My review was written in November 1987 after a screening at a multiplex in Boca Raton, Florida.
"Stranded" is a modest sci-fi thriller that dares to be different, but fails to come off as a satisfying feature. Currently in regional release after test booking, it is unlikely to prove a theatrical winner for New Line.
Story is set entirely at night (oppressively) as aliens from Outer Space land at a remote farmhouse in the South and take cute 17-year-old Deirdre (Ione Skye) and her grandma (Maureen O'Sullivan) hostage. Problems in communication result in a lethal gun battle with country boys who arrive at the farm and a night-long siege when the local police, led by black Sheriff McMahon (Joe Morton), come to attempt to defuse the hostage situation.
Director Tex Fuller maintains adequate tension as the claustrophobic tale unfolds in nearly real-time fashion. However, Alan Castle's screenplay is severely limited in scope and fails to exploit its sci-fi elements much beyond the standard confrontational mode. Subplots revolve around the local rednecks' uneasiness with obeying a black sheriff (who naturally seems to side with the "misunderstood" aliens), the women attempting to achieve a rapport with the friendly-seeming intruders and the activities of a mysterious Dept. Of Defense agent (Susan Barnes).
Michele Burke's interesting design work for the aliens' makeup, which ranges from a modified hippie look to a "Black Lagoon"-style lizard woman, is the film's strongest suit. Visual effects emphasizing blue lightning are okay.
Cast is unusual, dominated by erstwhile "Brother from Another Planet" Joe Morton, on the other side of the alien fence this time as the no-nonsense, very sympathetic sheriff. Ione Skye (of "River's Edge") is affecting as the ordinary teenager who almost falls in love with one of the visitors, while Maureen O'Sullivan contributes an okay gothic turn as her grandma.
