Not of This Earth

Not of this Earth (1988, Dir. Jim Wynorski)

A mysterious stranger known only as Mr. Johnson turns up and demands a blood transfusion. Dr. Rochelle grants him the blood, and sends his nurse Nadine Story to stay with him, in order for him to get his daily transfusion. Dr. Rochelle becomes interested in Mr. Johnson's blood, especially when it turns out to be nothing like normal human blood. It gets even weirder, when Mr. Johnsons servant, Jeremy notices people entering the house and not leaving. Nadine decides that she must search the house in order to find out the truth about Mr. Johnson.

I wan't expecting a classic when i put 'Not of this Earth' into my DVD player, and although i was right about it not being a classic, i did surprisingly enjoy it. There are a lot of cheap movies, which are just painful to sit through and look so unprofessional, but this was not one of them. The acting was actually very good. Traci Lords was good, especially since she was a porn star before this. Arthur Roberts was good at playing a sinister villain. You really do feel there was something hiding with him. The film was advertised as rated 18 for sex scenes and nudity, but i didn't feel as if they was any more than you would find in a 15 certificate film. The nudity was very brief and only happened in small scenes. A scene where three hookers were topless turned me off more than on. The violence was very little and the special effects were pretty much cartoon. Still, it was fun to watch on a Saturday night.

"That's a nice little mole you have on your left cheek." - Jeremy (Lenny Juliano)

I rented this out of curiosity to see how they remade the 1957 version which I saw several times as a youngster. The remake was fun to watch even though there is quite a bit of T & A which has very little to do with the plot. They retained much of what I remember from the original including a lot of the dialog, Johnson driving a 50's boat-tail Cadillac, his 5-phase mission, the metal case where Johnson first put the blood of his victims, Nadine's boyfriend being a policeman, and, of course, the ending. One notable omission was that the doctor wasn't killed.

It would be great if the original could be successfully transferred to DVD.

This film is the work of the auteur Wynorski who has a distinctive visual style that is a favorite of the academy. Eye Candy Hall of Fame inductee Traci Lords plays a live-in nurse to an eccentric millionaire with a rare blood disorder. However, this recluse is actually an alien scientist intent on saving his dying planet by harvesting human blood. It is up to our heroine to uncover the truth and save mankind while wearing a bikini. Ms. Lords is the first inductee to be honored for actually wearing something (that wonderful blue bikini). This must cap Ms. Lords film career; she began as a Porn star legend, became of legal drinking age, quit that biz, and became a B-movie actress. The auteur Wynorski does have two brief au naturel scenes of Ms. Lords but we still harp on that bikini. In the Wynorski style he does provide some other actresses to show their ample talents such as Becky LeBeau, Roxanne Kernohan, and Ava Cadell. While not a classic, it does have a few "eye candy" moments worthy of our mention.

Remakes can't be all that bad… as in 1957 Roger Corman brought us the b/w low-budget sci-fi classic "Not of this Earth". Director / writer Jim Wynorski would convince Corman to allow him remake it (and just under a decade later another remake of this tale came on the scene). Where the film would gain much attention for and eventually become a cult favourite would be the bold casting of the highly delectable Traci Lords in her first major feature film. Don't let it fool you that she started off in porn films (and infamously being underage too), because even here she shows how much of a talented "actress" she was. Truly committed to the material (despite the daft nature), but Wynorski also took advantage of her risqué image to show off her titillating body and she wasn't shy of it either. She truly played it up for the camera. Lords is excellent in her portrayal as headstrong nurse Nadine Story who's hired by the very strange Mr. Johnson to perform his blood transfusions. There's something that's not quite right, so Nadine begins to investigate as secretly her boss is a space being looking to see if his dying race could survive while harvesting off the fresh blood of the human race.

This snappy, sexy contemporary late-night b-flick revamp is a complete blast from start to finish. Even though its low-budget restraints show up, it doesn't get in its way and director Wynorski keeps it economical, without losing any of the old-fashion enthusiasm (just listen to that spaced-out music score). Even with its sleazy jabs (leering topless female shots) and jarring jolts (some ghastly attack scenes with some slasher traits to them), beneath (just remember what decade it was made) it still had the spirit and atmosphere of those old-school sci-fi horror outings Corman was churning out early in his career. Special effects are cheap, but crisply done for its minimal approach and so were the optical effects. The silly material keeps it rather tongue-in-cheek, plenty of wisecracks with biting dialogues and some amusingly noticeable in-jokes especially regarding Lord's porn past. The acting fairs up. Arthur Roberts is effortlessly good as the expressionless Mr. Johnston --- with those glowing blue eyes under the shades and the sensitive hearing. Lenny Juliano, Ace Mask and Robert Lodge are amusingly acceptable. Other than Lords, there's plenty of buxom ladies showing up; Monique Gabrielle, Ava Cadell, Cynthia Thompson and Rebecca Perle. Also the perky Becky LeBeau is quite memorable and furthermore looking good in a nurse outfit is Kelli Maroney.

I was amused by the oddly placed collection of clips from Corman produced features that showed up in the film's opening intro.

Gimmicky, but fast-moving and campy b-fun.

Not of this Earth is actually a really good b-movie. Im not a movie critic, so i dont know what actually constitutes a good movie by their standards but I do enjoy watching movies and telling about them. This movie is guaranteed to keep you entertained. the acting is really quite good, as well as, Traci Lords is super hott and has a great body. I think i like her better in actual movies. plus Lenny Juliano plays a good part in this flick. In my opinion he is a great character actor, he brings just enough comedy to every movie to keep you paying attention to him. I believe this is one of Jim Wynorski's best movies. but this is definetely not a movie for children. Its not scary or gruesome but there is a good bit of nudity and sex scenes. I rate this movie at least a 7 out of 10.