Made during the height of Cold War paranoia and fears of nuclear destruction, Fiend Without a Face is actually rather solid, if a bit campy. Still its noteworthy due to being fairly well made despite its budget limitations, and as far as drive in type fair its more intelligent than most of what was made during the 1950s. Particularly since it combined horror with sci-fi, something that most of its brethren did during that decade. Furthermore, Fiend Without a Face is impressive for having killer brains as the villains and pulling that bit off without being too unintentionally hilarious. I'm sure that the episodes of Futurama with the invading brains from space was inspired by this movie.
What's also great about this film is that there is a love subplot/triangle that doesn't wreck the movie, and is handled in typical 50s melodramatic fashion (they had to throw in something for the ladies). The brains are wisely not shown for most of the movie, so instead you have this odd and creepy sound that echoes before they attack. There is even a decently frightening moment where one of the victims stumbles into a room, reduced to a staggering idiot. Even though there are better movies from this era, Fiend Without a Face is still recommended. Always beware of tentacled brain monsters seeking to conquer the world, or at least feed on the living. 81
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