Directed by Gerardo Chierchia and written by David Black who also stars in the film, while the world is busy dealing with the pandemic, a number of extra-terrestrials begin to appear with one aim in mind, to eradicate Earth of its men. Starring: Vixey Teh, Melanie Kuhn, Grace Liu, John Cunningham, Shanta Pasika and Joel D. Wynkoop.
With a title like Toxic Alien Zombie Babes from Outer Space you know exactly what you’re going to get with this film so if you’re diving into it as person who doesn’t enjoy schlocky, sleazy content then you’ll struggle to enjoy it. However, it also is putting itself within a very restrictive box so while it’s clearly trying to emulate the trashy, exploitative science fiction flicks of the 1960s and 70s, it’s a bigger task than the film was up for. Trying to create that sort of breezy, anything goes and chaotic content today is difficult, it’s just too easy to fall into cheesy, wooden or uncomfortable territory, which is what happens for the most part here. The exploitative side feels forced and seedy, the humour isn’t quite there and the tone ends up feeling like a parody that can’t find its footing.
Making a film during lockdown was a challenge that a lot of filmmakers took on and while some used those restrictions to open up creatively, Toxic Alien Zombie Babes from Outer Space stays directly within the box. The majority of the film is done similar to the way Searching uses purely virtual calls and online content but to a much less effective extent. Instead it means that the quality of the visual is low because there’s only so much you can achieve with webcams and the like, which is fine for short bursts but for an entire two hour film, it can’t sustain itself. That’s another key issue with the film, the runtime is far too indulgent, instead of focusing on one story, it spreads its characters and plot across the entire world. The result of which is that it’s completely scattered and doesn’t really have a focus or drive to bring things together. It’s simply skipping from one moment to the next and hoping that the attack and pandemic are enough glue to hold it in one piece.
There’s also then the use of extremely overt special effects which can be fun in its own right and some of it is but after a while it begins to feel heavily repetitive. Especially the use of the titular alien who never really gets to do much other than appear and disappear. The threat she poses is clear but she’s used to such limitation that she can’t really add much. That repetitive nature is something that the film struggles with throughout, it’s hitting the same note extremely hard from start to finish, there’s simply no variety to the tone or pacing.
Toxic Alien Zombie Babes from Outer Space attempts to pay homage to the beloved trashy sci-fi flicks of the 20th century but can’t quite get into gear. It falls into disappointingly repetitive territory and then knocks itself down further by sticking to a classically immature, sleazy sense of humour which predictably cheaply takes aim at any kind of feminism. The filmmakers set themselves a big challenge by trying to make a feature like this within the limitations of lockdown and the technical disadvantage that presents and it was ultimately out of their reach. For a very specific audience, this could still work but for the majority of viewers it will likely not have a great deal to offer.
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