Not of This Earth (1988)

Remake of Roger Corman's 1957 quickie. By this time, the late eighties, such a remake - whether an homage or a parody - was done with a knowing wink. This was strictly for those who had nostalgic memories of Corman's original. During the credits, there are even scenes from older Corman films - mostly from earlier in the decade - to impress on us the significance of Corman's place in film history. Those who had no knowledge of Corman's old films would probably not 'get' this film; it would come across as pointless and dull, and perhaps a bit campy. But, for those in the know, it's intriguing to watch a color remake of the same old story. The plot is the same as that of the original film:Earth is visited by an alien (Arthur Roberts), a sinister-looking older man who always wears a dark suit and dark glasses. He's here for our blood, making him a vampire from outer space. Traci Lords, a porn star until this point, stars as a nurse hired on to assist this alien, not knowing his true intentions or actual identity.

This film was created due to one of Corman's proteges, Jim Wynorski, who convinced Corman that he could get it done as cheaply as the original. So, in a sense, the only ambition here was to produce such a film under certain guidelines in terms of a very low budget. But, there are some cute bits: in the brief role of the vacuum cleaner salesman, Michael Delano is a direct copy of & tribute to Dick Miller, the actor in the original. Though this takes place in the eighties, the alien drives around in a black 1956 Cadillac. The big difference is that the alien mostly victimized homeless bums in the original; this time, he targets local hookers. Lords isn't too bad in the role; everyone probably expected her to be amateurish, but she's relaxed in the role, even playful. She has a couple of nude scenes, even a softcore sex scene, and struts about in a small bikini - but that was to be expected.     BoG's Score: 4 out of 10

Trivia of This Earth: in a small role as another nurse is Kelli Maroney, of Night of the Comet (84) fame; note that the publicity for this refers to Traci Lords as the one not of this Earth, as if she is the alien (Kim Basinger starred as a visitor from another planet in another film that same year); there is another blonde female character in this film that is another alien, causing more confusion...