Year: 1958
Director: Gene Fowler Jr.
Country: US
Language: English
I Married a Monster From Outer Space is a little misleading, because we're not dealing with monster here...but aliens! Released at the peak of the sci-fi craze in the 50's, this picture has the usual archetypes and formula but uniquely tells its story from a female perspective. The heart of the movie lies in Bill’s change post-wedding (he’s been turned before their wedding, but Marge is unaware until after they’ve walked down the aisle). The implication is marriage changes men, turning them into automatons whose sole purpose is breeding and the continuation of their lineage.
The plot is simple; aliens invade Earth through taking over the body of husbands and townsfolk. The intention? To repopulate their species of course!
I enjoy that this film pokes fun of pop culture stereotypes regarding men and marriage. Even in 2016 many television shows propagate the belief that they’re saddled with one woman forever; that they’ll be changed to please their ladies and thus lose their identity and masculinity. As a society we fear that women have too much dominance in the relationship, and that marriage is the ultimate loss of control for a man.
The pop culture nonsense regarding men losing their masculinity through marriage was/is completely fictitious. If anybody suffers from being married in North America, statistics have shown that is it most definitely women. In addition to remarkable social commentary and hilarious satire, I Married a Monster also had the cheesy effects we know and love.
The move skirts the Production Code boundaries in its exploration of marriage. While sex is never discussed in a frank manner, it's not too difficult to read between the lines. If you can get past the sub-par acting (which is in most sci-fi films of this era) you can definitely have a good time with this picture.
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