Tag Archives: Alien

Forbidden World (1982)

December 10, 2022 Ken Miller Leave a comment

This slimy, mutant muck gets everywhere!

Slimy lumps of self-replicating meaty protein! — Watch out for the lumps of self-replicating meaty protein!

Please don't step in the mutated gunge — Please don’t step in the mutated gunge

Directed by Allan (PROGRAMMED TO KILL) Holzman, written by Tim (GHOST WARRIOR) Curnen, from a story by Jim (CHOPPING MALL) Wynorski and R.J. (BEASTMASTER 2) Robertson and starring Jesse (SILENT RUNNING) Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris and Michael Bowen.

Poster — ‘Part alien… part human… all nightmare’

Also known as MUTANT and SUBJECT 20, this Roger Corman-produced ALIEN rip-off is lurid, colourful, exploitative and splattery. It uses some of the sets that were featured in Corman’s GALAXY OF TERROR (1981), a film on which James Cameron was the production designer.

This story concerns space ranger Mike Colby (Vint), who arrives at a research station that is under threat from a mutant organism that has evolved from an experimental life form, known as ‘Subject 20’, that has been created by the group of scientists on planet Xarbia.

SAM-104 (Don Olivera) and Mike Colby (Jesse Vint)

With some oddly edited moments and an okay electronic score, this film presents us with a mutated creature that turns its human victims into lumps of self-replicating meaty protein.

There's lots of fluid dribbling and dripping about — There’s lots of fluid dribbling and dripping about the place

As the organism evolves, it gains a maw full of big teeth

Venturing out onto the planet's surface... — Venturing out onto the planet’s surface…

...they come across this toothsome thingy — …they come across this toothsome life form

A cocoon-type thingy attached to the rocks

Obviously aiming at the young male market, the movie has the two female characters, Tracy Baxter (Dunlap) and Dr. Barbara Glaser (Chadwick), taking saunas & showers… even though there’s a monster on the loose!

Tracy Baxter heads for the sauna/sunbed room, which is, of course, essential on all distant research bases! — Tracy Baxter heads for the sauna/sunbed room, which is, of course, an essential feature of all distant research bases!

Dr. Barbara Glaser is rather, erm, underdressed

Tracy and Barbara even try to communicate with the creature whilst wearing very short bathrobes. This doesn’t end well when one of the women gets transfixed by a spiked tentacle. Ouch!

"I know! Let's try to communicate with the revolting mutant beast whilst wearing bath robes!" — “I know! Let’s try to communicate with the revolting mutant beast whilst wearing bathrobes!”

So is this a classic creature feature? Well, it certainly doesn’t reach the heights of science fiction greatness, that’s for sure, but it manages to be a pretension-free sci-fi-horror flick that is a perfect example of the kind of exploitative, pulpy, gaudy production that got made in the 80s.

And the film definitely scores points for giving us a finale with a difference: we get to see the hero performing DIY surgery on a scientist suffering from cancer, so that he can remove the large tumour… and then feed it to the creature, which then proceeds to vomit itself to death!

Classy stuff!

The creature suffers from terminal upchucking!

Some posters…

Some other cool stuff…

Scream Factory SteelBook cover with artwork by Laz Marquez

And here’s a behind the scenes shot…

The Legend of the Golden Pearl (1987)

November 12, 2022 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Directed by Teddy Robin Kwan, written by Philip Cheng, Gerald Liu & Yuen-Leung Poon, starring Samuel Hui, Ti Lung, Teddy Robin Kwan, Joey Wang and Bruce Baron.

Also known as THE LEGEND OF WISELY, the film’s hero, Wisely (Hui), helps a very short mate steal a sacred pearl from some monks in Nepal, which involves lots of acrobatic fighting. Wisely, who is an adventurer-photographer-science-fiction writer, then becomes involved with an underworld boss and his sister.

