This is another one of those "so bad it's good" Grade-Z science-fiction flicks from the 1950s. Hammy acting, bad dialogue, melodramatic narration, cheesy effects--it's all there, along with enough plot holes to drive a starship through. This movie tries really hard: it has wiseguy gangsters, an alcoholic gun moll, a rich kidnapped heiress, a lonely bachelor scientist who talks to his dog, and a beautiful deadly female space-alien wearing a skintight catsuit. Something for everyone!
41 Reviews
I Smell Wood!
Scott_Mercer5 December 2006
Others have commented upon the similarities between this and an Ed Wood film. I submit to you that these are more than mere similarities...
First of all, the box copy on the DVD from Image states: "Producer-Director Ronnie Ashcroft's first feature film venture guided by his friend and mentor Edward D. Wood Jr., whose "uncredited" help gives this film that unmistakable "scent" of Wood." Quote by Wade Williams. The box also states: "Consultant: Edward D. Wood Jr. (uncredited)."
Just what exactly are we trying to say here, Mr. Williams? Just come out with it! Could it have anything to do with the fact that Ed Wood stock player Kenne Duncan appears here? How about the film's writer, the alleged Frank Hall? He has no other credits at all on the IMDb. Could that be one Edward Wood under a pseudonym? Ed almost always put his own name on films he either directed or wrote, but he was known to use pseudonyms on many of the paperback novels he wrote in the 1960's and 70's.
I have not checked Ed's biography for any possible information on this film, but could it be that this film was actually written by the Anti-Master himself? And what does Wade Williams have to say on this theory? Clearly, the matter needs further investigation.
Anyway, this is a hilariously bad film. If Ed didn't write this film, it's right in his wheelhouse. Ridiculous dialog and lots of scenes with no dialog at all since they were shot with no sound. Lots of scenes that drag on (did I say drag? In a discussion about Ed Wood? That was a bad pun, I guess) and on and go nowhere. In other words: prime Badfilm.
Ed Wood fans, be aware. You may want to give this one a spin in the old machine. Normal people will not enjoy it though. If you are normal, stay away.
First of all, the box copy on the DVD from Image states: "Producer-Director Ronnie Ashcroft's first feature film venture guided by his friend and mentor Edward D. Wood Jr., whose "uncredited" help gives this film that unmistakable "scent" of Wood." Quote by Wade Williams. The box also states: "Consultant: Edward D. Wood Jr. (uncredited)."
Just what exactly are we trying to say here, Mr. Williams? Just come out with it! Could it have anything to do with the fact that Ed Wood stock player Kenne Duncan appears here? How about the film's writer, the alleged Frank Hall? He has no other credits at all on the IMDb. Could that be one Edward Wood under a pseudonym? Ed almost always put his own name on films he either directed or wrote, but he was known to use pseudonyms on many of the paperback novels he wrote in the 1960's and 70's.
I have not checked Ed's biography for any possible information on this film, but could it be that this film was actually written by the Anti-Master himself? And what does Wade Williams have to say on this theory? Clearly, the matter needs further investigation.
Anyway, this is a hilariously bad film. If Ed didn't write this film, it's right in his wheelhouse. Ridiculous dialog and lots of scenes with no dialog at all since they were shot with no sound. Lots of scenes that drag on (did I say drag? In a discussion about Ed Wood? That was a bad pun, I guess) and on and go nowhere. In other words: prime Badfilm.
Ed Wood fans, be aware. You may want to give this one a spin in the old machine. Normal people will not enjoy it though. If you are normal, stay away.
Gotta love that She Monster
tamstrat13 June 2005
This is one of those so horrible they are awesome horror/scifi movies from the late 50's. I remember watching this on the Friday night Horror movie "Dimension 16", 10:30 Friday nights based out of Joplin, Missouri-"Do you know where your children are....HA HA HA" (scary laughter) anyway, this movie as a child scared the pants off of me, the sight of the glowing She Monster from outer space lurking around in the woods was pretty heady stuff when you are 6 years old. I was able to get it when it came out on DVD and while as an adult I can see how thin the plot is, how bad the acting is and how low budget and the sets are, it still brought back wonderful memories of hiding under the blankets with my sister after watching the eerily sexy She Monster. I read somewhere that the female lead was actually a stripper and the reason you always see her backing away from the camera (no ass shots) is that the costume was so tight she split the rear end out and the budget was so low they couldn't or wouldn't repair the costume. Don't know if that's a true story but I hope it is as it makes this campy little classic even campier.
