Not of This Earth -- Jim Wynorski
I'm not one to hold my expectations of a movie against it. But when your ad campaign starts off with "Traci Lords is... Not of This Earth," I don't think it's wrong to feel a little let down that she isn't the blood-hunting alien. Then again, Roger Corman productions have never been shy about misleading the audience in their advertising (Not of This Earth's opening credits run over archival footage from past Corman features and I was certain it was going to be for the trailer. The credits are also the best part of the movie).
There is a lot wrong with Not of This Earth, a remake of Roger Corman's 1957 film of the same name, and having not seen the original, I'm not sure who to blame. Very early on it's established that the alien antagonist has the ability to control minds. Why he doesn't do it to everyone he meets, I'll never know. Sure, he needs Traci Lords to administer drug transfusions, but control her like he controls the doctor. The fact that he doesn't hypnotize (for lack of a better term) everyone allows there to be a movie but it also leaves the movie weakened because none of it needs to play out that way.
This wouldn't be a problem if Not of This Earth was at all entertaining. Instead, it plods along without any suspense or scares. The aliens are able to communicate telepathically and it's riveting watching scenes in which characters stare at each other while voice over plays.
There's an amusing car chase at the end where obstacles were placed in the road just to get run over. Why would anyone have four mailboxes lined up on the road surface? I was surprised that in her first non-pornographic movie, Traci Lords got naked. It's not like there was a lack of nudity in Not of This Earth. Of course, the audience probably would have been disappointed if she hadn't.
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