The Alien Factor

This Movie is just Fun. Back in the mid 70's movies like these were being made every day, by people with small budgets and little know actors. But they were the movies you would talk to your buddies about long after the movie has gone the way of the Drive-ins.I was too young to see Alien Factor when it was at the Drive-in. I did see on a late night fright show on NBC. I was about 15 then and found it be the best laugh you could get with out big name stars. I bought the DVD for a few bucks in a bargain store. I just watched it and Man! It brings back the memories. Plan 9 from outer space meets Gumby and Pokey! It's fun. It's low tech.it's got bad acting. But the monster costumes look great for mid 70's. I'm surprised Don Dohler didn't get as far as John Carpenter did. You might say some thing like "John Carpenter did some great work!" Yes thats true. But just look at one of his first movies "Dark Star" You can't find gems like these being made today. My friends and I call movies like these "Pure Cheese" This is the best of pure cheese around. You can find cheesy movies. But it takes the best and I mean the best to make it into My list of Top 10 Pure Cheese. I'll watch this movie for years to come. I would say on the Pure Cheese list I would put it at 3 between Laser Blast & Dark Star. Every now and then you have to sit back and watch a low tech/low budget movie. Just a good old fun Si-Fi that doesn't weigh you down with plot or sub plot. I hold Pure Cheese movies in the highest regard.The Alien Factor is one movie to be held high. So Thanks to Don Dohler for good fun!

Don Dohler, the unsung hero of home-grown sci-fi, has finally come to DVD. The Alien Factor is a complete cheeseball that has a decent storyline and hypnotic music to enjoy while laughing at impossibly cheap alien costumes. If I were Don, I'd want to sue Steven Spielburg for ripping off his idea of marooned aliens. The whole show is fun, the alien make-up is actually scary. Unlike the following John Waters attained from his home-grown Baltimore movies, Don Dohler's overlooked home-grown Baltimore movies will be considered cult classics someday thanks to these fantastic revival DVDs.

I saw this film as a kid on the Saturday afternoon "Monster Theater". I've seen it a few more times since then, and I still get a kick out of it.

Basically, an alien ship crashes (of course) on its way to some intergalactic zoo. Three very dangerous aliens escape the wreck and go back to their normal predatory behavior patterns. It's up to the Earthlings to stop them...

This film was pretty creative for its time, and the methods used to "deal" with the aliens showed some logical and innovative thought on the writer's part.

It probably will never be listed in the top ten films of all time, but it's a fun romp when you're in the mood for cheesy movies. Give it a chance.

The Alien Factor - well, from the opening sequences, you get the distinct feeling that this movie is going to be a shoestring effort, produced over a free weekend by a bunch of people who have never seen a camera before, let alone checked up on the word "act" in the dictionary. Your worst fears are soon realised, although credit must be given for a very early appearance of one of the "monsters." Otherwise, I'm afraid, credit is in pretty short supply. Looking at the film in 2010, the striking thing about the characters are the bad haircuts - the sheriff with the Barry Gibb-style mane is a hoot! The mayor looks as though he's wearing a frozen headscarf, tucked behind his ears. The other striking aspect is the pitifully poor acting - they are clearly all amateurs who must have embarked on film careers during a few hours away from their regular jobs. However, there are some positives - the basic premise of alien zoological specimens, escaping on earth, is quite novel. Same for one of the aliens - the satyr-like creature - which is well presented and out of the ordinary. And, the amateurish direction and script does hold a certain basic charm. As far as bad sci-fi movies go, this one has to be up there with the best!

Of all the crappy sci-fi movies I've picked up and rented, this one stuck a little longer than the rest. It's pretty good for being a low budget film whose cast and crew were one and the same. It's pretty original, too. Kind of weird but it's worth a look.