Dominated by the paranoid fear of communism and by the threat of nuclear cataclysm, the "nifty fifties" witnessed a subsequent explosion in sci-fi films. Because of the economic stability of the decade, the blatant exaggerative distortions of reality, characteristic of the 1950's sci-fi film, found a staunchly reliable audience in the young generation. With the leisure and affluence to shape their own subculture, the youth of the 1950's was all too willing to absorb the products of Hollywood's "Renaissance" in macabre movies.

As real purchasing power rose 22% between 1946 and 1960, Americans witnessed a prosperity that they had been longing for, but had been unable to attain, during the Great Depression and the Second World War. The result was a restless youth culture with a new found freedom. The tinge of this culture is epitomized by the rise of such teen idols as "Rebel" James Dean and by "The King" Elvis "the pelvis" Presley. As rock n' roll began to flower, teenagers hopped into their cars and flocked to the drive-ins, seeking horror, gore, and back seat sex. Young movie goers all across America were shivering in terror at THEM!, the giant ant film that was just one of the several mutant movies effusing from Hollywood. Primitive special effects, promiscuity and wild imagination all contributed to the promotion of the "grade B" film.

The explosion of Horror films in the 1950's clearly demonstrated that millions of Americans would pay just to be shocked by sadistic scenes of mutant massacre and the expectation of sexual exploration. All though simplistic in format, these films did, however, heighten awareness to the dangers of nuclear warfare and testing. They would have a profound effect on how America viewed herself and others.