Title

Alien from the Deep

Aka

Alien degli Abissi (Ita) - Alien, le créature des abysses (Fra)

Director

Antonio Margheriti (Anthony M. Dawson)

Story by

Antonio Margheriti

Tito Carpi

Screenwriter

Tito Carpi

Photography by

Fausto Zuccoli

Art Director

n.a.

Editor

Alberto Moriani

Music by

Andrea Ridolfi

Cast

Daniel Bosch

Role

Lee

Julia Mc Kay (Marina Giulia Cavalli)

Jane

Charles Napier

Kovacs

Robert Marius

Alan Collins (Luciano Pigozzi)

Story

The environmentalist Jane and her cameraman smuggle onto a tropical island to investigate the activities of the E-Chem plant. They obtain videotape proof that show that instead of decontaminating radioactive waste E-Chem is dumping it into the island’s active volcano. But they are spotted and pursued by the company’s mercenaries. A mysterious snake venom farmer aids Jane in her flight. They are then witnesses as an alien emerges from the nearby lake and kills all as it heads to the plant, drawn to the nuclear waste.

Reviews

By:  Paul Cooke

ALIEN FROM THE DEEP

When the big studios offered big bucks to deliver the sequel to the modern mother of monster movies with "Aliens" the Italian ‘B’ list of Directors must have raided their saving tins in response as Bruno Mattei served up "Shocking Dark" and soon after Antonio Margheriti delivered his variation on the theme with "Alien From The Deep".

The film begins all at sea but as with all Margheriti’s outings is worth dipping your toe into the water to ride the Saturday matinee wave of delirious fun with a bucket load of popcorn and a facial masseuse to remove the fixed smile from your face come the finale. The storyline is as basic as the sci-fi genre rules allow for with female reporter Jane dragging along her cameraman Lee to an island where they believe non sanctioned toxic waste dumping is taking place within the molten lava flow of the active volcano indigenous to the area. Margheriti regular Alan Collins is the scientist who’s work has been taken to the extreme against his better judgment but despite his aired concerns he is easily kept subdued by the oppressive presence who’s underlying purpose is to dispose of as much degenerative waste material regardless of the effects on the indigenous surroundings. With local village resistance help the intrepid duo manage to infiltrate the complex of E Chem and film the evidence that proves the toxic dumping is taking place. It is not long before the alarm is raised and the two try to escape but Lee hides the tape in the interests of self preservation. 

Lee is soon picked up and brought before the overseeing attentions of camp Commander Kovacks , as played with usual dead pan cragginess by ‘Rambo’ turncoat Charles Napier, but Jane escapes and is pursued into the jungle where she is assisted by her very own Tarzan in the shape of a snake venom sociologist named Bob. The chase scene is handled as well as ever with trademark Margheriti aplomb and serves up a conclusive snake epitaph for the chasing charmers leaving Jane and Bob to escape to trade their stories of island life and together they formulate a course of retaliatory action. The great thing with screwball Italian rip offs is that you get the fun element of recognizing not just more than the passing resemblance to a blockbuster screener but in fact lots of them and with half of this films running time expired the similarity of an Indiana Jones’ adventure crossed with "The China Syndrome" would forgive you for thinking what has this got to do with Aliens. At this point clearly the Producers and the scriptwriter must have realized that they were no longer on the Antonio Margheriti mid Eighties jungle adventure cloning production line but in fact moving into the new decade of throw it all into the pot but remember the films title scenario and out of the blue we have a reported sighting of said alien. Whilst Jane and Bob are rescuing camera man Lee the chemical plant compound are in disarray as divers have disturbed the titular Alien from the deep or at least from what we get to see one funky looking lobster claw that pokes your eye out just for pointing a pole in its general direction.  

The fun starts here though with Margheriti getting to apply full use of his miniature modelling skills , which is always a highlight and recognizable forte of his , as the Alien awakens from its residential depths and helicopter bound Commander Kovacks takes extreme cover up option number one to kill the surviving witnesses as explosive action ends with outboard boat crashing into the embankment.

In true Ripley fashion there is a stand off fight involving the Alien and these two heavy duty digger trucks , which is a wryly entertaining show of entertainment capped off with Bob doing his bit armed with the mighty Alien retardant special fluid concoction flame thrower , not regularly available at your local K Mart , which he grabs from creator Alan Collins who in turn hams it up with his absolution seeking death throws. Lasting memory of this highly enjoyable slice of teeth tapping tongue in cheek has to be the so bad its wonderful titular Alien along with the hilarious rendering by Charles Napier of the classic dialogue line , "Fear is contagious , you’ve got to nip it in the bud". This is classic ham without the eggs, as the only thing needed to throw at this glorious turkey is your own enthusiasm for retelling to anyone who will listen to you. Antonio Margheriti never fails to entertain and with "Alien From The Deep" he has plunged to new depths , yet still manages to trawl out the most deliriously entertaining , rib tickling , version of the bends you could ever ‘fish’ for.

Read also the review of this film made by Mike Martinez on  (www.insane.nu)  [ READ IT ]