Devil Girl from Mars (1954) Review

Devil Girl from Mars (1954) Review

One winter evening in a lonely Scottish inn, guests become prisoners when Nyah, a pitiless Martian with a robot minion, lands on earth and traps them within an invisible wall. With Martian males extinct after a battle of the sexes, Nyah aims to capture breeding stock on Earth. As escape attempts falter, the helpless humans must decide which one of them will die to save the others and possibly the world!

Based on the stage play by James Eastwood – who also adapted this for the big screen – and John C. Mather DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS has become a minor cult classic over the years. This 1954 British black-and-white science fiction flick is high on talk and low on dramatic tension however it is saved by Patricia Laffan’s performance as Martian meanie Nyah, adorned in dominatrix attire that wouldn’t have looked out of places years later in 1980’s FLASH GORDON.

It plays out similarly to 1951’s THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL with its visiting alien Nyah mirroring Klaatu and a dodgy looking robot associate – looking like a refrigerator on legs – channelling Gort. However, whereas THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is considered a classic of its time, DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS received bad reviews from the critics although I can safely say that I have seen much worse.

Nyah makes for a great baddie and the tacky effects work is endearing. It does it’s best to shake off it’s stage origins by having some of the scenes take place out on the Scottish Moors rather than remain confined to the Scottish Inn. When you consider that DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS commenced filming to make the most of pre-booked studio time that was left when another production completed ahead of schedule and was completed in just three weeks with no retakes then it’s as good as can be considering.

Trivia fans might be interested to learn that the creator of the classic UK TV series THUNDERBIRDS, and later cult sci-fi TV series SPACE 1999, is this film’s sound editor, credited as Gerald Anderson.

DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS is available to buy on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital from 15th January 2024, and available to pre-order HERE.

INCLUDED WITH DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS:

BRAND NEW Interview with novelist and critic Kim Newman

BRAND NEW Audio Commentary with Kim Newman and writer & journalist Barry Forshaw

Stills gallery

The Blu-ray edition comes with an exclusive set of four collector’s art cards