The Alien Factor

I saw this film as a kid on the Saturday afternoon "Monster Theater". I've seen it a few more times since then, and I still get a kick out of it.

Basically, an alien ship crashes (of course) on its way to some intergalactic zoo. Three very dangerous aliens escape the wreck and go back to their normal predatory behavior patterns. It's up to the Earthlings to stop them...

This film was pretty creative for its time, and the methods used to "deal" with the aliens showed some logical and innovative thought on the writer's part.

It probably will never be listed in the top ten films of all time, but it's a fun romp when you're in the mood for cheesy movies. Give it a chance.

What can I say about this movie? PLENTY! I discovered it right where it belongs, on TV at 3 in the morning, and it snapped me to full consciousness. The aliens are unbelievable, the plot is okay, the acting is priceless and the ending even goes for poignancy. The plot? Oh yes there is one. A bunch of strange monsters show up out of nowhere and terrorize a mountain village. A stranger named Zachary discovers they came from a spaceship the crashed in the hills and nominates himself as a one man committee to round up and/or destroy the alien beasts.

Now you have to see these monsters to believe them. One is a humanoid insect. His costume was made by spray painting cardboard with enamel and it was destroyed when it got rained on! A furry monster looks like the sort of outfit Gene Simmons of KISS might wear to a Halloween party right down to the 24 inch platform boots. The last is the best, a stop motion animated something-or-other that is invisible for most of the movie but who finally materializes for the end. They forgot, or could not afford, to matte out the background so the thing is transparent for all its scenes. Is that all? Not nearly! How about live music from a musician called "Lon Talbot" and 2 go-go girls who dance like they are on Valium? How about an alien who wear blue jeans and looks like his skin is made of wicker? Jinkies this movie is an instant classic! I loved it! Don Dohler made other films but this one is the most fun. Can we take Edward D. Wood off that pedastal now and put Don Dohler in his place? His films deserve to be seen and talked about; especially this one.

The Alien Factor is a halfway decent low budget monster movie, following a small Maryland town plunged into chaos when several creatures intended for an intergalactic zoo are accidentally released. The film features low budget but surprisingly effective monsters, but it is hampered by stilted dialogue and wooden acting.

The main thing The Alien Factor has going for it is its monster costumes. Although all of the monsters - with one exception - are obviously guys in suits, the suits themselves aren't that bad looking. Furthermore, the monster designs are creative and not just cookie cutter creatures you've seen a thousand times. The insectoid alien was especially impressive.

However, good creature effects alone do not a great monster movie make. The film suffers from a weak script with awkward-sounding dialogue. The script never focuses on a single protagonist, weakening the overall plot. Moreover, the twist ending is telegraphed well in advanced. Still, this is a good monster movie for the undemanding or a boring afternoon.

I know this movie well since I am Sheriff Cinder. Some of the negative comments I've seen used to really get to me. But that was when I was a lot closer to the project. After all, that was almost 25 years ago. I find them quite accurate and funny now. It is a fun film to watch with a bunch of friends (if you're into this genre). Believe it or not, I can't get my hands on any good copy of this movie. By the way, I just ran across some of the original paste-up boards, for Cinemagic Magazine, that Don Dohler (director) and I use to publish before and during the time we made The Alien Factor. What a kick it was to look over that stuff. If you haven't seen this film, get your hands on it and let IMDb know what you think!

Don Dohler, the unsung hero of home-grown sci-fi, has finally come to DVD. The Alien Factor is a complete cheeseball that has a decent storyline and hypnotic music to enjoy while laughing at impossibly cheap alien costumes. If I were Don, I'd want to sue Steven Spielburg for ripping off his idea of marooned aliens. The whole show is fun, the alien make-up is actually scary. Unlike the following John Waters attained from his home-grown Baltimore movies, Don Dohler's overlooked home-grown Baltimore movies will be considered cult classics someday thanks to these fantastic revival DVDs.