A space vessel, with a dragon-shaped head, takes to the sky

The middle portion of this Hong Kong movie is, unfortunately, rather uninteresting, though things get livelier once the action returns to Nepal…

That ain't really a pearl, kid... — That ain’t really a pearl, kid…

Here we get a monk-burning, humanoid alien, who wants the ‘pearl’ back because it is, in fact, a solar piloting computer for his spaceship. Finally, the stellar vessel bursts out of the side of a mountain, in the (basic) shape of a dragon, and flies the nasty alien home.

The nasty extraterrestrial dude sets monks aflame — The nasty extraterrestrial dude (Bruce Baron) sets monks aflame

That big spike of ice is gonna break, dudes... — That big spike of ice is gonna break, dudes…

The film boasts some decent sets and includes novel action moments, such as a fight atop an aircraft that’s ready to take off, but the mishmash of genre elements, including kung fu, car chases, exotic location-hopping, science-fiction & adventure, doesn’t really come off and, even though a lot of effort was put into the production, the story just runs out of steam, but effects designer Yiu Yau Hung’s fleetingly seen dragon ship is rather nice to look at.

The 'dragon' ship flies out of the clouds — The ‘dragon’ ship flies out of the clouds

Here are some posters for the movie…

Some VHS, DVD and Blu-ray covers…

I'm sure there isn't a Star Destroyer in this film... — I’m sure there isn’t a Star Destroyer in this film…

And a final look at the big dragon spaceship…

The Thing From Another World (1951)

September 18, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Here comes the Thing... — Here comes the Thing…

Based on the 1938 novella WHO GOES THERE? by John W Campbell, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD tells the story of a U.S Air Force crew, plus some scientists, who discover an alien being in the ice near a crashed flying saucer in the Artic. The block of ice that encases the extraterrestrial melts (after an electric blanket is thrown over it) and everyone is forced to defend themselves against the single-mindedly vicious killer alien.

Some advice: don't put an electric blanket on this ice block... — Some advice: don’t put an electric blanket on this ice block…

This is an extremely good 50s sci-fi horror movie that will always remain one of my all-time favourite flicks.

The iconic moment the crew mark out the shape of the spacecraft buried beneath the ice

I love this movie’s overlapping dialogue, the way characters don’t finish what they’re saying as someone else cuts in. The cast acts naturalistically, are likeable, and Kenneth Tobey, playing Captain Patrick Hendry, is such a cool bastard!

Tobey is a really cool character in this film. Fact.

I love this movie's ensemble cast — This movie’s ensemble cast is ace!

The Thing itself is a memorable creation: it is a hairless, sentient vegetable-being that can regrow its limbs, has thorn-like spikes on its hands and can reproduce asexually via seeds that germinate when fed on blood. This otherworldly killer (played by James Arness) regards humans (and Huskies) simply as food and has a raw intellect that is without passion or empathy.

One of the standout sequences involves the characters fighting off the Thing by hurling kerosene at the creature and setting it alight. It’s very thrilling stuff!

Flaming thrills! — Flamingly good action!

The shutting-the-door-fast scene is another great moment!

Our level-headed heroes finally defeat the Thing, but will more be coming?

“Keep watching the skies!”

The Glitterball (1977)

September 5, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

In the UK two boys make friends with a stranded alien that resembles a small, metal ball. They try to help the silvery being return home, but have to deal with a crook called George “Filthy” Potter. A mothership eventually arrives and it disgorges a whole swarm of alien metal balls to deal with Potter.

Bad guy Potter gets rolled away by the Glitterball's buddies! — Bad guy Potter gets rolled away by the Glitterball’s buddies!

This low budget British kid’s flick, made for the Children’s Film Foundation, features an extraterrestrial that looks just like a metal ball bearing. This silvery alien is hunted by the military and likes to eat a lot! As so often happens in these CFF movies, the main villain is a small-time criminal (played here by Ron Pember), but there’s never any real threat: it’s all very child-friendly.

Max (Ben Buckton) and Pete (Keith Jayne)

FX-wise, in many scenes the Glitterball is just a small, metal ball rolled along the floor, but for scenes where, for instance, it gobbles-up some food, stop-motion animation is used.

