Devil Girl from Mars

A group of people with different backgrounds gather one evening at an inn around the British countryside when suddenly a flying saucer lands nearby. A creature in the form of a human female enters the inn and claims to be from the planet Mars. She intends to round up earth men and bring them back to Mars to procreate due to the “war between the sexes”, which left Mars short of men. She is armed with hypnotic abilities, a laser gun and the nephew of Robbie the robot.

This old school science fiction was made during the height of the sci-fi boom of the 50’s and early 60’s. Several where also produced in the UK, such as  Spaceways, Quatermass and “First Man into Space”. The whole plot takes place during one night and you follow a couple of scientists, a famous actress, a criminal and a few other eccentrics who just happens to end up at the inn on that particular night. It’s a very thin plot line and mostly consists of the female alien, Nyah, going back and forth from the spaceship to the inn delivering her apocalyptic messages of how inferior earth is to Mars.

 I must say though, I have always found female antagonists to be attractive. There should be more. Even though the costume of Patricia Laffan sort of makes her look like a cross between a transvestite and Darth Vader, she does radiate an authoritative and assertive tone I find highly attractive in a woman. I would rate her far above bombshell Hazel Court, who also appears in the film rather blandly, not making much notice.

It’s sort of written and directed as if it was a theater play. That’s the feel you get from it. The direction and camera work is really simple, it’s looks to be filmed entirely inside a studio and the sets are really simple. Much of the dialogue is pompous and somewhat pretentious, which was common in those sci-fi classics. I don’t mind that, it belongs to the genre.

At times it’s a bit boring because the story only goes back and forth from the flying saucer and the inn, but it does have its highlights in science fiction scenery; the first scene where Nyah summons her monolithic robot has epic qualities. The robot looks like an inbred cross between Robbie the robot, Tobor and Gorth, but never really gets to show of its brute strength. It does have some cool arms though, and some nice robot shorts on. Another scene is when Nyah uses her destructive laser beam gun and delivers devastating blows to anyone opposing her. A third scene is when Nyah shows of the extremely simplified interior of her space and explains to the awestruck scientist the secrets behind their technological superiority.

The easiest way to describe the film is that it’s bland with occasional highlights. Fans of sci fi from this era should see it; others will think it’s a waste of time.