The alien the winner in this one.The Night Caller is very atmospheric at times and is shot well in black and white. One interesting point is how the alien knew how to drive when escaping from the research station.The cast includes American actor John Saxon (Planet of Blood, A Nightmare On Elm Street) and several well known British stars: Maurice Denham (Curse of the Demon, The Nanny), Warren Mitchell (The Crawling Eye, Till Death Us Do Part), Patricia Haines, Ballard Berkeley (Fawlty Towers), Alfred Burke (Children of the Damned) and Aubrey Morris.The Night Caller is worth checking out, especially for fans of 1950's/60's science fiction. Excellent.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.