17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Astoundingly bad, but still fun!, December 13, 2001
The most astounding thing about the she-monster is the very
well-endowed (37-26-36) former stripper/nude model Shirley
Kilpatrick's slinky, sexy walk in her skin-tight, glowing spandex
body suit. She looks almost naked, the suit is so form-fitting (not
surprising, since the original title was going to be The Naked
Invader.) In fact, according to the liner notes, it was so tight she
couldn't sit down in it, and had to rely on a back-board to lean
against between takes.
She certainly doesn't look like a "monster!" She has not a single
line of dialog in the film, not even a snarl or hiss, just a scream at
the climax. This movie was evidently not only her debut on screen
but also her final appearance. She doesn't seem to have ever been
in anything else. I first saw this movie on late-night TV back in
the `60s, I think, and she's the only thing I ever remembered about
it! Well, that, and the final scene where star Robert Clarke reads a
lengthy, ludicrous speech from a tiny scrap of paper!
The whole movie is ludicrous, with bad acting, inane narration and
dialog, silly plot, inept direction, and homemade special effects
that Ed Wood would have been ashamed of, but it's still fun, a
perfect example of how an enterprising wanna-be film-maker can
borrow money (in this case just $18,000!) and locations, and using
his friends and relatives and a few professionals, can churn out a
movie in a few days that makes a tidy little profit.
Writer/producer/director Ronald Ashcroft studied under the
master, Roger Corman, on Day the World Ended, and learned
how to do it. Actor Clarke learned from Ashcroft and he, too,
went on to try his hand with The Hideous Sun Demon.
This DVD edition has just average image and sound quality, a
chapter index, and the theatrical trailer, but there's also two pages
of liner notes by film historian Tom Weaver that's very
informative, with quotes by Ashcroft. Add this one to your `50s
cult classic collection!
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cheap. Inept. And Totally Wonderful., July 3, 2001
Here is a brief synopsis, followed by some of the other miscellaneous reasons I like this flick so much:
The AS-M (who kills with a mere touch) stalks a geologist, a pretty socialite, and three kidnappers who are hiding out at the geologists's isolated hilltop cabin during what may loosely be deemed "night." Suffice it to say, some of them don't live through it. Then there's an ironic sort of ending that achieves absolutely no irony whatsoever because it is all wrong for a number of reasons. Essentially, it's an extremely poor man's 'Key Largo' meets an equally impoverished man's 'Alien.' Or you could look at it as a precursor to 'The Beast From Haunted Cave,' only quicker and sillier. (I guess I could add that it makes more sense than Plan 9, and is perhaps equal in coherency to Bride of the Monster. But somehow is more enjoyable than either, at least to me.)
The spaceship is represented in flight as a lit match; the actress playing the spacebabe split her skin-tight suit early during shooting, so she has to back away from the camera for the entire movie (actually, this is oddly effective); blaring chords sound when nothing is happening; people keep referring to the shapely alien lady as a horrible monster; everyone keeps returning to the cabin for safety, even though the AS-M can and repeatedly does enter at will through a huge (and broken-out) window.
The funniest bit of all is revealed in the liner notes: the saga of the bear(s) used during filming. I won't ruin it for you, but it will make me laugh and cry forever. It is one of the most pathetically messed-up things I have ever heard happen in moviemaking, Battlefield Earth not withstanding.
If these things sound like a fun time to you, buy this movie posthaste. Others beware.
I personally only wish I could have witnessed them making this movie at the time. That had to have been even MORE entertaining.
P.S. The DVD transfer is just OK, but I'm quite sure that's only because the original film itself was pretty shaky.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
If you love the movie, it'll do; mainstream consumers beware, August 24, 2001
First off, unless you're a bad film aficionado (which you probably are if you're reading this) The ASM will probably be a disappointment. It's likely not quite wacky (think Ed Wood) or lurid (think any late-50s AIP flick) enough even for bad film fans either. This is one of those (like Mesa of Lost Women, Beast of Yucca Flats, or The Creeping Unknown) whose illogic and strange, minimalist atmosphere will either cast their spell over you or bore you to tears. There is little "action," lots of static dialogue scenes, no special effects, and a "monster" that's pretty much just a babe in tights (and not nearly as luscious or exciting a babe as the one portrayed in the film's advertising materials). As far as the DVD itself, it's better than the movie, but not perfect either. The tonal values are good and it's sharp enough, but the print is somewhat worn. There is a near-constant light flecking, and light vertical scratches are quite common. Not to the point of major distraction, but not as clean as most of the Image discs I own. Am I sorry I bought the DVD? No. I cued up my VHS copy (recorded off late night TV 10+ years ago) for comparison and felt vindicated. The print shown by the TV station was awful in comparison to the DVD, in fact some scenes were so dark that people further back in the frame were rendered invisible by the murk, and driving scenes revealed little more than moving headlights! All this time I thought the film was badly photographed! So this turned out to be a substantial upgrade for me, but I have not owned a VHS pre-record of this title so I can't make that comparison. Bottom line: if you love this movie you probably won't feel burned... Mainstream motion picture consumers-caveat emptor!
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