Alien from L.A.

Wanda Saknussemm (Ireland) is a nerdy social misfit with large glasses and an intolerable squeaky voice who lives in Los Angeles and works at a diner. After being dumped by her boyfriend for "not having a sense of adventure", Wanda is informed by a letter that her father, an archaeologist, has died. She flies to North Africa and while going through her father's belongings, she finds his notes about Atlantis, apparently an alien ship that crashed millennia ago and sank into the center of the Earth. Wanda comes across a chamber beneath her father's apartment and accidentally sets off a chain of events that ultimately cause her to fall into a deep hole.

An unharmed Wanda wakes up deep within the Earth to find Gus (William R. Moses), a miner whom she protects from being slain by two people. Gus, who has a very inconsistent Australian accent, agrees to help Wanda find her father, whom she believes is alive and trapped underground. Wanda soon discovers that both she and her father are believed to be spies planning an invasion of Atlantis. During her adventures, Wanda's appearance changes from nerdy to attractive (by removing her glasses and using a steam vent to clean her skin). People from the surface world are referred to as "aliens" by Atlanteans, who appear virtually identical to surface dwellers, and when Wanda is overheard talking about Malibu Beach by a low-life informant (Janie Du Plessis), she soon becomes a hunted woman and must dodge efforts at capture, both from the mysterious "Government House" and from thugs in the pay of the crime lord Mambino (Deep Roy). During these sequences, many references to Wanda's "big bones" are made, as though it were a trait by which she could be identified; however, no obvious physical distinction between Wanda and the Atlanteans is noticeable.

Wanda's efforts at escape are aided by Charmin (Thom Mathews), a handsome rogue who (briefly) assists her flight and falls for Wanda. She is ultimately captured by the evil General Pykov (Du Plessis again), who wants to kill both Wanda and her incarcerated father. The Atlantean leader decides to free Wanda and her father, provided they remain quiet about Atlantis. Gus shows up and helps the duo escape while fighting off General Pykov and her soldiers. Wanda and her father board a ship that takes them back to the surface and the film ends with Wanda on the beach, wearing a bikini and a sarong. She refuses the advances of her ex-boyfriend and is soon reunited with Charmin, who inexplicably appears on a motorcycle.

• Kathy Ireland as Wanda Saknussemm
• William R. Moses as Gus
• Richard Haines as Arnold Saknussemm
• Don Michael Paul as Robbie
• Thom Mathews as Charmin
• Janie Du Plessis as General Rykov / Shank / Claims Officer
• Simon Poland as Consul Triton Crassus / The Mailman
• Linda Kerridge as Roeyis Freki / Auntie Pearl
• Kristen Trucksess as Stacy
• Lochner De Kock as Professor Ovid Galba / Professor Paddy Mahoney
• Deep Roy as Mambino

Kathy Ireland plays the film's lead Wanda Saknussemm

This film was shot by Golan-Globus Productions and distributed by The Cannon Group. The film was mostly shot in Johannesburg, at producer Avi Lerner's studio, plus additional shooting in Durban, South Africa and Swakopmund, Namibia. Locations ranged from South Africa's deep digging mines and gold fields both on the outskirts of Johannesburg. There was one additional day of shooting at a safari complex near Pretoria. Most of the Namibia shoot took place in and around the old German colonial town of Swakopmund, with additional scenes also shot along Namibia's famed Skeleton Coast. The film was also shot in Los Angeles, California.

The character of Arnold Saknussemm is a reference to Arne Saknussemm from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, an Icelandic explorer who had gone missing long before the narrative of the story had begun.

Soundtrack

Once Upon a Time: Written by James Saad, Anthony Riparetti, and Steve LeGassick. Performed by Steve LeGassick.[3]

State of Heart: Written by James Saad, Anthony Riparetti, and Steve LeGassick. Performed by Donna DeLory.[4]

Namibia's Skeleton Coast[5]

Alien from L.A. was released on February 26, 1988.[6] The film was later released on a DVD by the Shout! Factory on March 2013. The film also had a sequel that was also directed by Albert Pyun and was called Journey to the Center of the Earth and was released July 30, 1988.[7] The film had Kathy Ireland reprising her role as Wanda Saknussemm.[8]

The film was featured in a 1993 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[9]

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• Alien from L.A. on IMDb
• Alien from L.A. at AllMovie
• Alien from L.A. on Rotten Tomatoes
• Theatrical trailer