Creature with the Atom Brain -
This is a fun police procedural that deserves credit for how it exploits the fears of the atomic age in an unlikely way: reanimating the dead Frankenstein's monster style. It has such a clever concept, and maybe this has happened already (
Possessor, which I haven't seen, sounds similar), but I'm surprised no one has remade it yet. It's a "thinking person's" B-movie and it's not ashamed of it, which is to the movie's benefit as the exposition that respects the audience's intelligence indicates. Also, for a movie from a decade I'm still hesitant to fully explore due to the typically long runtimes and not-so-steady paces, the breakneck one in this movie makes it more akin to '70s crime thrillers. As for the creature (or is it creatures?), they're terrifying for what they don't do rather than what they do. There's something very off-putting about seeing someone cause death and destruction without showing any concern or remorse for their actions.
Again, I approve of the fast pace, but it could have let up a little bit here and there since the relentlessness made me lose interest a few times. I also think some of the exposition, especially in the third act, is excessive. With that said, as much as I like '50s B-movies that have atomic lizards and insects, it's a nice change of pace to see one with atomic, umm...people as the villains for a change, not to mention one that's so much fun. Oh, and speaking of the "creatures" being more fitting than "creature," shouldn't the title be
Creatures With Atomic Brains instead? My first thought was that it's about a creature with a really, really small brain.