Glitterball's got the munchies! — Glitterball’s got the munchies!

The Glitterball prepares to eat a banana... — The Glitterball prepares to eat a banana…

The Glitterball: you can't get a simpler-looking alien creature! — The Glitterball: you can’t get a simpler-looking alien creature than this!

THE GLITTERBALL was directed by Harley Cokeliss, who’d made the non-science-fiction movie THE BATTLE OF BILLY’S POND the year previously, also for the Children’s Film Foundation. Harley went on to be second unit director on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), then directed flicks like DREAM DEMON (1988), BLACK MOON RISING (1986) and WARLORDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY (1982).

Pete reads a copy of poster magazine SCI-FI MONTHLY

Brian Johnson did a lot of the special effects on THE GLITTERBALL, which was quite a coup for such a cheap production. Brian came on board after Harley, through a mutual friend, met up with Brian, who was supervising the model and effects work on Gerry Anderson’s SPACE: 1999 at the time. Brian was happy to help out, but needed Gerry’s okay to do so. Harley met with Gerry at his Bray Studio offices and Gerry generously gave his blessing to the project. Brian and his crew then created flying scenes of the mothership and made a working model of the Glitterball’s own min-spacecraft, complete with lights and an opening hatch.

The hatch of the Glitterball’s mini-spacecraft opens... — The hatch of the Glitterball’s mini-spacecraft opens…

Barry Leith, who’d worked on the British children’s TV series THE WOMBLES, did the stop-motion animation.

Barry Leith animated sequences such as when Glitterball eats some fruit — Barry Leith animated sequences such as when the Glitterball eats some fruit

THE GLITTERBALL was recently released on DVD by the BFI as part of a triple bill of Children’s Film Foundation movies, which also includes SUPERSONIC SAUCER (1956).

A close-up of the Glitterball’s mini-spacecraft

Without Warning (1980)

August 27, 2021 Ken Miller 2 Comments

People are hunted by a tall humanoid extraterrestrial that kills his victims using spinning, living projectiles.

It preys on human fear... — ‘It preys on human fear’…

'Man is the endangered species' — ‘Man is the endangered species’

Directed by Greydon (SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS) Clark, this low budget film is structured like a backwoods slasher movie but with an alien instead of a maniac.

WITHOUT WARNING features lots of shots of people falling victim to the flying, fleshy, toothy blobs, showing the red tendrils sinking into human flesh to suck blood and exude yellow gunk.

Red tendrils sink into a victim's face — Red tendrils sink into a victim’s face

Though the film’s pace sometimes flags, the attack scenes are messy, gory fun, with loads of close-ups of the tendrils digging under the skin or through clothing!

Tendrils dig through clothing — Tendrils pierce through clothing

Predating PREDATOR by seven years, WITHOUT WARNING has a (mainly unseen), silent, blue-skinned alien hunting humans (using those killer pancake organisms) for sport. The extraterrestrial hunter is played by Kevin Peter Hall, who also played the Predator in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

Eek! It's the alien! — Eek! It’s the alien!

The colourful cast, which enthusiastically chew the scenery, includes Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Neville Brand, Cameron Mitchell and Ralph Meeker. The movie also features a young David Caruso wearing very small shorts!

Martin Landau plays unhinged Vietnam vet Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs — Martin Landau plays unhinged Vietnam vet Fred ‘Sarge’ Dobbs

Big ol' Jack Palance — Big ol’ Jack Palance

The grungy, satisfying practical FX were created by Greg (VAN HELSING) Cannom.
Makeup effects legend Rick Baker did uncredited work on the film, too, building the alien’s big-domed head.

Oh no! Another pic of Caruso playing an obnoxious character in very, very small shorts!

The alien trophy hunter lurks by a shack

Supersonic Saucer (1956)

August 7, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

A group of boarding school kids encounter an alien from Venus and team up with the small extraterrestrial, which they name Meba, to catch a bunch of dastardly crooks.

