The Astounding She-Monster is a 1958 science fiction horror film starring Robert Clarke and directed, co-written and produced by Ronnie Ashcroft for Hollywood International Productions.

The film focuses on a geologist, a gang which has kidnapped a rich heiress, and their encounter with a beautiful but deadly female alien who has crashed to Earth.

But he does not see that out of the smoke from the impact emerges a beautiful glowing blonde female extraterrestrial in a skintight leotard who can kill by touch.

Burdell decides they should flee that night, even though they will have to navigate a dangerous mountain road in Cutler's headlight-less Jeep.

Chaffee says that the Council, with its "superior wisdom," will surely understand that their human nature caused them to fear the alien and that another emissary will no doubt be sent.

(one minute in, after images of the moon) The film was picked up for distribution by American International Pictures (AIP) and issued as half of one of its double feature programs.

[3][5][6] According to the American Film Institute (AFI), The Astounding She-Monster was originally planned as a $50,000 production with a seven-day shooting schedule.

The Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) identifies the uncredited film editor as Ashcroft himself.

[11][12] It was also released in Italy (as Lei, il Monstro) and Mexico (as Invasora de Jupiter), although at unspecified dates.

[15] On television, clips from the film were used in the made-for-television "documentary" Bride of Monster Mania, which was hosted by Elvira and shown shortly before Halloween 2000 on AMC.

The entire film was shown as an episode of the TV series Pale Moonlight Theater on 19 January 2015.

He notes that while The Monthly Film Bulletin gave the movie its lowest rating and called it a "feeble and ridiculous contribution to the science fiction library, weakly scripted and poorly acted," The Motion Picture Herald gave it a "fair" rating and said in its review that "the overall effect is one of satisfying melodrama.

Director Ashcroft employs static wide shots in most scenes, with little in the way of dynamic editing to enliven the action.

The acting and screenplay are pedestrian, and while the alien femme fatale might have been made into an intriguing, complex character, she is rendered mute and reduced to a homicidal cipher.

"[20] Besides describing the film as a "boring, dismal little picture," Warren dislikes the narration, calling it "portentous" and "doom-laden," and saying that it "simply serves to slow the snail-like pace, generating a maddening frustration in those paying attention."

"Throughout the film, Ashcroft's direction remains flat, as he rarely moves the camera and fails to utilize even moderately interesting angles or setups."

"[7] For British critic Phil Hardy, "The only point of interest in this clumsily directed, silly film is its misogynistic attitude toward women in its association of female beauty with evil, and unconventional independence with male fears of castration.

"[21] Critic Gus Barsanti, after describing the She-Monster as "a very tall, high-heeled femme alien fatale in an obligatory skintight space outfit and very scary eyebrows," says the film is for "connoisseurs of truly bad movies; all others should approach with caution.