When Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction calls John Travolta “Lash LaRue” I thought that it was a Saturday morning cartoon character. My knowledge of actors at the time was not as great as it’s become so the joke landed flat. No longer. After almost three decades I now have an idea of who LaRue was. That Tarantino reference makes perfect sense almost lining up perfectly with his specific sort of fandom (e.g., a 50s western star who eventually turned to grindhouse filmmakers in the 70s and 80s).
Alien Outlaw is an example of Phil Smoot’s crafty showmanship luring in people with a name who only shows up for a few minutes. The film is actually better than your average regional filmmaking entry. Though retains the crass classless moments (like the alien raping a woman – needless but thankfully not graphic nor long). Oddly, the film works and is able to make something out of its lower-budget creations.
A riff on The Most Dangerous Game by way of a “modern Western”. The film is set up quickly – a group of alien “outlaws” lands on Earth and begins to wreak havoc on the small Appalachian town. The outlaw begins to hunt the various people in and around the community. The only person who can stop them is the Annie Oakley of the Modern era (Kari Anderson). With the help of her sage mentor (Lash La Rue) and an unlucky guy on a weekend fishing weekend.
There’s a basic linear quality that one appreciates about Smoot’s work. There is nothing more or less about the film other than the entertainment. The Make-up FX work is wonderful and the cinematography from Paul Hughen aids in that work and the entire enterprise. Smoot is actually a fairly acutely aware director. Random asides and comedic bits that land flat aside the film has a narrative force that’s lacking in films of similar lineage.
The weak link is the acting which at moments can be stiff or overbearingly arched. Anderson lacks that commanding presence and feels as though she was cast for her looks and ability to do stunt work rather than actual acting. La Rue understands his role here as a sage mentor and “special guest star” and milks it for all its worth. The best acting is reserved for the ones who play the actual Alien Outlaws of the title. Their work always feels organic in a way that feels like an actual organism and not a “man in a suit”.
Alien Outlaw is an actual surprise in merit and quality. The very definition of the back end of a double bill at a Drive-in. It will entertain its intended audience.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Restoration of the 16mm Original Camera Negative is an utter delight. The image is flawless without any defects or scratches. The transfer is clean but not in the way that it loses all of its filmic qualities. Kino has managed to create an image that retains its grain structure but never at the expense of clarity. Kino has done a marvelous job of presenting the film better than it’s ever looked in any iteration on home video or even when it was released theatrically in 1986.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentaries by Director Phil Smoot, Cast and Crew
THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: NEW Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones
Archival Interviews and Featurettes
The first track is an all-new Audio Commentary moderated by fellow director (and friend) Worth Keeter with Alien Outlaw director Phil Smoot and begins with the origins of the project. Some of the details include the old trick of mailing your script to yourself to cover you legally; the closeness to Predator – and also to The Most Dangerous Game; the opening title sequence; why The Dark Power was the first film produced rather than Alien Outlaw; why they chose these locations in North Carolina; working with Sunset Carson – including a bit of a history of the star during his golden age and the difficulty Smoot had with the star; a discussion of who was Wild Bill Cody was; a discussion of the various fan culture that was around in the 1960s and 1970s that performers like Bill Cody and Lash La Rue would participate in; working with the various behind-the-scenes crew members; the difficulties of shooting on location; the casting and work of Kari Anderson; the lack of a 35mm blow up – discussion of the distribution of the film; the FX work throughout and how it was achieved; working with Lash La Rue; a larger discussion of the various actors that they hired and what they are doing now as most of the casting was regional; and much more. Smoot provides an informative track looking back at the production of the film.
The other is a Cast and Crew Audio Commentary track featuring Editor Sherwood Jones and actors Kari Anderson, Gil Newsom, and Steve Wingard. Some of the details include how they all got involved with the film; details about the time and place that the production took place; comments about the Riff Trax episode that covers the film; working with Lash La Rue; Wingard’s work after the film – including how he got his SAG card; Anderson’s experience working on the production including working with La Rue; how Newsom found out about the film and how he was hired; the nudity in the film; the various actors/crew that worked on both The Dark Power and Alien Outlaw; the various locations used around North Carolina by the production; and much more. The track is a delightfully entertaining recollection from the cast and Jones acting as moderator/host.
THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast (22:20) – an all-new featurette on the making of Alien Outlaw. This polished making-of is a great look into what it took to make the film. There’s a great number of anecdotes from the production that are collated here that creates more of a pastiche than a linear making of (e.g., Preproduction-Production-Post). The featurette is beautifully edited with footage from the film, production stills, b-roll, and more. Featuring comments by director Phil Smoot, and stars Kari Anderson, Gil Newsom, co-editor Mary Dalton, and others.
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones (8:46) – in this all-new interview begins with the “original” title. Jones discusses the production; how quickly the film came together after The Dark Power – and the reasons why; the increased budget and what that meant for the production; and more.
News Conference (5:41) – filmed in the Chamber of Commerce in the North Carolina town the film was produced was filmed. Featuring John Wolfe, Lash La Rue, Sunset Carson, and Phil Smoot discussing various aspects of the film.
Behind-the-Scenes (4:15) – this b-roll footage is presented without context or any sort of commentary but with live sound as they shoot a scene with Sunset Carson. It could be from the Archival interviews below.
Archival Interviews (12:32) – as an opening typeface tells us the footage was shot on video by Sunset Carson and used as a part of his Syndicated TV show. The interviews feature Kari Anderson (making her entrance in the most western hero of ways); and Lash La Rue.
Home Movie (4:31) – this featurette is a compilation of B-roll footage and footage from the film from one of the key action scenes. There is a basicness to the narration that plays throughout but it does give some vital information and most importantly context.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Without Warning (1:44); The Astro-Zombies (2:17)
The Final Thought
Kino Cult has really started to cook with Alien Outlaw. Transfer and extras are all excellent. Recommended.
Director Phil Smoot’s Alien Outlaw comes to Blu-ray with a 4K Restoration of the Original Camera Negative from Kino Cult!
The Film
NOTE: The film does feature sexual assault.
When Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction calls John Travolta “Lash LaRue” I thought that it was a Saturday morning cartoon character. My knowledge of actors at the time was not as great as it’s become so the joke landed flat. No longer. After almost three decades I now have an idea of who LaRue was. That Tarantino reference makes perfect sense almost lining up perfectly with his specific sort of fandom (e.g., a 50s western star who eventually turned to grindhouse filmmakers in the 70s and 80s).
Alien Outlaw is an example of Phil Smoot’s crafty showmanship luring in people with a name who only shows up for a few minutes. The film is actually better than your average regional filmmaking entry. Though retains the crass classless moments (like the alien raping a woman – needless but thankfully not graphic nor long). Oddly, the film works and is able to make something out of its lower-budget creations.
A riff on The Most Dangerous Game by way of a “modern Western”. The film is set up quickly – a group of alien “outlaws” lands on Earth and begins to wreak havoc on the small Appalachian town. The outlaw begins to hunt the various people in and around the community. The only person who can stop them is the Annie Oakley of the Modern era (Kari Anderson). With the help of her sage mentor (Lash La Rue) and an unlucky guy on a weekend fishing weekend.
There’s a basic linear quality that one appreciates about Smoot’s work. There is nothing more or less about the film other than the entertainment. The Make-up FX work is wonderful and the cinematography from Paul Hughen aids in that work and the entire enterprise. Smoot is actually a fairly acutely aware director. Random asides and comedic bits that land flat aside the film has a narrative force that’s lacking in films of similar lineage.
The weak link is the acting which at moments can be stiff or overbearingly arched. Anderson lacks that commanding presence and feels as though she was cast for her looks and ability to do stunt work rather than actual acting. La Rue understands his role here as a sage mentor and “special guest star” and milks it for all its worth. The best acting is reserved for the ones who play the actual Alien Outlaws of the title. Their work always feels organic in a way that feels like an actual organism and not a “man in a suit”.