Warning!!!
ferbs546 December 2007
WARNING: "The Astounding She-Monster" is a movie for people with highly specialized tastes. It tells the story of a trio of kidnappers, their socialite victim, the geologist whose house they invade, AND a blond, radium-emitting alien in tight spandex who crash-lands her spacecraft near that same house. Potential viewers of this film must possess the following traits: They must love movies that are made on the supercheap, and that contain no outdoor synch dialogue; movies in which egregious day-for-night photography is used, worse than anything in "Plan 9," and in which non sequitur music that bears little relation to the story is standard. These viewers should also be OK with inept direction; the insertion of long, meaningless shots; offscreen narration that sounds as if it's being read by a hypnotized dodo; Grade Z acting by a six-person cast (well, maybe Robert Clarke gives a Grade D performance); and "special" effects that look as though they were filmed through a Vaseline-smeared camera lens. It also wouldn't hurt if potential viewers didn't mind scratchy-looking prints on their DVD, with abysmal sound that keeps dropping out, and with hardly an "extra" to be found. If the above seems to match your highly specialized tastes, then "The Astounding She-Monster" might be just the flick for you. Only don't say I didn't warn you!
Well...I've seen worse
planktonrules15 January 2010
This is a very bad low-budget film, but at least it can brag that there are indeed worse films out there. Not many, of course, but films like THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS, MANOS HANDS OF FATE and DIE-HARD Dracula are just few films that managed to be significantly worse than THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER--though this isn't saying much! The film begins with a radioactive killing machine being sent to Earth from a nearby galaxy. At the same time back on Earth, a rich lady is kidnapped by a really stupid gang. When the radioactive lady arrives, she just happens to arrive at the same isolated cabin when the kidnappers are holed up--forcing nice guy Robert Clarke to do what they say or die. However, when the kidnappers discover the radioactive lady, she begins killing them off one by one until it's just Clarke and the kidnapped lady. Will they be able to defeat the radioactive lady or will they, too, soon assume room temperature? Tune in...if you really care.
This is a really cheesy film. As for the 'she-monster', she's a lady in a sexy spandex-style jumpsuit with cool alien eyebrows (sort of like Spock). To make her look even more alien, they decided in a brilliant move to make her blurry all the time. A lousy special effect but it managed to make her look not quite like she really was--just some untalented lady in a silver leotard-like outfit--which isn't exactly scary. It's all rather dumb and has absolutely no depth, but worth seeing for bad movie lovers like myself.
By the way, there really is such a thing called Aqua Regia and Clarke apparently did have the correct recipe in the film. Yikes!
This is a really cheesy film. As for the 'she-monster', she's a lady in a sexy spandex-style jumpsuit with cool alien eyebrows (sort of like Spock). To make her look even more alien, they decided in a brilliant move to make her blurry all the time. A lousy special effect but it managed to make her look not quite like she really was--just some untalented lady in a silver leotard-like outfit--which isn't exactly scary. It's all rather dumb and has absolutely no depth, but worth seeing for bad movie lovers like myself.
By the way, there really is such a thing called Aqua Regia and Clarke apparently did have the correct recipe in the film. Yikes!
Reasonably amusing low budget sci fi schlock.
Infofreak31 January 2003
In my opinion, the "bad" movie lover has to show some discernment. Not all bad sci fi and horror movies are all that much fun to watch. For every campy gem like 'Plan Nine From Outer Space' or 'Teenagers From Outer Space' there are dozens of truly awful low (and no) budget films that are a chore to sit through. 'The Astounding She-Monster' is somewhere in between good bad and bad bad. Director Ronald Ashcroft was actually a colleague of Ed Wood and was assistant director on 'Night Of The Ghouls', but he is neither as inept nor as unintentionally hilarious as his mentor. The very slim plot concerns a good guy geologist (Robert Clarke) who finds his remote cabin invaded by some hoods who have kidnapped a rich society dame, and are planning on holding her to ransom. Pretty soon all are at the mercy of the shimmering she-monster, a glowing visitor from outer space who can kill with one touch. The monster is played by one Shirley Kilpatrick who many cult movie fans insist is actually Shirley Stoler of 'The Honeymoon Killers' fame. If this is true it is a wonderful bit of trivia, but even so the monster is an unforgettable bit of no-budget invention. Kilpatrick basically walks around in a glittery jump suit and is shown out of focus. The movie goes for just over an hour but that is long enough. More than that it would out stay its welcome. Fans of goofy 1950s SF will probably enjoy this one more than disinterested viewers. I have seen better, but I have also seen MUCH worse. I would file 'The Astounding She-Monster' under "reasonably amusing low budget sci fi schlock", and give it a half-hearted recommendation.
