The Astounding She-Monster (1957)
AKA Naked Invader
0r The Astounding She Creature
by #RonaldVAshcroft
w/#RobertClarke #KenneDuncan
An alien terrorizes the of kidnappers of a rich heiress.
“A creature from beyond the stars. EVIL… BEAUTIFUL… DEADLY…!”
#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn
I had heard of The Astounding She-Monster (1957), but somehow I had never seen it. I think maybe the title was too similar to (or at least reminiscent in some way of) other movies, like She Demons (1958) and She Freak (1967) and maybe The She-Creature (1956) – all of which I’ve written about on the blog. But of course, The Astounding She-Monster is none of those movies…
The Astounding She-Monster is a bad movie, and somewhat revered for being so by bad movies aficionados – which makes it all the more strange that I never saw it. I found myself thinking of Ed Wood as I was watching it, and I am shocked to read on Wikipedia the following:
“Edward D. Wood, Jr. was an unofficial “consultant” on the film. Ashcroft and Wood knew each other, Ashcroft having been assistant director on Wood’s Night of the Ghouls.”
This is mind-blowing. Ed Wood was a consultant on this film? That’s remarkable in so many ways. The idea of Ed Wood being a consultant on ANY film is somewhat remarkable. And yet it’s somehow, strangely fitting. It makes The Astounding She-Monster seem like a bit of a lost piece of the Ed Wood puzzle. Ed Wood completists must add it to their list. And it is definitely worth it. Oh, heck yeah…
Like most of Ed Wood’s movies, there isn’t a whole lot of point trying to explain the plot. But let me give it a try…
A gang kidnaps a rich heiress and winds up hiding out in a remote cabin where a geologist is busy doing geologist stuff. Meanwhile, a female alien has crash landed nearby and seems to have a habit of touching things and making them die. The female alien, by the way, really looks like she’s naked (especially if you squint in just the right way). I guess she’s wearing a fairly flesh coloured body stocking (or the like), and that’s why one of the working titles of the movie was Naked Invader.
Needless to say, the gang, the heiress, and the geologist wind up fighting for their lives against this sexy invader…
Or something like that.
The Astounding She-Monster is pretty hilarious at times, especially for those with a taste for Ed Wood style madness. Those who are looking for a serious exploration of science and technology – or even a coherent monster movie – should probably give this one a pass.
The Astounding She-Monster (1957) is #NotQuiteClassicCinema that is for bad movie lovers and Ed Wood completists. In fact, it could be like a lost treasure for some camp cinema aficionados. I certainly enjoyed my first viewing of it, and I may well be giving it another look on some future #FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn.
The Astounding She-Monster (1957) by #RonaldVAshcroft
w/#RobertClarke #KenneDuncanAn alien terrorizes the of kidnappers of a rich heiress.
“A creature from beyond the stars. EVIL… BEAUTIFUL… DEADLY…!”#Horror #SciFi#NotQuiteClassicCinema pic.twitter.com/bEhCx8XPMR
— Angus Kohm (@AngusKohm) November 11, 2023
