Obscure Kaiju: Alien from the Deep

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What? The Italians are at it again!?!? Hip-hip-hooray…I think?



”Alien degli Abissi” (”Alien from the Deep”) is a 1989 action-horror-monster movie, involving a chemical plant on a tropical island, who dumps their toxic waste in an active volcano. Two environmentalists try to expose these illegal activities, but they get caught by hired vigilantes working for the company.

The female environmentalist of the duo, manages to escape the bad guys, and is saved by a snake farmer who lives alone in the jungle. Together, they try to bring down the company, however…

Years of chemical poisoning have attracted a gigantic 70-foot-tall alien monster, who's crab-clawed tentacle and brain damaging acid ‘fluids’ (no, not like that!), begins attacking hero and villain alike, from beneath the ground. Both sides eventually join forces against the Alien from the Deep, who finally reveals its full form during the climax.

The movie was one of the last works of special effects artist and genre director Antonio Margheriti. And as his per usual, the pyrotechnics and model effects are quite good, even impressive at times. But his traditional Italian insistence to avoid any and all forms of visual effects, leads to the film’s biggest failing; its leading Kaiju.



Although the clawed tentacle is well realized as a full sized puppet prop, the main monster was created through a stiff, 20-foot tall prop, made to look bigger with camera tricks and angels.

They could have done the Alien from the Deep as a man in a monster suit against model buildings. But again, in long-lasting Italian cinema culture, a giant immobile puppet was considered the ‘honorable’ way to go, even if it was the least convincing route.

It doesn't help either that the giant space invader looks just like the Xenomorphs from ”Alien” (1979), if those brilliant monsters were made of thrift-store plastics, covered in black spray-paint.

Despite its shortcomings (and the fact that a lot of fans hate this film), I was lucky enough to catch ”Alien from the Deep” in its uncut entirety, over a year ago. And I actually had a lot of fun with it, even if the title monster doesn't fully arrive until the third act (or 52 minute mark).

But then again...I also thought ”Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century” was  a decent film. And yes...we’ll be getting to that mess before Obscure Kaiju Month is over.

Hip-hip-hooray…I think?


Good Giant Puppet!


BAD Giant Puppet!

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LazarFace's avatar
if a xenomorph and a crab and godzilla and discarded wires made a baby, this would be the product