The Mole People is a cheesy B-level science fiction film from the 1950s and although it’s certainly not good, the movie is not without its charms.
The Mole People
(1956)
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy
Shout Factory | NR – 78 min. – $27.99 | February 26, 2019
Date Published: 02/21/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
PLOT SYNOPSIS |
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John Agar, Hugh Beaumont and Nestor Paiva star as three archeologists who come upon an unusual race of albino beings who shun all forms of light and have mutant mole men as their slaves. Because of their “magical cylinders” (flashlights), they are treated as gods – until they try to liberate the mole people. Can they escape this hallowed mountain in Asia… or will they be destroyed in a strange underground world? |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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No slip cover here, but the artwork is reversible. Audio Commentary with film historians/authors Tom Weaver and David Schecter which is informative if not also scholar-like in tone. Of Mushrooms and Madmen: The Making of The Mole People (18:40; HD) is a new featurette on the history of the film and features interviews with Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner and Film Historian Bob Burns. Includes recreation voices for those involved and delves into the budgetary aspects of the movie. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1:32:00; SD) episode of The Mole People which was fun to watch after the actual movie. A Still Gallery (4:33; HD), a Photo Gallery (4:16; HD) and the Theatrical Trailer (2:00) round things out. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Shout Factory releases The Mole People through their Scream line where you get the choice to watch it either in 1.85 or, I believe, the original 2.00 widescreen aspect ratios. Either option, the picture does look quite good where detail was halfway decent and black levels appear stark. However, there are some dust marks and scratches that show up, but I don’t believe this got some sort of restoration process, so as such this is the best a movie like this will ever look. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5 |
| The disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which is perfectly fine albeit nothing exceptional. There was a noticeable hissing in parts but nothing I would consider terribly distracting. Otherwise, dialogue does come through nicely enough. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, The Mole People is a cheesy B-level science fiction film from the 1950s and although it’s certainly not good, the movie is not without its charms. The Blu-ray release from Shout Factory has good video and audio transfers to go along with a decent selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.