The Monolith Monsters (1957)
A meteor lands outside a small Californian desert town. On contact with water it grows and expands into a giant crystalline alien rock like monolith er' monsters that keep toppling over then growing into even more mighty monoliths whose fragments when touched turn humans into stone.
Quite an original idea in an era flooded by original science fiction ideas. Although it borrows a bit from films such as Them! (1954) with it's desert town in panic storyline it also delves that bit deeper and allows English born Les Tremayne a side story of a news editor determined to use the disaster as a way to achieve personal success.
The huge crystalline monoliths are impressive effects as is the destruction of the dam in a bid to destroy them even though it's clearly the 'flashflood' effect on show to visitors as part of the Universal Studios backlot tour.
A unique and enjoyable science fiction film. The Screenbound dvd looks fine.
Recommended.
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