This is a charming, odd, obscure low budget movie from the Children’s Film Foundation, which was a UK non-profit-making organisation that used to make cheap films for kids with pretty simple, straightforward stories. Other sci-fi/fantasy CFF productions include THE GLITTERBALL and THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE PONDS.

Meba is meant to look cute, honest... — Meba is meant to look cute, honest…

In this movie the alien can transform into a little cartoon flying saucer (with eyes) that zips around the place. When not flying, Meba is a small puppet-creature that is basically a pair of googly eyes wrapped in a white yashmak. This alien is meant to be endearing… but Meba looks bloody creepy!

Meba is so... strange — Meba is so… strange

SUPERSONIC SAUCER features kids who sound so terribly old-school British (even the girl from South America does!), which is par for the course with a Children’s Film Foundation movie, and the plot is nothing special. So the main attraction is, of course, the alien Meba – who remains a bit freaky-looking throughout the movie!

Just look at its creepy stare... — Just don’t look at its creepy stare…

And this is what I want to know: is Meba a sentient flying saucer that can turn into a little creature with big eyes, or is Meba a little creature with big eyes that can turn into a flying saucer?

Meba's two distinct forms... — Meba’s two distinct forms…

With a story by Frank Wells, the son of H.G. Wells, I’ve read some claims that SUPERSONIC SAUCER was an influence on ET, but I’m sure it’s probably too obscure to ever have gotten onto Steven Spielberg’s radar.

SUPERSONIC SAUCER was released on DVD by the BFI as part of a triple bill of Children’s Film Foundation movies.

A bunch of these aliens on Venus... — A bunch of these aliens on Venus…

Thirst (2015)

July 23, 2021 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Alien critter alert! — Toothy-faced beastie!

The staff and teenagers at a wilderness boot camp for problem teens are attacked by a vicious bio-mechanical alien. With nobody nearby to help them, they are forced to fight back on their own.

The poster artist doesn't seem to know the movie is set in a desert... — The poster artist doesn’t seem to know the movie is set in a desert…

This is a just-about-okay flick that is better than the stuff produced by the Asylum, for instance (which I know isn’t saying much!)

Directed by Greg Kiefer, THIRST features almost-okay (or at least acceptable) CGI, but some of the cliched characters get pretty irritating, which affects the potential watchability and enjoyment of the movie – and I think it would have been better if the alien’s origin had been gone into.

If you fancy watching a bunch of one dimensional protagonists getting bumped off by a CGI critter that looks its best in the night scenes (but is featured in a lot of bright daylight scenes) this could well be the cliche-ridden flick for you!

Creature concept design by Mauricio Ruiz…

Shame the creature in the movie wasn't as cool as this original design — Shame the creature in the movie wasn’t as cool as this original design

Hunter Prey (2010)

May 27, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

A Sedonian alien trooper and his human adversary play a cat and mouse game of hunter and hunted on an arid desert planet they’ve crash-landed onto.

Aliens in stormtrooper-type gear! — Sedonian aliens in stormtrooper-type gear!

This low budget sci-fi flick is nicely shot in Baja California, features some neat alien makeups and is kind of a small-scale ENEMY MINE, although the two characters in this story don’t become friends.

There are other characters featured in the movie too, including a green-faced bounty hunter and other Sedonian stormtrooper-like commandos.

This alien dude was played by the director — This alien bounty hunter dude was played by the director

There’s a lot of trudging across sand dunes and sheltering beneath rocky overhangs in this movie, but it’s cool to look at, there’s a decent score, plus some plot twists and some small Sand Slug Creatures.

The human chews on the Sand Slug Creature! — The human chews on a Sand Slug Creature!

HUNTER PREY was directed by Sandy Collora, who made the shorts BATMAN: DEAD END (2003) and SHALLOW WATER (2013). He is also a very talented creature designer, concept illustrator and sculptor.

Monster Zone