Mystery Science Theater 3000: ALIEN FROM L.A.   Rewatch 
March 4, 2021 4:17 AM - Season 5, Episode 16 - Subscribe

Re-rewatch! At the center of the earth lies, apparently, a lost colony of Australians, living, also apparently, in a half-baked version of the techno-dystopia from the Super Mario Bros movie. Into this falls Wanda Saknussemm, played by supermodel Kathy Ireland, here cast as a high-pitched nerd girl. You know those movies where all a young woman has to do to be popular is lose the spectacles and wear a swimsuit? That's the story here, although it also involves falling down a "bottomless pit," running for her life from an oppressive government and their fiendish "Lotto," and a person with three-inch eyelashes. Also: the movie has a sequel, it turns out! Previously, and again.
posted by JHarris (4 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Kathy Ireland as a high-pitched nerd girl on my birthday? This day just couldn't get any better!
posted by valkane at 6:49 AM on March 4, 2021 [3 favorites]


I own Alien From LA in a 4-pack with Morons from Outer Space, The Man From Planet X, and The Angry Red Planet. It's arguably the worst movie in the collection but I bought it *specifically* for Alien From LA, because I love Albert Pyun movies and I was having some difficulty finding this one at the time.

I feel like Albert Pyun lives dead-center in a very specific era and sensibility of Late 80s/Early 90s straight-to-VHS, at least as I remember it from my misspent youth in video stores and late-night UHF. The darkly colorful photography and textured sets, the hammy acting, the weird combination of high-concept plots with braindead stereotypes. It's not GOOD exactly - particularly not in this case, good lord - but watching it still feels like coming home to something.

This is my shit, is what I'm saying.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 12:37 PM on March 4, 2021 [1 favorite]


I wish MST had taken on more of these '80s Golan/Globus films. Their whole catalog is just perfect for the Mads' experiment.
posted by Servo5678 at 12:43 PM on March 4, 2021 [2 favorites]


That specific era and sensibility that Phobos references is viscerally off-putting to me for some reason (perhaps a forgotten/repressed negative association from the time period? I really have no idea why). As a result, given the choice of "watch ____ instead of Alien from L.A.," I'd readily choose Monster a Go-Go, possibly even Girl in Gold Boots, and…well, Racket Girls would be a toss-up.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:53 AM on March 5, 2021 [1 favorite]


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