Synopsis: A greedy corporation tries to cover up the chemical waste. That they have been dumping into a active volcano.

Alien from the Deep was directed by Antonio Margheriti. A versatile Italian filmmaker, who has worked in just about every film genre. Some of his more notable films as a filmmaker include Castle of Blood, The Long Hair of Death and Cannibal Apocalypse. The screenplay for Alien from the Deep was written by Tito Carpi a prolific screenwriter, who often collaborated with director Enzo G. Castellari. The cinematographer on Alien from the Deep was Fausto Zuccoli (Naked You Die, Zombi Holocaust).

The plot for this film can essentially be broken down into two films. The first half is a jungle adventure film. In which a pair of environmentalists try to get evidence against E-Chem Corporation. And stay one step ahead of the goons that are sent after them.  The second half shifts towards a creature feature. After a meteor from outer space crashes into a lake. So now not only do the environmentalists have two worry about being knocked off by E-Chem Corporation’s goons. They now have to contend with a entity from space that want to kill them. Fortunately this entity from space does not discriminate and wants to kill everyone that comes in contact with it.

Alien from the Deep, like the majority of the film’s that Antonio Margheriti directed in the 1980′s. It was primarily shot in the Philippines. And while shooting films on the cheap. Was something that Antonio Margheriti was familiar with. Just take a look at some of his previous forays into the world of Sci-Fi like Wild, Wild, Planet, The War of the Planets and War Between the Planets. The one area in which most of these anemic budgeted films suffered the most were the special effects. Case in point The giant claw monster in Alien from the Deep. Which is crudely pulled off and always looks ridiculous.

Lack of production values aside. The films moves along at a brisk enough pace that there rarely is a dull moment. Also sandwich in between the jungle adventure and creature feature aspects of this story. Is a obligatory love story between one of the environmentalists and a man who captures snakes for their venom. This plot is truly a melting pot of genres. Unfortunately these merging of distinctively different genres is not always effective. Without a doubt the most enduring asset this film has to be dialog exchange between the characters. Outside of Charles Napier’s (Silence of the Lambs) performance in the role of a megalomaniac colonel, who has been hired to protect E-Chem Corporation secrets. The rest of the cast are stale and forgettable in their respective roles. Ultimately Alien from the Deep is bottom of the barrel Euro-Cult schlock that only the most diehard fans of these type of films will find amusing and somewhat entertaining.

The DVD:

One 7 Movies presents Alien from the Deep in a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio. Judging by the framing and that the image never looks cramped. This is most likely the film’s intended aspect ratio or at the very least an open matte presentation. Colors fare well and flesh tones look healthy. Black levels generally look weak and details for the most part look crisp. The source used for this transfer is in good shape and there are no problems with compression.

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital Stereo mix in English and a Dolby Digital Stereo mix in Italian (no English subtitles). Both audio mixes are comparable to each other quality wise. Dialog comes through clearly and background noise is minimal. Range wise these audio mixes are rather limited.

Extras for this release include a image gallery with stills, lobby cards and box art and the Italian opening credits for the film (2 minutes 12 seconds – 4:3 full frame). Overall Alien from the Deep gets a serviceable audio / video presentation from One 7 Movies.