The Alien Factor (1978)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

People are voting emotionally.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The Alien Factor (1978) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A spaceship crash lands in a small town and sure enough before long there's a creature out killing people. It takes a while for the Mayor (how original) to believe what's going on but soon the whole town has to try and destroy the creature.THE ALIEN FACTOR isn't a movie for people who like high art or just has a hatred for low-budget movies. I mean, if you're looking for a good quality movie then you're really not going to find it here. What you do get are some pretty campy moments and a film that's basically a throwback to the monster movies of the 1950s. If you're a fan of stuff like THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, IT CONQUERED THE WORLD or IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE then you'll probably enjoy this film.With that said, it's important to remember that THE ALIEN FACTOR was shot on a very low-budget and there are certainly countless flaws with the picture. I thought the film managed to be fun because it didn't take itself too serious and you could tell that the filmmakers had a love for the genre and just wanted to make a monster movie. The monster itself looks rather silly but that just adds to the fun as it goes from one victim to the next. There's no gore to be had but this too just makes it play like a movie from previous decades.Performances certainly aren't anything special and technically there's nothing overly impressive. Again, this isn't a movie about quality. Instead THE ALIEN FACTOR is just a cheap movie that offers up some entertainment as long as you don't take it too seriously.

As far as B movies go, this was pretty enjoyable, hence my score of 7 (in comparison to other b movies of course). I would have scored it higher but the alien fight at the end was one of the worst atrocities I've ever seen committed to film, with its inconsistent lighting (some shots were in daylight and some were with a 'day for night' effect), worst special effect I have ever seen and just a terribly choreographed scene overall.Still, the rest of the movie made up for it. Loads of bad acting, boom mics coming into shot, terrible dialogue and all that. But it somehow all managed to be done in an enjoyable way, unlike some b movies which have the same flaws but are totally boring rather than entertaining. It had a good atmosphere and nice locations. It kind of felt like I was watching a film made by a student friend and I got the feeling it would have been fun to film. I enjoyed it and it's one of those films where you can dig it out when you're having a few beers with mates and have a good laugh along with it.

After several citizens of a small town are mutilated, the local sheriff is at a loss. He chalks it up to animal attacks, but the local doctor/coroner isn't so sure. Is there something else lurking in the woods just outside of town? Something alien in origin? Fortunately for the sheriff and everyone else in town, a stranger named Zachary shows up to help with their monster problem.I know it has it's fans, but "watchable" is about the kindest word I can use when describing The Alien Factor. I'm sorry, but it's just not very good. The acting is beyond pathetic, the sets and special effects are super-cheap, the music is bad and often inappropriate, and the pacing is horrible. Way too much time is spent just walking through the woods without much of anything happening. It gets boring pretty quickly. And what's with the musical interlude by Lon Talbot (at least I think that's his name). Talk about sucking the life out of a movie! Finally, the twist at the end should come as no surprise to anyone. It was telegraphed the moment Zachary appeared on-screen. I consider my 4/10 very generous.

An obvious low budget film from 1978, this film features aliens invading a small town. It has a somewhat good plot, but like so many films of this type, they have a somewhat good idea and they fail to develop it enough. Like they started shooting using the basics and not really writing a script. This is why you have so many scenes that take to long to develop such as a man at a bar where we watch him drink while the band plays then follow him to his home. This scene took forever! Then you notice the running time of this film is only 80 minutes and you realize that this is much needed padding. Why they cannot simply add on some more kills is beyond me as there are three aliens killing people, but one of them is a virtual no show until the end.The story has a town being terrorized by three aliens that apparently escaped the wreckage of a crashed spaceship. There is another alien in the area, but it does not seem as hostile. The sheriff is at a complete loss while the mayor wants to keep everything hush hush thanks to an amusement park that will bring money to the small town. However, this film does things differently as it is the mayor that is first convinced of an alien invasion while the sheriff is the skeptical one. A mysterious man also shows up and wishes to help the town dispose of the threat.The killings feature a bit of blood, but nothing all that gory. There is also no nudity in this one. Both could have helped this film go from a rather padded and bloated film with to much filler to a cult classic b rate movie. There are good scenes here and there, but just way to much nothing going on. Seriously, the bar scene went on for a while, I kept expecting something to happen, but all that happened was the man drank two or three beers while a bland band played a song. Then we watch him go home, go upstairs and watch him read. He hears something, goes downstairs and finally we have an attack! To much filler in this one dooms it to being a bit slow and plodding.The aliens look okay for the time, the one that you are not sure of its intentions looks the best (well you will figure that alien out and his role in the movie easily enough, just do not want to spoil anything). There is also an insect type alien that looks pretty good, a strange bear like one that looks kind of funny cause they gave it really long legs. Looks like the person in the costume is wearing platform shoes. Then there is the monster that at first seems invisible, but is finally revealed in the tepid final battle. It looks like a stop motion creature, and not bad for the time I guess.Another film that had a decent enough setup, but just did not do enough to make a good movie. If they had spent some time developing this rather than rushing it to the theater, this one could have been a nice horror film. Instead, we get a film that has some good scenes here and there and just too much clutter. And on a final note, nice shot sheriff! Seriously, why did she have to get so hysterical...she was already warned what she would see would be unpleasant.