Unearthly Stranger (63) is a remarkable example of solid and intelligent science fiction, reminding us that low budget is not always synonymous with cheap and funny.

John Krish, whose past credits included episodes of The Avengers and The Saint, was fully aware of the limitations placed on him by a low budget, and decided to do what Val Guest did in The Day the Earth Caught Fire (61), that is, to make a sci-fi film that relies on rigorous direction, serious acting, and sharp and clever dialogues.

The result is one of the best British sci-fi films of the 60’s.

The film includes superb performances by John Neville, who continued to struggle as an actor until 1988 when Terry Gilliam cast him for the lead role in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (88), thereby revitalizing Neville’s career, and by Philip Stone who worked with Stanley Kubrick three times in a career that included mostly television.

One can detect in Unearthly Stranger the marks of late 50’s and early 60’s cold war paranoia that was often a favorite backdrop for British and American Sci-Fi films of that period.

The aliens are living amongst the general population, have taken on a human appearance and are using their powers to influence specific people towards certain goals. But unlike American films, which were more pre-occupied with communism, some British films, and in this case, Unearthly Stranger, seemed more concerned with a different type of invasion and threat, one posed to the social establishment and cohesion of post World War II England by the arrival of foreigners.

Unearthly Stranger goes one step further and takes an interesting look at the place of women in early 60’s England. All aliens in the film are women and many references are made by the male protagonists about how different and strange women can be. These women, more independent and strong-minded, are presented as a hazard to the male establishment and to the cohesiveness of a male driven society. The character of Major Clarke seems particularly misogynistic and, interestingly, is the only male from the 3 lead characters who gets killed, suggesting perhaps that the answer lies in a more open-minded and receptive approach like the one taken by Dr Mark Davidson for whom a person’s humanity should not be based on their gender, or where they come from.

Synopsis
Dr Mark Davidson (John Neville) is being pursued through the city. A hissing sound can be heard. He reaches the Royal Institute for Space Research, enters and heads for his office. Exhausted, he sits down at his desk, grabs a recorder and begins to tell his tale, stating that he expects to be killed today…

Several months earlier, Professor Munroe is killed in his office at the Royal Institute. Major Clarke (Patrick Newell) is in charge of investigating the death of Munroe. Professor John Lancaster (Philip Stone), who was Munroe’s superior, explains to Clarke that they have been working on a project to harness the power of the mind to travel through time and space. Clarke mentions that three scientists working on a similar project overseas have also been found dead under similar circumstances.

Clarke and Lancaster visit the office of Davidson who is now Munroe’s replacement. Clarke quizzes Davidson about his wife, whom, apparently, Lancaster has never met in spite of having known and worked with Davidson for a long time. After a few niceties, Clarke and Lancaster retreat to Lancaster’s office where they argue over how to best proceed in light of the information they possess. Clarke believes that Munroe’s death is very suspicious and that Davidson could now be at risk and should thus be warned.

Davidson overhears their conversation and decides to head down to the morgue to inspect Munroe’s body. But Munroe’s body has disappeared. Perturbed, Davidson drives home. When he arrives, he finds his wife Julie (Gariella Licudi) lying on their bed, starting at the ceiling and unaware of his presence. But a few seconds later, she awakens and greets him.

The next day, at the office, Davidson shares this information with Lancaster, recounting how, for a brief instant, he thought his wife was dead since she had no pulse and her eyes were not blinking. Davidson invites Lancaster to his home for dinner. As they prepare for dinner, Lancaster enters the kitchen to find a corkscrew and sees Julie remove a dish from the hot oven with her bare hands. He manages to keep his composure and checks whether Julie’s eyes do blink or not.

The next day, on her way home, Julie passes a school and stops to look at the children playing in the courtyard. However, the children soon notice Julie and stop playing. Slowly, they retreat inside the school, disturbed by her presence. Distraught, Julie runs home and cries, the tears leaving slight creases on the skin of her face. The bell rings, and Major Clarke is at the door.

Clarke tells Lancaster of his visit to Davidson’s house and how he noticed that Julie didn’t blink once during their conversation. Lancaster tries to conceal his shock. In the meantime, Davidson is sent on leave and told that he can no longer work on the project.

Davidson continues to work on the project from home. After a few days, he seems to have a breakthrough in his research. He asks Lancaster to meet him in the office. Julie begs Davidson not to go.

Once at the Institute, Clarke, whom Lancaster called, takes the research papers from Davidson. As Clarke leaves the office, a hissing noise can be heard, followed by a thunder-like sound. Davidson opens the door and finds Clarke lying dead on the floor, his eyes wide open.

Lancaster and Davidson now agree that some extra-terrestrial intelligence is trying to keep them from completing the project.

Davidson goes home. Julie is waiting for him. She explains that she is indeed an alien and that she was sent to keep Davidson from bringing his project to conclusion. But she failed because she learned to appreciate human emotions, especially love. The hissing sound appears. Davidson and Julie try to escape but Julie is struck down and her body disappears.

Davidson is now in his office, recording his story. Ms Ballard, his secretary, enters and says that she must kill him. Lancaster arrives and attempts to restrain her. She falls out of the window. Davidson and Lancaster run downstairs, but only find her clothes. Several women now surround Davidson and Lancaster, staring at them in a strange and unearthly way.