Alien Outlaw is an actual surprise in merit and quality. The very definition of the back end of a double bill at a Drive-in. It will entertain its intended audience.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Restoration of the 16mm Original Camera Negative is an utter delight. The image is flawless without any defects or scratches. The transfer is clean but not in the way that it loses all of its filmic qualities. Kino has managed to create an image that retains its grain structure but never at the expense of clarity. Kino has done a marvelous job of presenting the film better than it’s ever looked in any iteration on home video or even when it was released theatrically in 1986.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first track is an all-new Audio Commentary moderated by fellow director (and friend) Worth Keeter with Alien Outlaw director Phil Smoot and begins with the origins of the project. Some of the details include the old trick of mailing your script to yourself to cover you legally; the closeness to Predator – and also to The Most Dangerous Game; the opening title sequence; why The Dark Power was the first film produced rather than Alien Outlaw; why they chose these locations in North Carolina; working with Sunset Carson – including a bit of a history of the star during his golden age and the difficulty Smoot had with the star; a discussion of who was Wild Bill Cody was; a discussion of the various fan culture that was around in the 1960s and 1970s that performers like Bill Cody and Lash La Rue would participate in; working with the various behind-the-scenes crew members; the difficulties of shooting on location; the casting and work of Kari Anderson; the lack of a 35mm blow up – discussion of the distribution of the film; the FX work throughout and how it was achieved; working with Lash La Rue; a larger discussion of the various actors that they hired and what they are doing now as most of the casting was regional; and much more. Smoot provides an informative track looking back at the production of the film.
The other is a Cast and Crew Audio Commentary track featuring Editor Sherwood Jones and actors Kari Anderson, Gil Newsom, and Steve Wingard. Some of the details include how they all got involved with the film; details about the time and place that the production took place; comments about the Riff Trax episode that covers the film; working with Lash La Rue; Wingard’s work after the film – including how he got his SAG card; Anderson’s experience working on the production including working with La Rue; how Newsom found out about the film and how he was hired; the nudity in the film; the various actors/crew that worked on both The Dark Power and Alien Outlaw; the various locations used around North Carolina by the production; and much more. The track is a delightfully entertaining recollection from the cast and Jones acting as moderator/host.
THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast (22:20) – an all-new featurette on the making of Alien Outlaw. This polished making-of is a great look into what it took to make the film. There’s a great number of anecdotes from the production that are collated here that creates more of a pastiche than a linear making of (e.g., Preproduction-Production-Post). The featurette is beautifully edited with footage from the film, production stills, b-roll, and more. Featuring comments by director Phil Smoot, and stars Kari Anderson, Gil Newsom, co-editor Mary Dalton, and others.
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones (8:46) – in this all-new interview begins with the “original” title. Jones discusses the production; how quickly the film came together after The Dark Power – and the reasons why; the increased budget and what that meant for the production; and more.
News Conference (5:41) – filmed in the Chamber of Commerce in the North Carolina town the film was produced was filmed. Featuring John Wolfe, Lash La Rue, Sunset Carson, and Phil Smoot discussing various aspects of the film.
Behind-the-Scenes (4:15) – this b-roll footage is presented without context or any sort of commentary but with live sound as they shoot a scene with Sunset Carson. It could be from the Archival interviews below.
Archival Interviews (12:32) – as an opening typeface tells us the footage was shot on video by Sunset Carson and used as a part of his Syndicated TV show. The interviews feature Kari Anderson (making her entrance in the most western hero of ways); and Lash La Rue.
Home Movie (4:31) – this featurette is a compilation of B-roll footage and footage from the film from one of the key action scenes. There is a basicness to the narration that plays throughout but it does give some vital information and most importantly context.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Without Warning (1:44); The Astro-Zombies (2:17)
The Final Thought
Kino Cult has really started to cook with Alien Outlaw. Transfer and extras are all excellent. Recommended.
Kino Cult’s Blu-Ray edition of Alien Outlaw is out now.
Share this:
Like this:
Discover more from The Movie Isle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.