Night of the Big Heat (also known as Island of the Burning Damned) is a 1967 British Sci-Fi Horror film directed by Terence Fisher and based on the novel of the same name by John Lymington.
Starring Hammer Horror veterans Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, the film's story centres around two scientists, Dr. Vernon Stone (Cushing) and Dr. Godfrey Hanson (Lee), investigating a mysterious heat wave that has struck the remote Scottish island of Fara, causing unseasonably warm temperatures and everything that comes with them. It is eventually revealed that the weather abnormalities are being caused by alien invaders who emit massive amounts of body heat and are using the island as their base of operations. Meanwhile, there's a bit of domestic drama involving novelist Jeff Callum (Patrick Allen), his wife Frankie (Sarah Lawson), and his secretary Angela Roberts (Jane Merrow). Jeff and Angela are former lovers, and she wants to rekindle their romance despite him not only being married but also wanting absolutely nothing to do with her.
Tropes of the Big Heat:
- Betty and Veronica: Frankie and Angela to Jeff.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Angela, towards Jeff. She repeatedly pursues and attempts to flirt with him even as he makes it very clear that he wants her to stay away from him.
- Deus ex Machina: Just as it seems like all is lost, it suddenly starts to rain, bringing death to the alien invaders. Compare the similar ending of The Outer Limits (1963) episode "Specimen: Unknown".
- Disposable Vagrant: The aliens' first onscreen victim is an elderly tramp living in a cave. No one ever learns of his death.
- Dwindling Party: The aliens wipe out much of the cast before a rainstorm wipes out the aliens.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Takes place over a single day.
- Good Is Not Nice: Dr. Hanson is too busy trying to save the world from a alien invasion to worry about civility and manners.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: A side effect of the heat wave.
- Karmic Death: Shortly after he attempts to force himself on Angela, Tinker is vapourized by the invading aliens.
- Kill It with Water: A timely rainstorm destroys the aliens at the end of the film.
- Large Ham: Jeff when he's tearing himself apart over Angela. ("She was a slut, and I wanted her body!")
- Ms. Fanservice: Angela in that orange bikini. Let's face it, Jane Merrow is a very beautiful woman (and in fact, she still looks pretty good for her age).
- The Mistress: Jeff had an affair with Angela in the past and is still attracted to her.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Dr. Hanson is seen as a dangerous crank at first, but he has actually been working around the clock to save the island from an alien invasion.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Jeff believing Dr. Hanson is up to no good destroys the film Hanson has been developing that would have proved to the authorities that the island was being invaded by aliens.
- Sexy Secretary: Angela.
- Slut-Shaming: Jeff coldly tells his former lover Angela that she was no "untouched virgin" when they meet. At the same time, promiscuous Angela is not predictably killed off and even ends up with a decent man of her own.
- Stalker with a Crush: Angela where Jeff is concerned.
- Starfish Aliens: The invaders are jellyfish-like creatures resembling melted plastic lamps (which is what they actually are) who glow brightly and emit massive amounts of heat.
- Tomboyish Name: Frankie, Jeff's wife.
- The X of Y
