Review of Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) by Aaron A — 03 Oct 2011

"Come to me, / Let your dreams become reality.".

Synopsis: A United Nations space mission bound for the planet Uranus blasts off in the year 2001, the crew reaches its goal but finds an exotic form of evil awaiting them.

Made on a budget of merely $75,000 (by comparison, "The Magnificent Seven" made just two years earlier had a budget of 3 million), the onscreen images are often footage filmed in what looks like Wyoming or something, the dialogue is poorly written, the acting is sometimes laughable and theres little kinetic energy to speak of, most definitely a campy film. The scenarios are fittingly contrived of course which I suspect is a chief cause of this picture being almost maddeningly boring for most of it's runtime, besides maybe the cinematography.

That being said the ending was quite a surprise, and made me think twice about what I just finished watching. The film was released during a time when drive-in theaters were extremely popular, many would not watch the film but make out, and there is allusions to romantic loss within the script, such themes are not emphasized, but some depth can be syphoned out of the experience.

Though the film is the epitome of campy sci-fi, a script that shows slight signs of depth, ensure the time spent on Journey to the Seventh Planet isn't a total waste, though be prepared for a boring movie experience.