Alien 2 sulla Terra (1980)

Director:

Ciro Ippolito

Writer:

Ciro Ippolito (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 1980 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Ultra-low budget and very violent rip-off of "Alien". A space module lands back to Earth after a failed mission...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Director As Actor | Sole Survivor | Deserted City | Psychic Power

Cast

Belinda Mayne	...	Thelma Joyce
Mark Bodin	...	Roy
Roberto Barrese	...	Burt
Benny Aldrich
Michele Soavi	...	Burt (as Mychael Shaw)
Judy Perrin	...	Maureen
Don Parkinson
Claudio Falanga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fabrizia Castagnoli	...	Thelma Joyce (voice: Italian version)
Luigi Diberti	...	Roy (voice: Italian version)

Also Known As:

Alien 2 (USA) (video title)
Alien 2 è sulla terra
Alien 2: On Earth (USA)
Alien Terror (UK) (video title)
Strangers (USA)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Castellana Grotte, Bari, Apulia, Italy

Company:

GPS

Quotes:

Thelma: It seemed like a mineral! Then it suddenly came alive! Poor Jill!

Movie Connections:

References Alien (1979)

The first hour is rough!

The first hour of this film is so painfully slow that it took me over 10 years to finish it. I'm not kidding. I've had this on VHS since the mid-90s and every time I tried to watch it, I would give up. 1980 was a banner year for Italians doing ripoffs as the film world received ZOMBI 2 (aka ZOMBIE) and this "sequel" to ALIEN. Of course, the Italians wisely set it on earth, something the ALIEN series has been trying to do for almost 30 years now.

Three astronauts return to earth in a space capsule, but are all mysteriously missing when the device is recovered at sea. For some reason, this doesn't sit well with psychic Thelma (Belinda Mayne) but it doesn't prevent her from going spelunking with her friends. Along the way to the caves, Burt (Michele Soavi) picks up a curious looking rock which is actually an alien lifeform that spread over the desert upon the astronauts' re-entry. The group heads into the caves and, before you can scream THE DESCENT, find themselves getting bloodied up by our rock monster.

The last half hour or so is decent when the space monster finally attacks. Director Ciro Ippolito is someone whose work I am unfamiliar with. He certainly throws the gore around in parts but I can only imagine what a seasoned Italian exploiter would have done with this in the first hour. For some reason, Ippolito is intent on trying to make a bowling alley the scariest place on earth in the finale. He fails. The film does end on a grim note and the scenes of the lead actress running around a deserted San Diego, CA are pretty effective. The film concludes with the on screen line "...you may be next!" Gutterball.