Barely watchable bottom-of-the-barrel sci-fi horror cheapie
jamesrupert201428 March 2020
A deadly, glowing woman pursues a gang of kidnappers and their victim who are hiding out in a geologist's remote cabin. This movie is about as bad as they come but lacks the goofy charm than makes some 'bad movies' so watchable. The negligible budget covered a single indoor set, no outdoor dialogue, an invasive and inappropriate score, one 'alien' suit (a shimmery leotard), virtually no camera work, and 'special effects' which include a spinning picture of the alien woman when she falls from a cliff and blurry double-exposures to suggest the she-monster's radioactive otherworldliness. The cast, playing simplistic caricatures, range from amateurish to mediocre and there is nothing interesting in the script or story. The film opens with ten minutes of pretentious and ludicrous voice-over that leads up to the silent kidnapping scene. Similar to the terrible (but still superior) 'The Beast of Yucca Flats' (1961), the monotone narrator punctuates his steady stream of ominous observations with strange pseudo-philosophical comments. Perhaps unique the genre, the omniscient narrator also deliberately misleads viewers in order to set up the 'twist' ending. Over-all, a time-waster only for the most dedicated of sci-fi 'life-listers'. Like the similarly themed 'The Terror from the Year 5000' (1958), the best thing about 'The Astounding She-Monster' is its astounding poster - lurid and exciting, the image of a curvaceous cavorting space-babe flanked by flying saucers and mysterious planets borderlines on criminal deception.
Luminescent Lunacy!
sanzar29 November 2000
It's amazing to me how films this poor continue to have a commercial life, but the recent DVD release of this Bomb just proves that some people will watch anything (like me, unfortunately)!
Produced on the cheap (maybe a couple of week's worth of a kid's school lunch money), pic features a mysterious, glowing Alien female (Shirley Kilpatrick) whose radioactive touch brings instant death. Miss Astounding gets mixed up with some kidnappers (led by Kenne Duncan) and their victims on a secluded mountain range and gradually picks them off one by one until vanquished by a stalwart geologist (Robert Clarke). Ridiculous denouement suggests that our title monster was sent to Earth as an Emissary of peace. You could have fooled me.
Production values are strictly from hunger and the film has the amateurish look of a home movie. Poorly edited and with horrible sound, it's a chore to sit through. Although music is credited to an individual, the soundtrack sounds more like a collection of poorly matched library music cues.
This flick started the downward spiral of Clarke's movie career, which reached it's nadir with a string of films with world class hack Jerry Warren. Warren no doubt used this production as inspiration for his "ouerve". Movies of this type have garnered a reputation for being "So Bad, they're good!". This one's just plain bad.
Produced on the cheap (maybe a couple of week's worth of a kid's school lunch money), pic features a mysterious, glowing Alien female (Shirley Kilpatrick) whose radioactive touch brings instant death. Miss Astounding gets mixed up with some kidnappers (led by Kenne Duncan) and their victims on a secluded mountain range and gradually picks them off one by one until vanquished by a stalwart geologist (Robert Clarke). Ridiculous denouement suggests that our title monster was sent to Earth as an Emissary of peace. You could have fooled me.
Production values are strictly from hunger and the film has the amateurish look of a home movie. Poorly edited and with horrible sound, it's a chore to sit through. Although music is credited to an individual, the soundtrack sounds more like a collection of poorly matched library music cues.
This flick started the downward spiral of Clarke's movie career, which reached it's nadir with a string of films with world class hack Jerry Warren. Warren no doubt used this production as inspiration for his "ouerve". Movies of this type have garnered a reputation for being "So Bad, they're good!". This one's just plain bad.
Astounding!?... Well, Perhaps "She" Is.
strong-122-4788855 June 2014
About the only "astounding" thing that you're bound to see in this film is the astounding incompetence that prevails.
Well, OK, sexy Shirley Kilpatrick as the "She-Monster" was pretty astounding, too. Especially in that skintight, metallic spacesuit of hers. Yeah. It looked like that she-monster had literally been poured into her outfit. Zowie!
And, actually, another astounding thing about this dumb Z-Grader was that Director Ronald Ashcroft filmed the frickin' thing in a record 8 days on an $18,000 budget. And, believe me, every single one of those dollars shows quite conspicuously in this particular production.
As the story goes - Nat and Esther, a pair of Hollywood kidnappers, abduct heiress Margaret Chaffee and then take over the country home of geologist, Dick Cutler, where they plan to hold Margaret until her ransom money is collected.
In the midst of all the commotion at Cutler's place, an alien spacecraft crash-lands in the woods nearby. From the burning wreckage emerges a seductive, blond, alien-beauty in a glowing spandex outfit, high-heels, fresh lipstick and incredible eyebrows.
As it is soon discovered by the occupants of the Cutler home, this "she-monster's" touch is deadly (in the strictest sense of the word).
The Astounding She-Monster is "bottom-of-the-barrel" Z-Grade movie-making all the way, featuring an alien who not once utters a single, solitary sound, or word, throughout the entire course of the story.
