Unearthly Stranger

As far as low budget British Sci-Fi films go, Unearthly Strangers is surprisingly well done thanks to a taut and chilling script, and a darn fine performance by lead John Neville (Baron Munchausen) as a scientist who comes to learn that close encounters of the third kind can indeed leave a trail of destruction – in his case a personal one.

The b/w film begins with a distressed Dr. Mark Davidson (J. Neville) running along a London street by night, covered in sweat… and terror engraved in his face! Upon entering what seems to be an office in his workplace, he begins to record his story on a tape-recorder. Rewind, and we learn that Dr. Davidson is part of a small group of scientists who have cracked a highly complex formula called TP91 which enables man to project himself through space and time by means of pure mental concentration. Davidson’s predecessor died under seemingly mysterious circumstances after having made the initial breakthrough with said formula. In fact, he died from an ‘explosion’ inside his brain, something that secret service agent Major Clarke (Patrick Newell) is keen on keeping under wraps from Davidson and his colleague, Professor Lancaster (Philip Stone).

While the top secrecy and complexity of his work puts a strain on Dr. Davidson, he finds happiness and relaxation at home with his attractive new wife Julie (Gabriella Licudi), whom he met during a trip abroad. Clearly doting on her, at first he seems oblivious to the fact that Julie possesses some peculiar characteristics: she sleeps with her eyes open, she never blinks, can handle objects with her bare hands, and she doesn’t appear to have a pulse. Even when colleague Lancaster points out that Major Clarke checked on her background and she never seemed to have existed at all before her marriage to Davidson, he besotted husband at first refuses to believe the obvious. As a precaution, Davidson and temporarily dismissed from his duties, and now with a lot of spare time on his hands is able to recover the lost formula and informs his workplace. Major Clarke confiscates the notes, which turns out to be a bad move… for soon after he too dies of an explosion inside his brain.

Dr. Davidson finally has to acknowledge that there’s something ‘unearthly’ about his wife indeed, and she confesses to him that she is an alien who has been sent to kill him to prevent the formula from ever being used. But she has fallen in love with him, therefore the other aliens are going to kill her – and they do. Distressed and in terror, he runs from his house direction office, which takes us back to the very scene at the beginning of the film.
He is unable to finish his recordings on the tape when he is interrupted by a member of staff (who also turns out to be from another planet)…

Unearthly Stranger is eerie and at times feels claustrophobic, which only adds to the chill factor. Neville is superb as a scientist torn between emotions and a world of formulas, and as a man who desperately tries to avoid the obvious truth about his wife. At the other end of the spectrum, Patrick Newell excels as the slimy Major, a man without scruples and without much of a conscience.

The film is part of Network’s ‘British Film Collection’, and DVD and Blu-ray offer the following SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Original theatrical trailer
• Image Gallery
• Promo material (PDF)
• Instant play facility