Alienator - A Exterminadora Indestrutível

My review was written in November 1989 after watching the film on Prism video cassette.

"Alienator" is a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi thriller geared toward home video fans with a soft spot for the old stars and old-fashioned serials.

Film dovetails closely with previous pics by Fred Olen Ray, particularly "Star Slammer", in a tale of rebel leader Ross Hagen, who escapes execution on a remote prison planet and travels to Earth. Muscle lady Teagan Clive (as the title "Alienator" character) is sent to destroy him and his Earthling youngsters, Jesse Dabson and Dawn Wildsmith, who have befriended Hagen.

The appearance of genre vets like Robert Clarke and Robert Quarry is a plus, but "Alienator" suffers from a weak script. Leads Jan-Michael Vincent and John Phillip Law have little to do; Wildsmith is cast against type in an uncharacteristically wimpy role, and P. J. Soles is stuck in a rather goofy costume as an outer space technician.

Not enough is made of Teagan Clive, the Alienator. She's strange and awesome looking in a revealing heavy metal outfit but had a much better role in the Italian horror film "Obsesion: A Taste for Fear".

Tech credits are adequate.

Recipe for one of the worst movies of all time: a she-male villain who looks like it escaped from the WWF, has terrible aim with a gun that has inconsistent effects (the first guy she shoots catches on fire but when she shoots anyone else they just disappear) and takes time out to pet a deer. Then you got the unlikable characters, 30 year old college students, a lame attempt at a surprise ending and lots, lots more. Avoid at all costs.

Ok, I admit I'm something of a nut for bad movies. And this dog certainly falls into that category with a vengance. But those who even *think* this compares to the worst movie of all time - or even comes close - really need to watch more bad movies. The perennial favorite 'worst movie of all time' (Plan 9 from Space) is definately worse than this (though it's not the worst movie).

THis movie is great if you like bad movies, and even better if you like to MST your own. If you expect Gone with the Wind or even such dreck as "Angels in the Outfield", this is not for you.

Alienator (1990)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

With Fred Olen Ray directing and just looking at the title and what movie it's "copying" you should know what to expect. Kol (Ross Hagen) is about to be executed when he escapes his planet so the commander (Jan-Michael Vincent) sends a female alien to Earth to try and track him down. Kol ends up running into a sheriff and five drunks and soon they're caught up in this battle. There's no big secret that ALIENATOR is a pretty bad movie but I have to give credit to director Fred Olen Ray for at least knowing he's making a low-budget, bad movie. The reason I say that is that I often get the itch to watch a movie like this and more often than not you have a director thinking he's working with a $200-million dollar budget. The young director will try tricky shots, various plot twists and by the end of the movie you're asking yourself if the guy knew he was just making a piece of junk and you'll wonder why he thought he could do more with it. Mr. Ray doesn't go for that and instead it's clear that he knows what type of movie he's making and he just tries to make the best of it. This is certainly a bad film but at least there's some mild charm to be had. I thought there were a couple fairly funny moments but the highlight has to be the costume that our female killer wears. I'm not even going to attempt to try and explain it but once you see the thing you'll know what I mean. I also have to tip my hat to the outfit worn by P.J. Soles (HALLOWEEN, CARRIE) because it too is quite catchy and you can tell some imagination went into it. The special effects are obviously silly but it appears they're having a fun time with them. Yes, the performances are also bad but again credit has to go to Ray. Instead of trying to get the actors to do Shakespeare, he instead has some over-the-top moments that at least fits the performances. The violence/gore/nudity level is shockingly low, which is one negative thing as a bit more of any probably would have helped things. ALIENATOR is a bad film, yes, but when you compare it to other rips of THE TERMINATOR you'll see that it could have been much, much worse.

Kol, space prisoner on space death row, manages to hijack a space shuttle and escape to the woods of America where he, along with some new found friend try to escape from the 'Alienator" a female cyborg killing machine. Made one year after the best movie of Fred Olen Ray's career, "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers", this one can't help but feel like a bit of a letdown. Just as low-budget as that earlier film, but not nearly as fun as I had with it. None of the actors really stood out at me. The film is alright for the undiscriminating viewer during a rainy Saturday afternoon, but that's pretty much all it's good for.

My Grade: D+

Where i saw it: Showtime Thriller