An unremarkable low budget British Sci-fi B-movie, The Strange World of Planet X lumbers along through an hour of talky cliched script before bursting into life with some stupid special effects.
In a laboratory in rural England, archetypal mad scientist Dr Laird is carrying out experiments involving ultra-powerful magnetic fields. His American assistant Gilbert Graham (Forrest Tucker) is having some doubts about the work, as are the government backers. After a freak storm hits the country, giant mutant insects appear in the village forest. Are they linked to Laird's laboratory? And who is the mysterious Mr Smith, who seems to know a lot about both Laird's work, and some recent UFO sightings?
The film staggers on for an interminable talky hour, with little in the way of interesting character development or even cheap thrills. It's sustained by the charisma of Tucker, the cringe-worthy sexism of the scientists towards a female colleague (they don't believe she can do "highly skilled work"), and the mysterious Smith character, who, with his interest in dangerous science, turns out to be a rip off from Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Oh, and there's a subplot about a tramp who gets turned into a serial killer by the storm, but that soon fizzles out.
After that, the giant insects arrive. Of course, when I say giant insects, I mean normal insects filmed extremely closeup, which is exactly what they look like.
It's worth watching for the cheap laughs at the climax, but it is a hard slog to get there.
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