Trivia notes - During filming, Shirley Kilpatrick's costume ripped, and since the film was done on such a low budget and on a tight schedule, she couldn't get a new one - This is why she walks backwards as she leaves the room.
This film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made.
Well, OK, sexy Shirley Kilpatrick as the "She-Monster" was pretty astounding, too. Especially in that skintight, metallic spacesuit of hers. Yeah. It looked like that she-monster had literally been poured into her outfit. Zowie!
And, actually, another astounding thing about this dumb Z-Grader was that Director Ronald Ashcroft filmed the frickin' thing in a record 8 days on an $18,000 budget. And, believe me, every single one of those dollars shows quite conspicuously in this particular production.
As the story goes - Nat and Esther, a pair of Hollywood kidnappers, abduct heiress Margaret Chaffee and then take over the country home of geologist, Dick Cutler, where they plan to hold Margaret until her ransom money is collected.
In the midst of all the commotion at Cutler's place, an alien spacecraft crash-lands in the woods nearby. From the burning wreckage emerges a seductive, blond, alien-beauty in a glowing spandex outfit, high-heels, fresh lipstick and incredible eyebrows.
As it is soon discovered by the occupants of the Cutler home, this "she-monster's" touch is deadly (in the strictest sense of the word).
The Astounding She-Monster is "bottom-of-the-barrel" Z-Grade movie-making all the way, featuring an alien who not once utters a single, solitary sound, or word, throughout the entire course of the story.
Trivia notes - During filming, Shirley Kilpatrick's costume ripped, and since the film was done on such a low budget and on a tight schedule, she couldn't get a new one - This is why she walks backwards as she leaves the room.
This film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made.
A Masterpiece of Mediocrity.
ksdilauri8 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Word has it that the Master of Schlock, Ed Wood, was involved behind the scenes of this undersung turkey. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a look just to see how ridiculous a sci-fi movie can be. (FYI, animal lovers may be teed off. I was.) This would be a perfect addition to RiffTrax---several meandering scenes that go nowhere, the shapely but cheesy-looking alien, gangsters who are only slightly more dangerous than the Three Stooges, wooden acting, and that gloriously awful dialogue. This is special, and worthy of one viewing---if only to shake your head in bemused disbelief.
Astounding is the right word
kevinolzak3 April 2019
1957's "The Astounding She-Monster" was a micro budget independent picked up by AIP, shot in four to six days in December 1956 by first time director/producer Ronnie Ashcroft (after working on Roger Corman's "Day the World Ended"), the budget of $18,000 sadly apparent on screen, lots of pointless narration, interminable driving, and wandering the woods waiting for the director to yell 'cut.' The presence of Kenne Duncan from "Night of the Ghouls" indicates the probable involvement of maverick filmmaker Ed Wood, whose more lively antics are certainly more watchable than this gabfest. The most inept trio of kidnappers are forced off the road by the mysterious appearance of 'a naked dame' who literally glows in the dark (the original shooting title was in fact "Naked Invader"), a recently arrived alien visitor (Shirley Kilpatrick) whose radioactive touch means instant death for snakes, bears, dogs, and humans. Robert Clarke's geologist shelters the thugs and their wealthy socialite victim in his mountain cabin, worrying about phone calls, police bulletins, and the search for booze until our space babe makes a nuisance of herself. It's a pleasure to see the villains knocked off but it's still a slog sitting through a plot that cannot sustain feature length. We never see any sign of Shirley's spaceship and her one piece outfit isn't as sexy as the curvaceous poster that undoubtedly made it a hit, while her background as a popular pinup model offers another reason for the picture's endurance (the obese Shirley Stoler who starred in 1970's "The Honeymoon Killers" was a different actress though they do share a similarity in looks). Clarke was dismayed by the final results yet so astonished by its success (his investment yielded a tidy $3000) that he figured he could do better, directing his own vehicle a year later with "The Hideous Sun Demon"; unfortunately he chose a distributor that went belly up rather quickly, sinking all potential profits.
Fascinating
worldsofdarkblue12 March 2008
Saw this at my neighborhood theatre when I was seven. It not only scared me, it stayed with me in an eerie way, which I'll explain momentarily. The movie features one of those rare feminine monsters (think about it - how often were monsters women?). As I expounded on in my comments for 'Terror from the Year 5000', female monsters always frightened me much more than normal monsters and this was the first one I ever saw. To disturb my poor eight year-old psyche further, the glowing she-monster here was so shapely that I found myself feeling, um, stimulated in a certain way while simultaneously feeling stark terror! The look of her really did scare me but, unlike with most monster movies, I was unable to bring myself to close my eyes when she would appear.
