Bad Girls from Mars (1990)

The lead actresses in a sci-fi B-movie keep getting killed. Finally they hire a well-known celeb, and things get even more complicated. A campy Fred Olen Ray film starring Brinke Stevens and Edy Williams.

The movie begins with the filming of a cheap sci-fi movie. The leading man, Richard Trent (Jay Richardson) is being held hostage by a sexy alien (Jasae).

Terry, the actress, removes her top in dramatic fashion.

Terry goes into a vault and pulls out a shrunken man in a tube. "Here's your best friend, Tony. He could last all night, but you I need to test. There is no room on Mars for limp dicks."

Dick asks what happens if he doesn't measure up. She responds pointing her weapon, "Then you die, Earth scum!"

When Terry then tries to undo his fly to give him a BJ, the director T.J. McMasters (Oliver Darrow) has to yell "cut". That was not in the script, but rather a sly addition by Dick, the sleazeball actor.

Terry punches Dick in the stomach for being misled, then storms off the set. T.J. tells everyone to take five.

Back in her dressing room, Terry gets a threatening message.

A loop of celluloid drops down in front of her. She examines the film and sees it features her in the frames. The loop then encircles her neck and Terry is pulled upward and hung.

The crew finds Terry's body dangling from the ceiling. As it turns out, Terry isn't the first leading lady to be murdered. This film just can't seem to keep the star actresses alive.

Myra (Brinke Stevens) speaks with TJ about their problem.

TJ: Nobody wants to touch this film. They all say it's jinxed.

MYRA: I keep telling you how to solve your problem.

TJ: What? Hire you in the lead? No way. You are the costume girl. And besides I've already let you play a small part in this film as the High Priestess of Insemination.

We meet TJ's secretary, Martine (Dana Bentley) who is secretly obsessed with him.

We find that Dick and Myra are in a relationship. They wonder who will play the lead now that Terry has died.

TJ picks up the next actress to assume the role - Emanuelle (Edy Williams).

When Emanuelle realizes they're going to Dick's mansion she climbs into the backseat to change clothes.

Emanuelle makes a public scene as she is nearly naked in the back of the convertible. She strips down to her pantyhose (with no panies).

Dick pretends to be a gentleman with a friendly greeting.

Myra isn't so friendly. She resents losing out on this role to this slut (her words not mine).

Dick is smitten by Emanuelle - so much so that he even forgets Myra's name when they're introduced.

Of course you can hardly blame Dick for being a little flustered. Emanuelle is falling out of her dress right in their living room.

Emanuelle makes quite an impression on the film's producers.

A woman jumps in the pool and the splash drenches Emanuelle.

She dries off in the bathroom. There she finds a threatening note. The message is a rhyme, similar to the one Terry received before she was killed.

Back at the studio, TJ drinks to drown out the stress of this entire mess. Martine drops in and tries to brighten his mood.

Emanuelle receives a note purportedly from Dick which says to meet him by the jacuzzi.

Emanuelle strips naked and gets in. She's suddenly grabbed from behind by a masked attacker.

Later, she wakes up in the backseat of a car wearing only a towel. She stealthily escapes while the masked killer is dealing with TJ.

Emanuelle runs into a convenience store for safety.

The store is being held up by a couple of bumbling robbers played by Mark Thomas McGee and Fred Olen Ray. [Note Mark Thomas McGee wrote: Inner Sanctum, Sorority House Massacre II, Hard to Die, this film, Sins of Desire, Possessed by the Night, Sorceress and Witch Academy. All of these are FOR or Wynorski films... but he also wrote Equinox (1970)]

They make her hold her hands in the air and her towel drops. One of the crooks asks her for her autograph.

TJ has barely recovered from being beaten up by the killer when Martine shows up unexpectedly. She's wearing a nightie and yells, "Surprise!" as she jumps on top of him.

Martine won't give TJ a second's rest. After they have sex, she joins him in the bath.

Emanuelle gets ready in her dressing room for her first day on set. She relates the incident at the convenience story to her recorder (for her next tell all autobiography) with more than a little embelishment.

TJ, who's gone through the ringer the past day, suddenly finds himself as Emanuelle's object of lust.

He tries to escape by crawling under her legs, but it's not that easy.

Emanuelle starts taking off her clothes.

It's finally time for the first scene. Emanuelle is every bit the bad actress you expect her to be.

Martine receives one of the killer's rhyming messages.

After a day's work, TJ reviews the film - only to have Emanuelle try and seduce him once again.

Martine storms into the room in a fit of jealous rage. She hits TJ over the head with a film cannister.

She confronts Emanuelle and they fight it out.

Emanuelle kicks off Martine, propelling her directly into the hands of the killer who snaps her neck.

Emanuelle watches in horror then is captured.

Next we find she's been tied to wooden frame by the mystery killer.

The killer is revealed to be Myra - who's tired of being passed over for the lead, and stuck being the costume girl.

They fight it out. Myra is KO'd, and a grenade put in her mouth. Emanuelle pulls the ring and runs out as the building explodes. THE END

VZ6 SCORECARD

Man, what a fun movie.  This was Fred Olen Ray in his prime - back before the bottom fell out on B-movies.  In just a few short years, as Julie Strain has explained on numerous occasions, you no longer had these mid-level B-movies.  You had either big budget films or something filmed in some dude's backyard with his iPhone. So, it is nice to enjoy a movie during these glory days, when it could land on Movie Gallery and mom-and-pop video store shelves across the country and be rented by legions of teens (like myself) who could appreciate its cheesy and sleazy goodness.

It existes in the sweet spot for campy B-movies - not a big budget polished film, and not a zero shoestring backyard digital shitshow either.  Aside from the budget, you have a really energetic fun film.  The sleaze ain't shabby either with the great Edy Williams providing the heavy lifting.

I lost count of how many times Edy Williams whips her boobs out.  She gets changed in a convertable, she towels off after getting wet, she seduces TJ twice, she takes a jacuzzi, she drops her towel at a convience store, she is stripped and tied up... over and over it goes.  The downside is that Edy is a bit past her prime.  It's been a long time since she was on the Batman TV series in the sixties.  But I'd say she still looks pretty good.  The scene where Edy's towel drops at the convenience store is pure unadulterated magic. Not only do we have an extended boobs scene, we have some truly funny materieal, and best of all it features Mark Thomas McGee and Fred Olen Ray.  When legends gather.

Edy is great in this cat fight, topless the whole time.  But Dana Bentley really goes all.  Her clothes get ripped off and she provides all kinds of views as she wildly jumps, tumbles and splays throughout this amazing scene. Bentley was in Sorority House Massacre II, where she looked much better with long hair.  She was on a roll from 1990-1991 - appearing in seven films.  Then she just vanished, only to reappear in a Wynorski picture ten years later, then another Wynorski picture ten years after that.

A fun T&A flick from start to finish. No complaints.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 7/10