vancleef1980 Despite having a title that makes it sound like a soft core porno film Night of the Big heat is a major disappointment. Fisher not quite the director genius he is now made out to be shows that sci-fi was definitely not his sort of thing. Christopher Lee gives yet another shouty and stiff performance typical of this particular period. Just before The Devil Rides Out and just after Rasputin the Mad Monk he barely gave a decent performance, from the lamentable Fu Manchu films, through euro tripe such as Theatre of Death and Circus of Blood and finally this, it was probably his worst period in his long 60 going on for 70 year career. Many would say the part of Hanson is underwritten and Lee can do very little with it, but look at similar underwritten and poor roles Peter Cushing and Vincent Price were given during their career and they always gave it their best shot, so its no excuse really. Cushing's scenes are limited but he does the best with his small role, even refusing to remove his jacket so he looked different from Lee and Patrick Allen. The real star of this film comes in the shapely form of the sultry Jane Merrow, she simply sparkles with wanton sexuality in this film, pity she never became a bigger star she had what it took for sure.

Theo Robertson This is a fondly remembered sci-fi horror film that appeared regularly on British network TV in the 1980s . It wasn't the first adaptation of John Lymington's novel and was first made as an ITV teleplay in 1960 which has long been forgotten . One can't help believing that ITV produced the adaptation as opposition to the BBC's QUATERMASS serials and on the surface there is something of a QUATERMASS vibe to NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT . There is a major stylistic difference from the works of Nigel Kneale and this film and that is Nigel Kneale is an astonishingly clever and subtle writer where as NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT while being enjoyable as entertainment is incredibly dumb The major problem with the horror genre - and the reason it's held in low regard by critics - is that in order for the plot to progress logic and continuity must be ignored totally . Think for example how many times you watch a vampire movie the heroes wait until after sun set before deciding to enter the vampire's lair to kill the bad guy . Here we see a similar type of stupidity . Suppose you were being menaced by an alien creature that moves at a speed of a snail what would you do ? Run away or stand around waiting to be burned to death or barricade yourself in to a stone shed/cave with no means to escape and wait to be killed ? Guess what the characters in this film do ? Having never read the original source novel I looked up wikipedia to find that in Lymington's book the alien monsters are giant carnivorous spiders which would make for effective and dangerous monsters than the ones seen here which resemble giant fried eggs yolks . It should be remembered that in 1967 there was no way a film company could make convincing giant spiders on screen but even so the aliens do look totally ridiculous when they finally appear at the end of the movie . And again the lack of internal logic and continuity means they remain unseen by everyone except their victims and manage to appear in a room with closed doors and disappear without being spotted after they've killed someone in said room with closed doors . The solution to the alien invasion is also a major cop out That said it's certainly an enjoyable film for an unquestioning unthinking audience . I certainly have a soft spot for this type of dumb SF horror movie which the British film industry sometimes produces . It's not a Hammer production but has Peter Cushing playing an affable gentleman and Chritopher Lee as an abrasive scientist and features familiar British actors seen in film and television from the period

drystyx Spoiler-Peter Cushing does not drive a stake through Christopher Lee's heart in this movie. This is classic science fiction, make no mistake. It has a status quo established among isolated characters, interrupted by eerie events. In this case the status quo is a love triangle with some other interesting British type characters and interesting British atmosphere, not to mention giants Lee and Cushing playing remarkably believable people, particularly Cushing, whose character is so believable in his errors as well as his attributes. The isolation is an island which is burning in doom. The temperature is rising drastically, and the reason is all too clear for those who watch and know it is a horror film, but of course not to the people on the island. The characters make this movie fascinating. And the ending is very provoking. One scene, in particular, in which the gorgeous tramp and a minor male character are trapped with no hope, and the totally unexpected happens in their actions, but it rings of truth in such circumstances. Very suspenseful, very well done. One of the great science fiction movies, and one of the most underrated.

brian-1185 early in the film the lovely Jane Merrow has been for a swim and is on her way up the slipway when she is spotted by Patrick Allen. The camera zooms toward her and she has dry hair blowing in the wind AND a dry bikini. Next shot we see the pair of them by some rocks chatting and Jane's hair and bikini are now wet! The villagers turn off the lights but in the next shot they are lit. Do not let these little matters spoil you fun though as this is a very likable movie which you may want to watch more and more. Jane Merrow is delectable as always and typifies the British young beauties of the sixties. She can smoulder and pout with the best of them but also she is an ACTRESS of the top calibre. No other than 'Danger Man' himself...Patrick McGoohan had her appear alongside him numerous times in DANGER MAN and also in THE PRISONER. This movie IS 'very British' and there is a strong cast.