Alienator (1990)

Kol is an evil guy about to be executed on a distant spaceship. He manages to escape on a shuttle and make his way to some woods in America. The commander of the spaceship decides to send ... See full summary »

Director:

Fred Olen Ray

Writer:

Paul Garson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jan-Michael Vincent, John Phillip Law, Ross Hagen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Commander
John Phillip Law	...	Ward Armstrong
Ross Hagen	...	Kol
Dyana Ortelli	...	Orrie
Jesse Dabson	...	Benny
Dawn Wildsmith	...	Caroline
P.J. Soles	...	Tara
Robert Clarke	...	Lund
Richard Wiley	...	Rick
Leo Gordon	...	Col. Coburn (as Leo V. Gordon)
Robert Quarry	...	Doc Burnside
Fox Harris	...	Burt
Hoke Howell	...	Harley
John Henry Richardson	...	Prison Sgt. Major (as Jay Richardson)
Dan Golden	...	Electrocuted Prisoner

Storyline

Kol is an evil guy about to be executed on a distant spaceship. He manages to escape on a shuttle and make his way to some woods in America. The commander of the spaceship decides to send out The Alienator to execute Kol at all costs. Kol meets up with some teens and Ward Armstrong and together they all try not to get killed by the pursuing Woman of Death - The Alienator.

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Plot Keywords:

mind control | laser gun | electrocution | bear trap | lightsaber | 

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Taglines:

An android hunter from outer space is about to create hell on earth.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Space Prison" exterior was re-used footage of Moonbase from UFO (1970) and Space: 1999 (1975).

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Goofs

After the Alienator terminates the escaped convict, she asks for permission to return to her planet. However, she came from a prison spaceship, not a planet.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Ghetto Blaster, Terror in Beverly Hills, and Killing American Style (2014)

User Reviews

Not really all that bad...

...It just ain't that good. Prolific B movie director Fred Olen Ray has certainly done better. Despite the efforts of a very solid B movie cast, it fails to ever be as much fun as it should be.

Part of the problem is that Ray never is able to get much momentum going. "Alienator" plods too much for this sort of thing, it's full of nondescript characters, it's not much for continuity, its special effects are something less than special, and when all is said and done it ends with more of a whimper than a bang.

Too bad; the premise had some potential. A typically dull Jan-Michael Vincent plays a cranky warden on a prison spaceship who has one of his prisoners, a rebel leader named Kol (Ross Hagen) escape from him. So what he does is send Amazonian 'hunter unit' The Alienator (played by female bodybuilder Teagan Clive) after the fugitive, who's crash landed on Earth and made contact with some hapless Earthlings, including forest ranger Ward Armstrong (John Phillip Law).

Clive is quite a sight, and she does what she has to do well enough, although her character is nowhere near as cool or memorable as Arnold Schwarzeneggers' The Terminator. Her right hand and arm are encased in a laser weapon that weirdly sets its first victim on fire but then just makes the rest of the victims disappear.

The assemblage of talent here is truly impressive: also in the cast are P.J. Soles (wearing an oddly revealing outfit), Dawn Wildsmith, Richard Wiley, Jesse Dabson, and Dyana Ortelli; Wiley plays the most utterly insufferable of the various humans. Fox Harris (to whom the movie is dedicated) and Hoke Howell play a knuckle head pair of hunters, and it's a treat to see such veterans as Robert Clarke, Leo Gordon, and Robert Quarry (although Quarry, sadly, doesn't get to do a whole lot.) Horror fans will be delighted to see Joseph Pilato (a.k.a. Captain Rhodes from Romeros' "Day of the Dead") in a small role as a technician.

The location shooting in Topanga Canyon is fine, but otherwise this movie is underwhelming. Ray just doesn't give it much pizazz. If you're a very undemanding schlock lover, you may get some entertainment out of it, but it will likely bore most other viewers.

Five out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alienator

Filming Locations:

Topanga Canyon, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amazing Movies, American Independent Productions, Majestic International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1