Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 21, 2015

John Krish's "Unearthly Stranger" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The hunted

The film begins with what seems like the end. Dr. Mark Davidson (John Neville, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) is seen running through the dark and empty streets of an unknown city. Eventually, he reaches his apartment, turns on a tape recorder, and leaves a short but chilling message for his friend and colleague, Prof. John Lancaster (Philip Stone, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom): “In a little while, I expect to die... to be killed... by something… you and I know is here.”

Now, the film goes back in time where Davidson and Lancaster are seen working together on an important project. Davidson is convinced that they are on the verge of a phenomenal discovery that will allow people to travel to other worlds with the power of thought. But Lancaster is skeptical. There are bits of Davidson’s theory that make sense to him, but he thinks that the rest is utterly ridiculous.

High-ranking government official Maj. Clarke (Patrick Newell, TV's Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson) enters the story and begins asking questions because he is trying to figure out how another researcher, Geoffrey D. Munro (Warren Mitchell), has died. Then he suddenly shows a lot of interest in Davidson’s new Swiss wife, Julie (Gabriella Licudi, Herostratus).

A few days later, Davidson invites Lancaster to meet Julie. His initial impression is that his friend could not have chosen a better woman to marry. But then, while getting ready for dinner, Lancaster notices something that deeply disturbs him.

Unearthly Stranger very much reminds of the various Quatermass films that emerged during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s (see Val Guest’s The Quatermass Xperiment and Roy Ward Baker's Quatermass and the Pit). It blends a good dose of noirish atmosphere and some, at the very least, curious ideas about time travel and the possibility of intelligent life on other planets.

What possibly moves Unearthly Stranger in a slightly different category than the one where the Quatermass films are grouped is the lack of kitschy sci-fi/horror set designs and wonky-looking aliens. The eerie atmosphere is created primarily with some wonderful sound effects and precise camera work. In other words, while the sci-fi elements are crucial for the story, this is a film that remains firmly grounded in reality.

The finale is somewhat predictable, but it is obvious that the goal of the film was never to surprise with an original twist. Rather, it was to offer some food for thought that would force even the skeptics to consider a few curious “what-if” scenarios.

The cast is very good. Neville completely transforms entire sequences simply by looking at the camera in some very specific ways. Stone is convincing as the rational colleague who has to see in order to believe. Newell is slightly annoying at times, but his nosy character is expected to be difficult to tolerate. Licudi has the right mysterious look.

Unearthly Stranger was directed by John Krish, who would eventually go on to work on The Saint and The Avengers. The film was lensed by cinematographer Sidney Hayers’ (Burn, Witch, Burn).

Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Krish's Unearthly Stranger arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master which was apparently prepared by StudioCanal. There are some minor scratches and dirt spots, but there are no large cuts or torn frames. Excluding a few uneven transitions, overall image stability is also excellent. Depth and clarity are pleasing, but different parts of the film could look sharper. During select close-ups, in particular, it is easy to see that grain should be far better exposed and resolved (see screencapture #1). Still, there are no traces of recent denoising corrections. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments either, though some extremely light inherited halo effects are visible (see screencapture #15). For the most part the framing is fine, but there are a few sequences where the top end of the frame appears a bit too low (see screencapture #10). Ultimately, even though the current presentation is slightly inconsistent, the film has a rather decent, if somewhat dated, organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free Blu-ray player in order to access its content).

Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles have been provided for the main feature.

Generally speaking, depth and clarity are good. The audio could be a bit thin or uneven at times, but there are no distortions. There is no distracting background hiss either, though a careful clean-up could introduce some improvements. The best news here is that Edward Williams' dramatic score benefits quite well from the lossless treatment. Indeed, there are a number of sequences throughout the film that would be far less effective with an average lossy track.

Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Unearthly Stranger. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Gallery - a gallery of with original posters, lobby cards, and other promotional materials for Unearthly Stranger. (2 min).

• Promotional Material PDF -

Unearthly Stranger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Krish's Unearthly Stranger is guaranteed to appeal to folks who enjoy classic British sci-fi thrillers. I had not seen in it before and was expecting something quite different, but was very pleasantly surprised. The film has a lovely atmosphere and the cast is very good. Network's technical presentation of the film is also quite good. RECOMMENDED.