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Director Gerd Oswald's, CORPUS EARTHLING, is a
weird, paranoid Sci-Fi yarn.
Robert Culp, almost a series regular on "The Outer Limits,"
gives a sterling performance under Oswald's masterful direction. He's
extremely persuasive as man who thinks he may be going crazy. When he
says, "I think I'm going insane," we believe him.
Salome Jens is warm and compassionate as Culp's wife. This makes it
all the more disturbing when she transforms into an alien-controlled
zombie.
The Teleplay, by Orin Borsten, contains some pointed dialogue. When
a doctor tells Culp that there's little chance of the metal plate in
his head becoming jarred loose, Culp tartly replies, "There was
very little chance of the Titanic going down." Good point.
My favorite scene is when the alien rocks telepathically tell Culp to
jump from a window ledge, and Culp almost does. This is an oddly convincing
scene, giving one the feeling of what it might actually be like to have
voices in your head, telling you to do self destructive things.
The primary FX involve wiggling, "breathing" rocks that transform
into black crab-like creatures. The transformation scenes are good,
although the resulting crab creatures, (with lights for eyes), look
a bit rubbery. The transformation scenes are courtesy of Project Unlimited
Inc., and M.B. Paul of the Optical Effects Unit.
Director of Photography, Conrad Hall, does his usual good job. Particularly
effective is his use of canted, (tilted), camera angles.
The music is tense, helping to weave a growing mood of paranoia. Dominic
Frontiere is the responsible party.
CORPUS EARTHLING should be highly watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers.
Robert Culp fans will be particularly delighted. BACK
TO: EPISODE
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