Film Review: Alien from L.A. (1988)

Films can age like wine or, in other words, look much better when re-watched after a long time. Even the opus of someone like Albert Pyun can benefit from the phenomenon. In case of that particular director, this means that films that initially looked abysmal or atrocious can look merely bad or even marginally watchable. One such example is his 1988 science fiction adventure Alien from L.A..

Titular protagonist is actually a human. Wanda Saknussemm (played by Kathy Ireland) is a young nerdish-looking waitress who has just been left by her surfer boyfriend Robbie (played by Don Michael Paul). Wanda is even more troubled by the long absence of her beloved father, Professor Arnold Saknussemm (played by Richard Haines), explorer who went to Africa to search for the way to the centre of the Earth. After learning that her father disappeared and presumably died after falling into bottomless pit, she travels to Africa to continue his search. She falls in the same pit and discovers that it is indeed way to the centre of the Earth, which is populated by Atlanteans, ancient alien but human-looking civilisation. With the help of miner Guten “Gus” Edway (played by William R. Moses) she travels to the city of Atlantis, believing that the her father might be alive. Her search gets complicated because Atlantean authorities consider any talk of “aliens” who come from “surface world” subversive.

Produced by the Cannon Group, studio specialised for cheap exploitation films, Alien from L.A. was based on what had looked like a good idea. Kathy Ireland, one of the most popular and iconic swimsuit models of her time, was supposed to have her acting debut as a star of family-friendly science fiction adventure inspired by Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Indiana Jones films. Unfortunately, having Pyun as director wrecked that idea. Film has serious issues with pacing, with many scenes being overlong or repetitive. Furthermore, while Kathy Ireland has lovely looks, her incredibly high-pitched voice gets terribly annoying after a while. Bombastic music score also tends to be overused or used in the wrong scenes. On the other hand, underground lost civilisation of Atlantis looks interesting due to unconventional production design, costumes and heavy make-up. That and the use of all-present television screens (that looked very much like 1980s video art installations) make Atlantis look very much as “cool” underground clubs someone might have frequented during the era. This, together with half-ironic dystopian vibes, crates surreal atmosphere which is the main source of entertainment in the film. Ireland, when her voice is ignored, is decent actress and, needless to say, quite pleasing to the eye. The rest of the cast does solid job, especially Moses as macho miner and Thom Matthews as Wanda’s Atlantean love interest. Ireland appears in bikini at the end of the film, which some viewers might consider a proper reward for sitting during previous hour and and half; most of today’s audience won’t be so forgiving. Alien from L.A. many years later had the “honour” of being the subject of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In 1989 Ireland reprised the role of Wanda in direct-to-video sequel Journey to the Center of the Earth, also directed by Pyun.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

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