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Alien from L.A. (film)

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For the episode, see MST3K 516 - Alien from L.A..
“ Whoa! Bitchin' left hook, Crassus! ”
- Wanda Saknussemm


Alien from L.A. is a science-fiction movie directed by Albert Pyun.

Plot[]

Wanda Saknussemm is a social misfit with large eyeglasses and a squeaky voice who lives in Los Angeles and works at a diner. After being dumped by her boyfriend, Wanda is informed by a letter that her father, an archaeologist, has died. She flies to northern Africa and finds her father's notes about Atlantis, which believes was an alien ship that crashed millennia ago and sank into the center of the Earth.

Wanda discovers a chamber beneath her father's apartment and accidentally fall down a deep tunnel. Wanda wakes up deep within the Earth to find Gus, a miner whom she protects from being killed. Gus agrees to help Wanda find her father, whom she believes is alive and trapped underground. Wanda soon learns that both she and her father are suspected of being spies planning an invasion of Atlantis. She becomes a hunted woman and must dodge attempts to capture her from the mysterious Government House and from thugs employed by the crime lord Mambino.

Alienfromla

Kathy Ireland in Alien from L.A.

Wanda changes her appearance by removing her eyeglasses and using a steam vent to clean her skin. Her efforts at escape are aided by Charmin, a handsome rogue who assists her flight and falls in love with her. She is ultimately captured by the evil General Pykov, who wants to kill both Wanda and her incarcerated father. The ruler of Atlantis decides to free Wanda and her father, provided they tell no one about the underground civilization. Gus arrives and helps the duo escape while fighting off General Pykov and her soldiers. Wanda and her father board a ship that takes them back to the surface. Wanda, now confident, is reunited with Charmin'.

Alienfromla2

Cast[]

  • Kathy Ireland as Wanda Saknussemm
  • William R. Moses as Gus
  • Richard Haines as Professor Arnold Saknussemm
  • Thom Mathews as Charmin'
  • Don Michael Paul as Robbie
  • Janie du Plessis as General Pykov / Shank / Claims Officer
  • Simon Poland as Crassus / Mailman
  • Deep Roy as Mambino

Notes[]

  • Significant amounts of footage from this film (both used and unused) was utilized to comprise the bulk of one of Albert Pyun's later (uncredited) projects- Journey to the Center of the Earth.  While that movie begins as a modernized adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel, it changes into a continuation of Alien from L.A. using recycled footage to extend it to feature-length.
  • This was the first feature film for supermodel Kathy Ireland.
  • Despite receiving second billing in the opening credits, it almost an hour into the film before actor Thom Mathews appears.
  • This movie prominently features actor-of-small-stature Deep Roy. Roy has had a storied career. He's one of two actors to hold the "sci-fi trifecta," appearing in the Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Star Trek franchises (Simon Pegg is the other). He also has appeared in Blakes' 7, The NeverEnding Story, Flash Gordon, Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (playing all of the Oompa Loomas), and many other highly-regarded productions.
  • Comedy Central broadcast this film in its original, non-riffed state some time after MST3K was cancelled. Some fans have found this decision to be odd (and potentially insulting), since the film contains little content that would qualify it as a comedy.
  • This movie was filmed in Apartheid-era South Africa and Gus' accent is South African (not Australian as Mike and the bots assume).

MST3K Connections[]

Critical Response[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, 2015 Edition
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