''Alienator'' is a 1990

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-budget feature films in many genres, including Horror film, horror, science fiction, action film, action/adventure f ...

, produced by Jeffrey C. Hogue, and starring

Jan-Michael Vincent Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor known for portraying helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series ''Airwolf'' (1984–1987) and the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film ''Big W ...

. The film was described by

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

and confirmed by Fred Olen Ray to be a "semi-

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

" of the 1957 film ''

The Astounding She-Monster ''The Astounding She-Monster'' is a 1958Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 731 science fiction horror film starring Robert Clarke and directed, co-written and produced by Ronnie Ashcroft for Hol ...

''.

Robert Clarke Robert Irby Clarke (June 1, 1920 – June 11, 2005) was an American actor best known for his cult classic science fiction films of the 1950s. Early life Clarke was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He decided at an early age that h ...

, who starred in that film, also appears in ''Alienator''.

Plot

Kol, an alien criminal, escapes from a spaceship into the woods of an American suburb. The commander of the spaceship dispatches "the Alienator"—a deadly

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name A gynoid ...

, to capture Kol. She relentlessly pursues Kol and a group of teenagers whom he meets up with.

Cast

as Commander *

John Phillip Law John Phillip Law (September 7, 1937 – May 13, 2008) was an American film actor. Following a breakthrough role as a Russian sailor in ''The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming'' (1966), Law became best known for his roles as g ...

as Ward Armstrong *

Ross Hagen Ross Hagen (born Leland Lando Lilly; May 21, 1938 – May 7, 2011) was an American voice actor, actor, director, screenwriter and producer whose television acting credits included ''Daktari''. His film credits included ''The Hellcats'' in 1967 a ...

as Kol *

Teagan Clive Teagan Clive (born c. 1955) is an American writer, bodybuilder and actress. She has appeared in various roles in movies and on television. Clive writes articles for periodicals, including '' Iron Man Magazine'' and the Weider magazine ''Muscle ...

as Alienator * Dyana Ortelli as Orrie * Jesse Dabson as Benny * Dawn Wildsmith as Caroline *

P. J. Soles Pamela Jayne Soles (née Hardon; born July 17, 1950) is a German-born American actress. She made her film debut in 1976 as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's '' Carrie'' (1976) before portraying Lynda van der Klok in John Carpenter's ''Halloween'' ...

as Tara *

as Lund *

Richard Wiley Richard Wiley (born November 19, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer whose first novel, ''Soldiers in Hiding (novel), Soldiers in Hiding'' won the 1987 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He has published five other novels and a numbe ...

as Rick *

Leo Gordon Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American character actor and screenwriter. During more than 40 years in film and television he was most frequently cast as a supporting actor playing brutish bad guys but oc ...

as Col. Coburn *

Robert Quarry Robert Walter Quarry (November 3, 1925 – February 20, 2009) was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles. Life and career Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable (née Shoemaker) and Paul Quarry ...

as Doc Burnside *

Fox Harris Fox Harris (May 3, 1936 – December 27, 1988) was an American actor known for such films as '' Repo Man'', ''Sid and Nancy'', '' Straight to Hell'', ''Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers'', ''The Underachievers'' and '' Dr. Caligari''. Harris worked fr ...

as Burt * Hoke Howell as Harley * Jay Richardson as Prison sergeant major * Dan Golden as Electrocuted prisoner *

Joseph Pilato Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film ''Day of the Dead''. Early life He was born in Fitchburg in 1949 to an Ita ...

as Tech #2

Release

''Alienator'' was originally set for release between May and August in 1989.

Prism Entertainment This is a list of notable home video companies in the business of producing and marketing pre-recorded cassettes and discs of various formats for home video. Major home video companies Paramount Global *Paramount Home Entertainment (1976–pre ...

announced in November 1989 to release the film along with ''Time Troopers'' in late December. Prism later released the film on February 8, 1990. On March 19, 2013, the film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

as part of a two-disc "Action-Packed Movie Marathon" set, which contains a total of four films. On June 13, 2017, the film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Scream Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

, featuring a commentary track by director Fred Olen Ray.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, "Lor." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the AIP video cassette on November 18, 1989. "Lor." declared the film to be a "tongue-in cheek sci-fi thriller geared towards home video fans with a soft spot for the old stars and old-fashioned serials." "Lor." noted the film "suffers from a weak script" that gave Jan-Michael Vincent and John Phillip Law little to do while P.J. Soles is "stuck in a rather goofy costume as an outer space technician".

References

Sources

External links

* * {{Fred Olen Ray 1990 films 1990 action thriller films 1990 independent films 1990s science fiction action films American independent films American science fiction action films American action thriller films Android (robot) films Films directed by Fred Olen Ray 1990s English-language films 1990s American films