Around this time in my life I was taking guitar lessons at the local conservatory of music and my teacher just happened to be a nice looking woman (actually, probably a teen, but at eight who can tell the difference?). One night, while sleeping, I had a dream and the astounding she-monster made an appearance in it and for some reason she turned out to be my guitar teacher. But she was every bit as deadly and when she started toward me I woke up terrified. For the next eight years or so, this glowing apparition made intermittent appearances in my dreams and always woke me up when she did. It stopped somewhere around age seventeen (thank heaven).
You would think that I would have avoided watching this source of personal nightmare, but you'd be wrong. The fact that she made appearances in my dreams just added to my fascination with this movie and I have watched it at every opportunity throughout my life. Naturally, as time marched forward, those opportunities became fewer and fewer until they stopped completely (for me) in 1984 - the last time it was run on a late-show that I know of.
Recently, I was able to obtain a VHS copy. After doing so I began to wonder if there were any others who have as strange a connection to this film as I. I began with a Shirley Kilpatrick google search that eventually led me to a forum where the film had been earnestly discussed and I read through all the posts of that thread. One poster revealed that he had made a tradition of watching 'The Astounding She-Monster' once a year and another poster asked him why. Of all movies, why this one? His answer truly struck a chord within me - he said that when he watches this movie, the entire outside world disappears for him. Further, he describes how the film seems so existentially dreamlike - all that running around, ending up back in the same place over and over.
Exactly right. I know just what he's talking about and for a long time I lived it repeatedly in my sleep. And by the way, I watched it last night and shivered when she appeared at the window the first time.
Around this time in my life I was taking guitar lessons at the local conservatory of music and my teacher just happened to be a nice looking woman (actually, probably a teen, but at eight who can tell the difference?). One night, while sleeping, I had a dream and the astounding she-monster made an appearance in it and for some reason she turned out to be my guitar teacher. But she was every bit as deadly and when she started toward me I woke up terrified. For the next eight years or so, this glowing apparition made intermittent appearances in my dreams and always woke me up when she did. It stopped somewhere around age seventeen (thank heaven).
You would think that I would have avoided watching this source of personal nightmare, but you'd be wrong. The fact that she made appearances in my dreams just added to my fascination with this movie and I have watched it at every opportunity throughout my life. Naturally, as time marched forward, those opportunities became fewer and fewer until they stopped completely (for me) in 1984 - the last time it was run on a late-show that I know of.
Recently, I was able to obtain a VHS copy. After doing so I began to wonder if there were any others who have as strange a connection to this film as I. I began with a Shirley Kilpatrick google search that eventually led me to a forum where the film had been earnestly discussed and I read through all the posts of that thread. One poster revealed that he had made a tradition of watching 'The Astounding She-Monster' once a year and another poster asked him why. Of all movies, why this one? His answer truly struck a chord within me - he said that when he watches this movie, the entire outside world disappears for him. Further, he describes how the film seems so existentially dreamlike - all that running around, ending up back in the same place over and over.
Exactly right. I know just what he's talking about and for a long time I lived it repeatedly in my sleep. And by the way, I watched it last night and shivered when she appeared at the window the first time.
Don't touch this female!
chris_gaskin12315 February 2005
I recently watched The Astounding She-Monster and found it quite enjoyable, despite the very low budget and fairly poor acting.
A rich woman is kidnapped by a gang of robbers and taken to a log cabin in a forest and she is then held hostage there, along with the geologist who is living there. At the same time, a strange meteor shaped craft lands nearby and its occupant is a deadly, alien woman who is also luminous and radioactive. One touch from this woman results in death. The gang members are gradually killed off by her and there are just two survivors, the rich woman and geologist, who fall in love through all of this. The alien is also killed at the end and that is when we find out the reason for her coming to Earth.
The acting in this movie certainly isn't very good, but despite this, I enjoyed it. It is not unlike an Ed Wood movie.
The cast includes Robert Clarke (The Man From Planet X, The Hideous Sun Demon), Kennie Duncan and Shirly Kilpatrick as the She-Monster.
Watch this if you get the chance, a must for 1950's sci-fi fans.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
A rich woman is kidnapped by a gang of robbers and taken to a log cabin in a forest and she is then held hostage there, along with the geologist who is living there. At the same time, a strange meteor shaped craft lands nearby and its occupant is a deadly, alien woman who is also luminous and radioactive. One touch from this woman results in death. The gang members are gradually killed off by her and there are just two survivors, the rich woman and geologist, who fall in love through all of this. The alien is also killed at the end and that is when we find out the reason for her coming to Earth.
The acting in this movie certainly isn't very good, but despite this, I enjoyed it. It is not unlike an Ed Wood movie.
The cast includes Robert Clarke (The Man From Planet X, The Hideous Sun Demon), Kennie Duncan and Shirly Kilpatrick as the She-Monster.
