"It had to come back for me, to nourish its young."
A rocket ship is sent into space with the intent of orbiting the earth. The ship is hit by something unknown that sends it back to earth where it crash lands. The pilot John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) dies in the crash. Two technicians Dave Randall (Ed Nelson) and Donna Bixby (Georgianna Carter) race to the downed ship. They recover Corcoran’s body. They are baffled by a tear in the ship and a mud-like substance on the wreckage. Dr. Alex Wyman (Tyler McVey), technician Steve Dunlap (John Baer) and Corcoran's fiancé, physician Julie Benson (Angela Greene) arrive at the crash sight to examine the body. They note that the body has not gone into rigor mortis when it should have by now.
They bring Corcoran’s body back to the lab to run tests on it. The doctors find some strange cells in his blood that resist destruction by the bodies own while blood cells. They consider that it may be a pathogen of some kind. They keep reviewing Corcoran’s blood for any changes.
There is a problem with the radio so Randall goes out to check on it. He is attacked by a creature. Then the power goes out and the jeep is destroyed. They discover that there is a magnetic force field around them. They are trapped there.
The monster breaks into the infirmary and kills Dr. Wyman. His head is missing and so is Corcoran’s body. Then they find Corcoran alive. They check him over and find something has infected him. There are lizard-like fetuses in his abdomen. Corcoran is pregnant, but with alien babies. He’s basically an egg sack. Corcoran appears to have a telepathic connection to the monster. He tells everyone that the creature is not evil just misunderstood.
While everyone is prepping to kill the monster Corcoran escapes and finds the monster in a cave. The monster had absorbed Wyman’s brain and now can speak with the scientist’s voice having acquired all his knowledge. When the others get to the cave Corcoran finds out what the monster is really doing here.
"Night of the Blood Beast" was released in 1958 and was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. I have to admit that all through the movie I was unsure of Corcoran. Did he kill Wyman? Was he leading everyone into a trap. Was the monster making him do everything?
“Night of the Blood Beast” is a Corman two fer. Both Roger and Gene had their sticky little fingers in this one. They made a lot of these short movies to help fill out a double bill at theaters. They had a bunch on the shelf and when needed would take one down and blow the dust off it.
As for the acting, there was always a stable of actors looking to supplement their pockets. Some ended up being decent actors. The soap opera music was an interesting touch. I think I remember it from “Attack of The Giant Leeches” 1959. The monster, which looks like a guy in a bear suit with a melted head, was also used in Teenage Caveman”. It’s your basic 50’s style Corman fodder. OK, but nothing special.