This is one of Norman J. Warren's better films, although having seen the Norman J. Warren Coffin Box DVD Collection, that is not much of a recommendation. This film is a strange concoction of sci-fi, horror, zombie, lesbianism and probably a few other genres. The film was shot in a matter of days on a low budget, very much on the hoof: the film was shot as it was being written. It had to be finished quickly because the mansion was due for demolition. Anders' alien face was laughable, looking like something that you get from a joke shop at Halloween.
The main cast is only three characters: Anders the alien (Barry Stokes), and the lesbian couple, Jo (Sally Faulkner) and Jessica (Glory Annen). The interaction between the three characters is handled quite deftly, with Anders getting close to Jo to the annoyance of Jessica, but then during the film it all changes with Jo becoming suspicious of Anders while Jessica suspects Jo of foul play and then falling for Anders. The growing antagonism between Jo and Jessica plays right into Anders' hands.
This film originally ran for about 85 minutes but it was cut by the BBFC and then further cuts were made possibly to get more showings during cinema show times. The only full version seems to be the North American VHS. I have seen several DVD editions and they are all missing several minutes of footage. The main omission is at 28 minutes when Jessica and Anders are talking about being scared and then Jo joins them to talk about music. Jessica goes to her bedroom to fetch something and Jo goes to talk to her and they argue. Jessica makes some cocoa in the kitchen then she shows Anders to his room. This sequence is about three and a half minutes. There are two smaller omissions: at 37 minutes, a 10 second clip of Anders sitting in a chair is cut and at 72 minutes a further 8 seconds are cut in which the alien is eating flesh and Jo is running down a corridor. The omissions actually give the film a bit more urgency. The French DVD is also the short version despite the cover saying 85 minutes.
Overall then, a quirky film for fans of quirky films. It really is a pity that as far as I am aware, no DVD edition has the missing footage as an extra.
The main cast is only three characters: Anders the alien (Barry Stokes), and the lesbian couple, Jo (Sally Faulkner) and Jessica (Glory Annen). The interaction between the three characters is handled quite deftly, with Anders getting close to Jo to the annoyance of Jessica, but then during the film it all changes with Jo becoming suspicious of Anders while Jessica suspects Jo of foul play and then falling for Anders. The growing antagonism between Jo and Jessica plays right into Anders' hands.
This film originally ran for about 85 minutes but it was cut by the BBFC and then further cuts were made possibly to get more showings during cinema show times. The only full version seems to be the North American VHS. I have seen several DVD editions and they are all missing several minutes of footage. The main omission is at 28 minutes when Jessica and Anders are talking about being scared and then Jo joins them to talk about music. Jessica goes to her bedroom to fetch something and Jo goes to talk to her and they argue. Jessica makes some cocoa in the kitchen then she shows Anders to his room. This sequence is about three and a half minutes. There are two smaller omissions: at 37 minutes, a 10 second clip of Anders sitting in a chair is cut and at 72 minutes a further 8 seconds are cut in which the alien is eating flesh and Jo is running down a corridor. The omissions actually give the film a bit more urgency. The French DVD is also the short version despite the cover saying 85 minutes.
Overall then, a quirky film for fans of quirky films. It really is a pity that as far as I am aware, no DVD edition has the missing footage as an extra.