Diagonaldi Very well executed

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

thejcowboy22 Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) experimenting with a different type of eye drops discovers a serum that when applied causes extraordinary vision. The kind of eye sight that penetrates through metal walls and stone.From the sci fi movies I've viewed in the past the scientist usually experiments on another unfortunate individual. In this case Dr. Xavier applies the drops on himself with astounding results. The far sighted Doctor steps right into action as an unnecessary operation takes place. Dr. Xavier tries to stop the surgery as the tumor is in a different location. The Doctor's funding is cut off and with an ill- fated mishap kills his close colleague and friend Dr. Sam Brant (Harold Stone). Weird casting by Producer Roger Corman as he casts the lovely Diana Van Der Vlis as Xavier's Girlfriend physician. Milland is clearly quite older than his girlfriend.Moreover Milland age 58 is at the end of his debonair roles as a leading man in movies and milked this role for all it's worth. Xavier on the lamb hides in a carnival and befriends the employees there despite his wearing of thick heavy blackened glasses. Enter Mister Warmth-ed Comedian Insultaire Don Rickles as the dubious and curious penny pinching Crane. Rickles does a fine job of threatening and infuriating our X-Ray Milland. Milland is chemically dependent on the eye drops but as his addiction grows so does his pupils. Dramatic eye popping ending with plenty of shock value. One of Roger Corman's bests.

RogerTheMovieManiac88 This truly is a cracking little sci-fi/horror thriller from American International and Roger Corman. In one of his finest late career performances, Ray Milland stars as the experimenting Dr. Xavier who comes up with an eye-drop fluid that allows him to see beyond the normal spectrum. Following the accidental death of a colleague, things get out of hand and Xavier is forced to go on the run. At this juncture, the picture perhaps gets even more interesting as the nature of what the doctor can increasingly perceive through his afflicted eyes is incorporated into a swirling and intriguingly developed background locale. He hides out at a carnival, where he becomes an attraction of sorts. Don Rickles, as his shady boss, turns in a sleazily memorable supporting performance and the depiction of the bustling on-site activity that goes on at carnival sites is well-realised.Later, on the run from a casino, Xavier loses the dark glasses that protect his eyes somewhat. As he struggles desperately to evade the police, the unbearable glare of the desert sunlight serves to heighten his strange and distorted visions. Milland's contorted movements and sense of straining despair and helplessness is really quite something to observe. The film's finale in the Evangelicals' tent proves supremely chilling yet also quite plaintive and deeply moving as the pioneering and now plagued Dr. Xavier reveals the extent of his troubling and harrowing visions.Shot in three weeks on a paper-thin budget of $300,000, this truly is a cheapie gem and undoubtedly one of Corman's finest achievements as a director. The haunting visuals and art direction are certainly dated yet retain a remarkable ability to convey what Xavier sees in front of him. There is fine support from a number of veteran character actors and Diana Van der Vlis is a particularly pleasant presence as a female colleague who tries to help Xavier. Milland is centre stage though and he is terrific and deeply compelling in creating an unforgettably anguished and understandably flawed anti-hero. He appeared in some pretty ordinary fare later in life but this is a film and performance that he could justly have been proud of. It is a searing and deeply pained but very human performance of admirable restraint and eloquence. Indeed, it takes the film to another level.As an aside, it is interesting to note that this film was released as a double feature with Francis Ford Coppola's Irish-shot 'Dementia 13'. I haven't yet seen that one but it too sounds wonderfully intriguing!

mamalv Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland), discovers a drug that can make him see thru the human body into its organs. He feels this is the break thru to helping heal, and be able to see beyond anything imaginable. He continues his quest even after the project funding is stopped. Along the way he becomes more and more sensitive to the drops and has what is probably almost LSD like visions. Roger Corman has outdone himself in this film. Probably his best ever. He wanted Ray Milland for this part, and felt that Milland was underrated, even though he had won an Academy Award for The Lost Weekend. Thinking of this film as a science fiction or horror film sells it short. It is really a physiological thriller that starts a little slow but builds into a run for Milland's life. There are some comical scenes when the Doctor sees all the participants at a party without their clothes. Don Rickles is great as the carnival barker with an idea to make Milland the healer he is quite capable of being. However the more sickness he sees, the more despondent he becomes. Finally after going to Las Vegas to win the money needed to continue the research, he goes on the run, winding up at a tent sermon and plucking out his eyes to stop the mental anguish. Corman chose the right person to play the moral doctor stuck in a web of an unending sadness. Milland is perfect and so is the film.

DKosty123 In 1963, no one ever imagined a film which predicted the future the way this one did. Ray Milland's great performance here is way ahead of it's time. When you see him wearing the dark glasses he very much looks like a person today wearing Virtual Reality Glasses. No one making the film at the time could even imagine that. Roger Corman was on TCM recently saying that at almost $300,000 dollars this was one of his biggest budget films. I am not even sure that money would pay for the poor lab monkey who gets too much of an eye full early in this one now. This movie has a cult following today for some very good reasons. The old carnival scenes are a throwback to simpler times with the kind of carnival thrill rides that existed before the huge theme parks that came later.Don Rickles is a perfect example of the early 1960's as his 2 desires are lust of all women and money, and more money. A small amount of his stand-up humor getting into this script does not hurt the film either. To me, the iconic scene is the end one, which has rarely been duplicated in Sci-Fi. Milland wanders into an old fashioned religious tent revival (these still happen), and walks up to the fire and brimstone preacher. He tells the preacher what he sees as God due to his X-Ray eyes. The preacher tells him it is "because he has sinned." There are several ways to interpret this depending on your point of view, but it leaves one of the deepest closing messages ever put into a Sci-Fi film.