Watch this if you get the chance, a must for 1950's sci-fi fans.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
It's time to play the "Astounding She Monster" drinking game!
lemon_magic8 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
One of the most amusing aspects of watching these low budget-to-no budget pieces of hackwork from the past is watching the director and the costume and set designers struggle to make their limited funds stretch far enough to make something palatable on screen. Plot, script, blocking, makeup, editing, special effects (or lack of them), performances, 2nd or 3rd takes...can all go through the most fantastic contortions to make up for lack of big bucks (or decent ideas) and to try to entice the viewer to accept the proceedings as a 'real' movie.
"Astounding She Monster" twists, bends and slithers like a Slinky going down a flight of stairs in an attempt to disguise the fact that it was shot with practically no budget, and absolutely no talent.
ASM has exactly two classy elements done right: the movie poster (which looks as if it might have been done by Kelly Freas) and the double-exposure effect on the girl in the silver leotard, which is pretty cool for a film from that time. It's at LEAST as convincing as any special effects from a Republic Serial series or a K. Gordon Murray Mexican/English hybrid film like "Robot Vs. the Aztec Mummy".
Unfortunately, you can't watch a movie poster, and the one little special effect can't carry a film for 62 minutes. And every other aspect of the film is hilariously, blitheringly incompetent.
I suggest you play the following drinking game while watching ASM:
1)Take a drink every time the cast steps outside the one room shown in the movie in an attempt to leave the area, but then are forced to go back inside that room (for whatever reason); and 2)Take a drink whenever the She Monster crashes back into the room through the apparently unlock-able door, and attacks yet another cast member.
You will be completely smashed by the time the film ends, and thus much more bemused by the astounding idiocy of what you are watching.
In short, a classic piece of crap, worth watching to see just how stupid movies movies from this time could get.
"Astounding She Monster" twists, bends and slithers like a Slinky going down a flight of stairs in an attempt to disguise the fact that it was shot with practically no budget, and absolutely no talent.
ASM has exactly two classy elements done right: the movie poster (which looks as if it might have been done by Kelly Freas) and the double-exposure effect on the girl in the silver leotard, which is pretty cool for a film from that time. It's at LEAST as convincing as any special effects from a Republic Serial series or a K. Gordon Murray Mexican/English hybrid film like "Robot Vs. the Aztec Mummy".
Unfortunately, you can't watch a movie poster, and the one little special effect can't carry a film for 62 minutes. And every other aspect of the film is hilariously, blitheringly incompetent.
I suggest you play the following drinking game while watching ASM:
1)Take a drink every time the cast steps outside the one room shown in the movie in an attempt to leave the area, but then are forced to go back inside that room (for whatever reason); and 2)Take a drink whenever the She Monster crashes back into the room through the apparently unlock-able door, and attacks yet another cast member.
You will be completely smashed by the time the film ends, and thus much more bemused by the astounding idiocy of what you are watching.
In short, a classic piece of crap, worth watching to see just how stupid movies movies from this time could get.
Astoundingly bad photographic effects add to the laughably bad script.
mark.waltz17 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Truly cheap sounding narration and lighting effects that look like a filter raised and lowered in front of the camera makes this science fiction / horror film one of the worst of the 1950's. there's an idiotic storyline involving kidnappers who hold up at a country home and the sudden presence of a very strange looking female which even odder eyebrows. She doesn't say a word. All she does is stock her victims, weather being hey darling Fox, a hissing snake or the people in trapped in the cabin in the middle of nowhere. The cast is resoundingly bad and the structure amazingly stupid, even if the deaths are pretty horrific. Still, it will be very difficult to not laugh, so I call this a delightful unintentional comedy that can be enjoyed for pure silliness.
Amusingly bad
Leofwine_draca7 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER is an amusingly bad B-movie of the 1950s, set in a cabin in a remote rural landscape where a bunch of kidnappers are holding on to a heiress and hoping to make themselves rich. Unfortunately for them, their plans are thwarted by the intervention of a female alien who arrives and proceeds to wreak havoc by bumping off the assembled one at a time. This is short and simple stuff, with some amusing 'fuzzy vision' effects used to depict the female alien who is dressed in the usual skin-tight costume. Hardly a great film, but B-movie fans will enjoy it anyway.
The mutt? She just touched him and he dropped dead!
kapelusznik1814 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** With bad movie director Ed Wood as the behind the scene consultant the film "The Astounding She-Monster" ends up a slight cut above most of the like-wise cheaply made bad films of the 1950's. This meteor lands on earth as this alien woman dressed in a skin tight silver jump-suite materializes killing anyone , human or animal, that she touches. It just happens that a kidnapping took place and the kidnappers Nat Burdell Brad Conley & the booze guzzling Jeanne Tatum end up taking their victim socialite Margaret Chaffee to this cabin in the woods right where the meteor landed not quite realizing what their in for. It the cabin lives geologist Dick Cluter and his faithful companion his dog Egan who together with Margaret are held hostage by the trio of kidnappers.
