The Trollenberg Terror / The Crawling Eye (1958)
Another older one, and one I have seen in the past, but as the MST3k version.
This one takes place on a Swiss mountain, Trollenberg, and, well, let's be honest, it's not good. It's slow and the monster is not very good.
It starts out with a mountain climber getting killed by something. We switch over to two sisters, Anne (Janet Munro) and Sarah (Jennifer Jayne) Pilgrim. Anne is psychic, which is convenient. They meet Alan Brooks (F-Troop's Forrest Tucker). Anne knows about the accident and who was killed.
Two more climbers go up and go missing. Our psychic girl sees them in the cabin, and our heroes look for them.
Soon they discover a group of horrid "crawling" eye creatures living in the radioactive mists. They have psychic abilities and can detect humans with ESP.
While it is never explicitly stated they are aliens, I think there is implication that they are.
It has been years since I have seen this one. Decades really. But what does it have? Yes, you know it, giant eye monsters.
The monsters here are a little benevolent, but still alien. They look more like giant jellyfish with one central eye; so not totally dissimilar to beholders.
They are able to assume human shape, or at least the appearance of a human, and can act like someone they have encountered.
This is more sci-fi with some horror elements, as were many of the sci-fi movies from the 1950s.
The movie proceeds to deal with the aliens, who are more benign than most, with them leaving Earth saying that they will be back one day.
Featured Monster: Beholder
Ok. We know that the Beholder began as a bit of joke; as in "Eye of the Beholder" and was the creation of Terry Kuntz. The Eye monsters here make for a passible, if weak, Beholders. Or as the kids say, "When you order your Beholders off of Wish.com"
But what can we get from these movies to help our games?
A bit, to be honest. There was an obvious need or at least a want for eye monsters and alien ones at that. In both movies, the eye monsters have some advanced psychic abilities and are clearly "alien."
Game Ideas
Beholders are woefully under utalized in D&D in my mind. They are a "boss monster" but rarely are they given much more to do. Beholders should be at the center of a vast network of lackeys, spies, assassins and other disposable mooks for their own, often alien, ends.
Xanathar is a good example of this, but even Xanathar is relatable. I mean REALLY alien.
I also think beholders should have psionic powers as opposed to magic. I have always liked the idea that beholders and mind flayers are two great alien species who have been at war with each for millennia.
These movies might not be great, but they are full of ideas.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
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First Time Views: 3
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