Uma Estranha em Los Angeles

A California valley girl named Wanda Saknussemm (Kathy Ireland), desperately searching for a means to make a new start and escape her nerdish tendencies, goes to Africa in search of her absentee archaeologist father following reports he may have fallen into a bottomless pit only for her to stumble and fall down the same hole. She winds up in a bizarre and strange underground city named Atlantis which just might be at the center of the Earth. There she befriends a miner she calls "Gus" and continues searching for her long lost Papa. However those dwelling in the underground city have heard rumors of there being aliens from the surface world hidden amongst them and despite the government's constant denial that aliens exist on television, they still offer rewards for the capture of anyone who might be thought an "alien" making Wanda a target for many unscrupulous types.

This is a relatively harmless fantasy time-waster. In fact, the non-discriminating fantasy viewer may actually enjoy this one. This is kind of like a California Valley Girl version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND with a bit of THE WIZARD OF OZ thrown in filtered through a BLADE RUNNER-esquire setting with the train of events playing out rather like SPACEHUNTER but this movie isn't anywhere near as good as any of those. I have to admit I actually had fun watching this though it's just so outrageous and outlandish in its approach. The sets too prove surprisingly effective for a low budget movie. Plus I always get a kick out of the state controlled television announcements which prove incredibly transparent in their intent. While this is definitely not for everyone (it stars Kathy Ireland who's really no actress, borrows most of its plot from other movies and things always feel a little too safe and sure for our leads), there are those who might find enjoyment here although it's a little tough to explain why exactly. Just the harmless fun of it all I guess.

This film isn't for everybody. It's not realistic. It has bad special effects, a poorly written plot, etc. But if you enjoy campy, fun films that were intended to be bad, then you probably ought to rent this. I would put it in the same genre as "Joe versus the Volcano", "Earth Girls are Easy", "It came from Outer Space", and all of the "Naked Gun" movies. Kathy Ireland is cute and fun to watch. The story is remarkably stupid, but at the end of the film, I could honestly say, "I had a good time". So, I give it a "10".

Campy spoof combining elements of 'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' 'Indiana Jones,' exploitation B-movies of the 60's, and apocalyptic science fiction movies of the 80's. Kathy Ireland is so bizarre in the role of an explorer following in the footsteps of her famous father (as in 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' no less) it's like watching a car accident. You just have to watch though you know it's wrong...oh so wrong. (Apparently popular enough to warrant a sequel that actual takes the title of Jules Verne's classic, "Journey to the Center of the Earth." There are many versions with that title but only one features a cameo return by Kathy Ireland.) "Alien from L.A." is what they used to refer to as "Saturday afternoon matinee" or "popcorn movie" and is better than the sequel only because when "Alien" runs out of steam they strip Kathy down to a bikini top to finish out the movie. Nice trick. Worked for me.

Binge watching Jules Verne's adaptations I was about to watch the 1988 version when I noticed it was it was actually a sequel to this odd little film.

Starring the always adorable Kathy Ireland with her baby voice cranked right up and Thom "Return of the Living Dead/Friday 13th" Matthews it's an odd little film that nobody would ever connect to Verne's work.

It tells the story of a nerdy young girl who goes in search of her missing father and finds herself trapped beneath the earth in the legendary city of Atlantis. Trouble is the people there don't believe in the "Above world" and therefore she finds herself an alien in a hostile land.

Clearly not based on Verne's novels we see no giant monsters here, just warring factions and a really strong 80's vibe.

The film has a really critically low rating on IMDB and though I think this is a bad film it's not really "That" bad. Sadly it's structure is awful, the whole thing is ugly as hell, the writing is poor and it doesn't have much going for it.

Certainly niche viewing I'd say its one for Kathy Ireland fans only.

The Good:

Erm.....

The Bad:

Ridiculous levels of overacting

Terribly paced

Not the most visually pleasing film

Many may find Irelands voice grinds after a while

This movie is so bad, that it needed horror movie helper (MSTK 3000) to get anybody through it alive. Kathy plays a teenager who goes looking for her father in the underworld (filmed in somebody's basement in Ohio). You will cringe every time she says, "I'm looking for my Fa- father" How a young woman can sound like a helium breathing Marsha Brady is beyond me.

Kathy, please, PLEEEZE stick to modeling.

Caution: Do not, I mean do not watch this film unless you are occupied by the robots and Mike Nelson. (MSTK 3K). Otherwise comatose may result.