Die, Monster, Die! (film)

‘Can you face the ultimate in diabolism …..can you stand pure terror?’

Die, Monster, Die! (British title: Monster of Terror) is a 1965 sci-fi horror film directed by Daniel Haller (the art director for Roger Corman’s Poe films) from a screenplay by Jerry Sohl, loosely adapted from H.P. Lovecraft‘s story The Colour Out of Space. It stars Boris Karloff, Nick Adams (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero), Freda Jackson, Suzan Farmer, Terence De Marney and Patrick Magee (Dementia 13; Asylum; The Black Cat).

It was shot in February/March 1965 at Shepperton Studios and on location in Shere village and Oakley Court under the working title The House at the End of the World. Haller also directed The Dunwich Horror, a 1969 Lovecraft adaptation.

In the USA, American International Pictures released the film on a double bill with Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires (1965). In the UK the film was released on a double-bill with Corman’s 1963 film The Haunted Palace (also based on a Lovecraft story).

Plot teaser:

An American college student (Nick Adams) pays a visit to the estate of his fiancée’s family. During his journey, he finds an area of countryside burned out and an enormous crater, as well as townspeople reluctant to the point of hostility to either drive to his destination or even talk about the family that lives there. The source of all these problems is later revealed to be a radioactive meteorite kept hidden in the basement by his girlfriend’s father (Boris Karloff), who has been using the radiation to mutate plant and animal life, with horrific consequences. Worse yet, family members may have been affected, too…

Reviews:

“The plodding plot would be more painful if the flick were longer, but the intriguing meld of gothic horror and contemporary sci-fi is hard to pass up.” G. Noel Gross, DVD Talk

“Despite the old school Gothic setting (large castle, fog-shrouded forests and graveyards), this seems strangely modern at times in terms of character actions, pacing and sound design. Haller and his crew make it all quite atmospheric, there are some interesting aural and light effects used at the finale, nice use of matte paintings throughout, some mildly icky make-up fx (such as a face melting down) and an interesting metallic-looking meteor monster that shows up at the very end.” The Bloody Pit of Horror

“Despite game performances from all involved, Die, Monster, Die! is ultimately undone by its generic and uninspired approach. The effects of the meteorite – kept squirreled away in the basement – are erratic and highly selective.” Aaron Christensen, HorrorHound magazine