This Raunchy 80s Sci-Fi Comedy Morons From Outer Space Will Make You Question Intelligent Life
Morons from Outer Space, released in 1985, is a low-budget British sci-fi comedy built entirely around the idea of aliens who are spectacularly stupid, and the film spends its 90 minutes exploring that concept in the most straightforward way possible. The movie was directed by Mike Hodges and stars Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail, and Paul Bown.
The story follows four space-trucker-type aliens—Bernard, Sandra, Desmond, and Julian—who accidentally separate from their orbiting station after a careless mishap. Bernard is outside the ship playing spaceball, causing him to remain in orbit while the other three crash-land on Earth.
Sandra, Desmond, and Julian land in the UK, and the government initially expects highly advanced extraterrestrials with impressive intelligence and futuristic technology. Instead, officials are stunned to discover that these aliens look exactly like humans but are profoundly less intelligent.
The trio undergoes a series of cognitive evaluations that frustrate every scientist assigned to them, especially with Julian openly questioning why he should answer tests when the officials already know the answers. Despite their lack of intelligence, the three aliens instantly become overnight celebrities, celebrated simply because they come from another planet.
Bernard, meanwhile, crash-lands in the US, where his situation takes the opposite turn. Nobody believes he is an alien, leading to his immediate institutionalization, even though he is ironically the smartest of the group.
One of the film’s cleverest moments is its playful nod to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where the UK authorities attempt to communicate with the alien ship using musical tones. Instead of dramatic alien melodies, they end up performing a full rendition of Scott Joplin’s famous tune The Entertainer, adding to the absurdity.
The movie’s humor repeatedly circles the same gag—aliens announcing how ridiculously stupid they are—resulting in long stretches where the joke doesn’t evolve. The film tends to rely on the aliens’ dimwitted reactions rather than fully exploring the potential comedy that could come from the government scrambling to understand them.
Critics and longtime viewers often argue that the screenplay, written by Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, would have benefited from embracing the absurdity more aggressively. Still, the movie delivers enough quirky charm to appeal to fans of oddball 80s sci-fi comedies.
Despite its flaws, Morons from Outer Space remains a notable attempt at flipping the typical alien-visitor narrative on its head by presenting extraterrestrial life as shockingly incompetent rather than enlightened. Its low-budget production openly leans into its limitations, giving the film an offbeat charm that resonates with viewers who appreciate unconventional sci-fi humor.
If you’re curious to watch it today, the movie is currently available for free on Tubi, making it easy to revisit this strange piece of 80s sci-fi comedy history. You can learn more about the film’s background and cast on its Wikipedia page for additional context.
