Bad Girls from Mars

A C-grade murder-horror that is largely predictable and unoriginal. Production values are quite low and performances are so-so. However, it does have some funny moments and the tone of the movie is quite light, never taking itself seriously, making it not entirely unwatchable.

My review was written in January 1991 after watching the movie on Vidmark video cassette.

"Bad Girls from Mars" is a poor spoof of B movies by the men who currently make them. Lame scripting and threadbare execution leave this video strictly for t&a fans.

Fred Olen Ray has made quickies before, notably the Sybil Danning-starrer "The Phantom Empire", but this one needed more care to succeed.

Plot premise is virtually identical to another current spoof, "Hollywood Boulevard II": a serial killer is wasting the leading ladies of a B picture called "Bad Girls from Mars". As in "HB II", there's a stereotypical skinflint producer and cliched satirization shoestring film production.

Edy Williams is well-cast, and well-preserved, as the replacement bombshell - best selling tell-all authoress, reminiscent of Xaviera Hollander when she tried to break into movies 17 years ago. Her slapstick travails aren't helped any by Ray's annoying gimmick of dubbing in the amplifed sound of somebody rubbing Naugahyde whenever Edy and the other topless women fondle their own breasts.

That level of sophomoric humor permeates this cheapie. Hambone hero Jay Richardon's mugging is unfunny and other bits remain stillborn, such as prolific dirctor/lenser Gary Graver appearng as the cinematographer of the film within the film.

Ray credtis himself as co-writer with pseudonym Sherman Scott, an obscure homage to Sam Newfield who used the moniker in the '40s when he cranked out endless Bs.

There's a brief lesbian scene between Williams and the exotic Brinke Stevens and an awkward wrestling match between Williams and new bombshell Dawn Dana Bently. Jasae, a familiar face fro mcable phone sex ads, has a fun role as one of the "Bad Girls" stars/victims.

Tech credits are suitably chintzy, but Chuck Cirino's catchy music is a plus.

I've enjoyed all of the other Fred Olen Ray movies I've seen - Cyclone and Warlords, for instance, are underrated classics of lowbrow fare, and even Scalps has its redeeming qualities - but Bad Girls from Mars is guilty of the worst possible charge that can be leveled against an exploitation flick: it's boring.

The self-deprecating script is bland, and everything is conducted with such self-conscious camp that no sense of reality or genuine interest is ever generated. Drab synthesized music, lame one-liners, and pointless Ed Wood references don't help matters. Brinke Stevens is underutilized, and the rest of the cast is uncharismatic, the repeatedly bared bosom of Edy Williams notwithstanding.

Only die-hard fans of Stevens or Ray, or anyone easily impressed by breasts or broad, lazy comedy, need bother with Bad Girls from Mars. The title is as funny as anything in the movie.

Directed by Fred Ray... he had been directing for about ten years by now, and it was still pretty silly. Quite the soft core porn. Mucho boobs. and dirty talking about body parts. definitely not for the young uns! This one wants to have more plot, so follow along, and watch the boobs, i mean the story. boobs and more boobs. Beverly hills and cadillacs. and more boobs. the plot is pretty bad. old wine? an old cadillac ? Also, more boobies. and a cross that people keep getting tied to. Skip this one... pretty lame. Showing on epix drive in channel.

It's to cheesy and I like cheesy but this movie went to far