Villain(s)  Mad scientist, zombies

Actor(s):  Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, S. John Launer, Michael Granger

Brief Description  Creature with the Atom Brain (1955) is a classic 69-minute American black-and-white science fiction horror film that uniquely mashes up film noir gangster tropes with Atomic Age mad science. Produced by B-movie king Sam Katzman for Columbia Pictures, the film was directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by the legendary horror screenwriter Curt Siodmak. It is highly regarded by genre fans for introducing early concepts of unstoppable, reanimated "atomic zombies" decades before the modern zombie genre took hold.

Plot:
The story follows Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger), a ruthless American mob boss who was deported to Europe after being betrayed by his own syndicate and prosecuted by the state. While in exile, Buchanan discovers and financially backs Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye), a former Nazi scientist who has developed a way to reanimate dead tissue using atomic energy. Buchanan smuggles Dr. Steigg and his laboratory equipment back into the United States. He begins raiding local morgues for fresh corpses, forcing Steigg to turn them into radioactive, remote-controlled zombies. Buchanan unleashes these monstrous hitmen to systematically murder the rival gangsters, police officers, and judges responsible for his downfall.

The investigation is led by Dr. Chet Walker (Richard Denning), a sharp, pipe-smoking police physician. Alongside Police Captain Dave Harris (S. John Launer), Walker notices that the crime scenes are highly radioactive and that the fingerprints belong to men who have already died. As Buchanan's body count rises, he even kills Captain Harris, turning the veteran cop into a zombie to infiltrate police headquarters. Walker eventually traces the radioactivity to Buchanan's hidden laboratory, leading to a tense, bullet-ridden military showdown to destroy the atomic control equipment and terminate the zombie army.

Each zombie features a large, distinct surgical scar across their forehead where Dr. Steigg replaced their brain matter with radioactive electrodes. The atomic impulses grant the corpses incredible power, enabling them to smash through heavy doors, bend steel bars, and crush steering wheels. The creatures have no personal initiative. They are operated via a central radio console by Buchanan, who views what they see through a television monitor and can even speak through their vocal cords. Because they are already dead, the creatures are completely unaffected by standard gunfire, even when shot repeatedly at point-blank range. The zombies leave glowing, radioactive bloodstains and footprints wherever they strike, which ultimately serves as their undoing.