Alien Outlaw
The 1980s were the decade of schlock at the movies. The major studios released their fair share of it, whether it was high concept action movies, countless clones of successful films, or Cannon. “Alien Outlaw,” one of two features from director Phil Smoot, is the sort of low-rent schlock that “Mystery Science Theater 3000” thrived on, and rightfully so- even in this 4K restoration presented by the Kino Cult line- this is fairly indefensible.
I’ll admit to being curious about listening to the audio commentaries on Kino’s Blu-Ray- the one with Smoot to hear what he was thinking, the one with the cast and crew to hear what they think now. (The disc also includes both archival interviews and new interviews with cast and crew.) I think a case could be made for the 1980s probably being the sleaziest movie decade of all-time; certainly, the ’90s had a lot of direct-to-video erotica, but if you watch 1985’s “Alien Outlaw,” it feels skeezy in its exploitation of female bodies, even that of it’s star, Kari Anderson. That Anderson actually manages to build a character for herself worth rooting for in Jesse Jamison, a stuntwoman who turns shooting guns into an act, while Smoot’s costume involves her looking like a porn movie Indian, makes it disappointing she never made another film; she’s quite charming in this film as a woman trying to take control of her life.
The film begins with Jesse’s equipment manager leaving his house, getting ready to meet her on the road. Aliens land, and he is attacked. In the attack, the aliens take some of Jesse’s guns, and they are not bad shots at all. They continue to kill some of the Southern bumpkins in this small town; sadly, they don’t get to Jesse’s sleazy business manager, who just uses her to hook up. Jesse is looking to make a change to the big show (whatever that entails); she’ll just have to save the world first.
When I say that Anderson is the best thing in this movie, I am not kidding. When the action doesn’t involve her, “Alien Outlaw” is both dull and silly in equal measure. The ’80s synth score is so low-rent it should be evicted from the motel Jesse and her business manager are staying at by the weird bellboy. Most of the men are pervy horndogs, and only one of them- Alex, Jesse’s mentor, played by Lash LaRue- has any sense. The aliens have a decent design, I guess, but we don’t see enough of them in action to really appreciate it. I can see enjoying this movie with a few friends who don’t mind making fun of it along the way. If you’re watching it for a review as a solitary film critic, though, it can be a bit of a slog. Jesse Jamison doesn’t just save the day in the movie; she saved the day in giving me something to root for in this film.
