This is the kind of film I really would have sought out on release had I known where to find it. The truth is, Explorer From Another World wasn’t even on my radar until it started streaming on Prime last week. I’ve long been a fan of the Sci-fi classics of the 50s and 60s, so a film that pays homage to them was always going to grab my attention.
The story gathers together the usual group of suspects you’d expect to find in a film of this kind. Starting with the titular character who we see on an inhospitable volcanic world before setting off on a journey across the universe, stopping at several planets along the way and collecting samples, before the beautiful blue marble we call home fills the screen.
We are then introduced to three wholesome American teenagers as they walk to see a movie and discuss the school dance, deciding to take a shortcut to save time. Along the way they say high to the Professor who is on his porch smoking his pipe. All Professors have to smoke a pipe in classic Sci-fi, it’s the law. We then meet the local sheriff and his loyal deputy who’s conversation regarding their wives cooking is interrupted by reports of a glow in the woods.
A boozed up local farmer wandering through his field with his shotgun sees a light in the sky, and believing that the commies are attacking, rushes to defend America. Our three teens come across the scene and witness the shotgun toting farmer come off worse in a confrontation with the other worldly explorer. From then on we’re pretty much off to the races, as the invader demonstrates that it isn’t so much interested in exploring as it is in laser blasting, decapitating and disarming (literally) it’s way through the locals.
Along the way there’s some professorial investigating, unheeded warnings from a locked up local and some chicken bothering. All leading up to a final confrontation with the alien, and an ending that leaves room for a sequel. And all of this in a running time of just 45 minutes.
If the end credit scroll and out-takes are anything to go by, this was something of a passion project for director Woody Edwards, who also plays the afore mentioned locked up local, and it would appear that all involved were having a great time, which comes across in the material. The gory effects are sometimes a little rough around the edges, and the performances aren’t always great, and I was left unsure if these were deliberate choices or due to a low budget and an amateur cast. Whatever the case, it doesn’t really matter, it works for the subject matter and the genre on which it’s based.
If you have a spare 45 minutes check it out, it’ll will at least get you through a morning commute.
Explorer from Another World is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