It's when the alien woman starts to run amok and starts doing her "thing" in radiating anyone that she touches that the kidnappers start to lose interest in Margaret and start to try to figure out ways to escape before they themselves end up getting radiated to death by her. It's when everything seems lost that Cluter finds a way to destroy, with a platinum based solution, this alien woman from outer space before she does any more damage. And when he does Cutler as well as Margaret find out, from a note she left, that she was mankind's last hope in surviving the destruction that's soon to come. A destruction that mankind, with the use of nuclear weapons, is soon to make upon itself.
***SPOILERS*** The depressing ending in the movie was repeated in both Ed Wood's bad movie classic "Plan Nine from Outer Space" as well as the 1962 "Twilight Zone" episode "The Gift" with mankind not realizing that the alien whom they fear is in fact trying to help them in saving them from their own self destruction. The difference here is that the space woman instead of trying to save the human race was doing her best to destroy it herself which didn't make her any friends on earth.
It's when the alien woman starts to run amok and starts doing her "thing" in radiating anyone that she touches that the kidnappers start to lose interest in Margaret and start to try to figure out ways to escape before they themselves end up getting radiated to death by her. It's when everything seems lost that Cluter finds a way to destroy, with a platinum based solution, this alien woman from outer space before she does any more damage. And when he does Cutler as well as Margaret find out, from a note she left, that she was mankind's last hope in surviving the destruction that's soon to come. A destruction that mankind, with the use of nuclear weapons, is soon to make upon itself.
***SPOILERS*** The depressing ending in the movie was repeated in both Ed Wood's bad movie classic "Plan Nine from Outer Space" as well as the 1962 "Twilight Zone" episode "The Gift" with mankind not realizing that the alien whom they fear is in fact trying to help them in saving them from their own self destruction. The difference here is that the space woman instead of trying to save the human race was doing her best to destroy it herself which didn't make her any friends on earth.
The Ridiculous She-Monster
bensonmum230 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
- The Astounding She-Monster is a creature from outer space who has come to Earth to check things out. I'm not sure what makes her so astounding and she's about the least frightening monster I've seen. Let' see, she has blond hair, wears a spandex bodysuit, and has some of the funkiest eyebrows I've ever seen. Oh, and there's that whole thing about how she can kill with her touch. But I'm not sure how anyone is stupid enough to let her get close enough. She does this walk like she's modeling and about as fast as a snail.
- Ed Wood was an uncredited adviser on this movie - and it shows. Dialogue and special effects are straight from the Ed Wood school of movie making. Oh, and what dialogue it is. Characters with little or no scientific training babble on and on about theories involving space travel and radium poisoning. Once the She-Monster is dead, you would expect the remaining characters to seek help or just get out of there. But no, this couple stands around to trade scientific lectures.
- A better name for the movie might be The Ridiculous She-Monster.
Not exactly the scariest alien monster I've ever seen.
ChuckStraub26 March 2004
The Astounding She Monster isn't exactly the scariest alien monster I've ever seen. The monster consists of an attractive woman in a one piece skin tight costume that glows. In addition to the glow, she constantly goes in and out of focus to make her look more alien in appearance. This is another low budget movie from the 50s that isn't very good and isn't so bad that it falls under the category of "It's so bad it's good". It's a 62 minute film and that's about as long as it should be. If it were drawn out any longer, it could only get worse. I'm not sorry I watched it and I know I'll not forget the movie, but I am hard pressed to recommend it to anyone except those wanting to see a cheap, low budget 50s Sci-Fi movie. Actually there are plenty of people out there that want to see just that. To get a complete taste of 50s Sci-Fi genre movies, you should see a couple movies such as this. This is an example of what was out there at the theaters and drive ins. It's not a good classic movie but it sure isn't anywhere near the worst.
