Not of This Earth 2001 Horror Movie Review

Former adult film actress Traci Lords stars in her first mainstream film role as a nurse wearing a skin-tight and super- short uniform in this 1988 remake of Roger Corman’s rarely seen NOT OF THIS EARTH.


This remake is purebred camp. Lords is entertaining to watch and turns in a very credible rookie performance onscreen. It’s well worth your time if you’re in a lighthearted mood.


The plots of the original and the remake are identical. The aliens’ mission is a simple one: to suck the blood of the human race, to short-circuit our brains with direct eye contact, and to collect various specimens for study and experimentation back on their home planet.


Roger Corman created a 1957 film that transcended its science-fiction genre and became instead a period-piece artifact of Middle American Cold War paranoia, McCarthyism and race tension.


In the original, those who are not of this earth are humanoid creatures who speak in suspiciously thick Eastern European accents, behave mysteriously, dress in undertakers’ suits, Ray Ban sunglasses and homburg hats (and MUST have inspired Belushi and Akroyd in creating the Blues Brothers).


In the earlier film, Corman makes a piercing social commentary when his Iron Curtain outworlders categorize our species either as “humans” (whites) or “subhumans” (people of color).


Unfortunately for the original, most viewers over the years have seen the aliens’ labeling as an example of racism rather than an indictment of it. As a result, the original NOT OF THIS EARTH is never broadcast and is only available through very limited outlets.


Lords’ film limits its social commentary to important issues, like beer and burgers.


Besides Lords’ recommended 1988 comic remake there was a dramatic version made in 1995. The 1995 remake with Michael York is absolutely forgettable.


So have a good time watching Traci learn how to act in wardrobe, and if you can find the 1957 original definitely give it a viewing as well.