Astoundingly Awful.... :=8P
MooCowMo20 June 2000
Whew! What a stinker!! :=8P Blurry beauty from an-udder world lands & creates havok with a group of dopey kidnappers, a screaming socialite, and a VERY lonely geologist who talks to his dog. In addition to the bad acting, poor production values, stinky lighting, and ham-handed direction, "Astounding She-Monster" also sports the worst over-eager narration this side of "Mesa of Lost Women". The sharp-eyed will spot Kenne Duncan("Night of the Ghouls", "The Sinister Urge") as idiot kidnapper #1; Robert Clarke("Hideous Sun Demon", "Beyond the Time Barrier") plays the lonely geologist, Dick Cutler. And Marilyn Harvey plays the craven socialite, Margaret Chaffee, who'se job it is to shriek like a little girl & run whenever Space Gal pops in. Speaking of Space Gal, in addition to being very blurry and silvery, her slightest touch is able to instantly kill snakes, dogs, and, ultimately, idiot kidnappers. She's "made of radium", and gives off gamma rays, or some such nonsense, but wears a skin-tight silver space suit. But the moovie is so astoundingly cheap and poor, its hard to find even the tiniest ray of hope. The MooCow says that if yer looking for a cheesy howler to share with your friends, "Astounding She-Monster" is a stinker for the record books. :=8P
Liked it when I was a kid
preppy-310 April 2004
Back in the late 70s a local TV station (in MA) used to show this constantly on Saturday afternoons. It's about a tall glowing woman from another world who wanders around aimlessly in the woods. She's photographed with lights on her and in sort of a "wavy" way--it's hard to describe. She runs into some gangsters, their "moll" and two people they're holding hostage. The rest of the film involves them running from her (bullets don't hurt her) and her touching them and (inadvertently) killing them (she's radioactive). It all leads up to a totally ridiculous finale--with a moronic "twist".
I found this fascinating in high school...but not because it was good. It was LOUSY...but in a really interesting way. There's a narrator that sounds like he's drugged out, the special effects aren't special at all and the dialogue and story are predictable. The acting is as good as it can be (i.e. not very). Still, it IS interesting but I can only truthfully give it a 1. Still....try catching it. There's NOTHING like it.
Also your only chance to see Shirley Stoler as the alien in her first movie (she's billed as Shirley Kilpatrick). She's tall, young and SLIM!!!
I found this fascinating in high school...but not because it was good. It was LOUSY...but in a really interesting way. There's a narrator that sounds like he's drugged out, the special effects aren't special at all and the dialogue and story are predictable. The acting is as good as it can be (i.e. not very). Still, it IS interesting but I can only truthfully give it a 1. Still....try catching it. There's NOTHING like it.
Also your only chance to see Shirley Stoler as the alien in her first movie (she's billed as Shirley Kilpatrick). She's tall, young and SLIM!!!
Iridescent outer-space stripper in existentialist film noir
ace-15019 November 2005
Gangster: "Shut up, you lousy drunk!" Floozy: "I prefer to be referred to as an alcoholic!" If you view this as a sci-fi movie, it doesn't rate. As existentialist film noir, it's off the scale. Two aging gangsters and their gin-soaked moll kidnap a Beverly Hills socialite who looks like the cadaverous victim of a 1930's vampire movie. Through a series of misadventures, they end up in a remote geologist's cabin being stalked by an iridescent stripper from outer space. Every time the alien enters the cabin, they run outside and get in the jeep. Then she corners them on the road and they run into the woods. Then she finds them in the woods and they go back into the cabin. This sequence is repeated three or four times as characters are killed one by one. Imagine "Ten Little Indians" if it had been written by Sartre instead of Agatha Christie. The socialite gets lines like, "But, Dick, isn't radium in solid form a metal?" and my favorite, "I had no idea that a geologist used so many acids in his work." The hyper dramatic voice-over for several long sequences reinforces the idea that the plot for the film was actually developed in post-production. But then, existentialist film noir should be improv, shouldn't it?
So bad you will love it.
WadeVC-19 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
What can be said about a movie that is so bad in special effects, acting, storyline, writing and directing...it is so bad it is oddly likable. That is not to say that The Astounding She-Monster doesn't take some definite willpower to sit through, because it most definitely does. This movie is so bad that one almost feels compelled to watch it out of pity for the cast and crew who put this on celluloid.
The Astounding She-Monster is so astoundingly bad that it defies words, but it is definitely a must see for fans of bad cinema; or at the very least one should see it just to make every movie you will ever see or have seen seem just that much better.
The Astounding She-Monster is so astoundingly bad that it defies words, but it is definitely a must see for fans of bad cinema; or at the very least one should see it just to make every movie you will ever see or have seen seem just that much better.
"The woman whose warmth consumes"
Bernie444417 February 2024
In the Mountain Greenery, Where God Paints the Scenery, a few unlikely people converge. The future of our galaxy depends on what they do. One of them (Shirley Kilpatrick) is out of this world. She seems to want to get you and your little dog too. Could her actions be misinterpreted? Watch and find out.
This film has a lot of time fillers and can be fast-forwarded during the scenes where everyone is creeping around outside in the bushes at night with a searchlight on them and cheap music in the background.
I saw this on DVD, but it looks like a poor transfer. The only DVD extra is the trailer.
This film has a lot of time fillers and can be fast-forwarded during the scenes where everyone is creeping around outside in the bushes at night with a searchlight on them and cheap music in the background.
I saw this on DVD, but it looks like a poor transfer. The only DVD extra is the trailer.
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