The Eighties Sci-Fi Thread. - Page 40

Inspector Abberline · #**391** 8th June 2016, 09:17 PM

The Stuff (1985)

Larry Cohen yet again proves what a wonderfully eccentric director he is,mixing old school science fiction of the Blob kind with a not so subtle hit over the head warning of fast food chains,gluttony,greed and how man would sell out another man to make a quick buck,even if it means selling some sort of killer yoghurt to your friends,family and children.The imaginatively entitled food product The Stuff is fast becoming America's number one food desert,with sexy promotion adverts and endless TV exposure the local supermarket's shelves are full of The Stuff,not only that but there is even 24 hour outlets selling it all day and night.The Stuff tastes great and can even make you lose weight and will make you feel great about yourself,just like the people in the advertising commercials,er the only trouble being is that it is also a parasitic organism that slowly rakes over the brain and makes turns it hosts it simple minded brainless zombies before they eventually crumble into themselves or blow up like a volcanic foamy vomit.So if your a big fan of Ben and Jerrys or maybe a yoghurt junkie or perhaps some one who may like guzzling shaving foam you could be in big trouble (um if your are eating shaving foam then your definitely in big trouble).Cohen knows how to make fun low budget horror and science fiction films.and no surprise his favourite actor Michael Moriarty as David "Mo" Rutherford is also on hand.Whilst it looks good , and the special effects are entertaining enough,although not in the same league as say The Blob remake,there are a few scenes that looked rushed and almost in complete,especially the scenes with Danny Aiello as Mr. Vickers,it feels like there is something missing.Anyhow if your a fan of the Cohen you will lap this up ,geddit.

Inspector Abberline · #**392** 12th June 2016, 05:35 PM

The Deadly Spawn (1983)

One of my earliest video rental memories was seeing that Vipco cover of that phallic looking multi teethed monster on the front cover,grinning down on me from its wooden shelf,next to that copy of Dawn of The Dead in that Intervision cardboard box and Dead and Buried. While being as low budget as you can get,its is kitchen sink acting and locations that are uncharacteristically filmed quite well and certainly better than any of those other low budget shockers that were being released around the same time.And its no big surprise that its the films icky sticky goooey gory effects that makes it a cult classic.It has that same appeal of other low budget gore movies like Bad Taste and Street Trash.Of course seeing the film splayed across the pages of Fangoria magazine with all its gorey business laid bare in the flesh,made it a must see film for that teenage me at the time.And while the special effects are on the lo-fi side,watching it again recently I was impressed by the miniature model effects and the monster's and gore have a great animalistic feral like quality,or maybe Im just scared of creatures that look like a penis with teeth.There some nice moments in the film,at the start when the woman goes down into the cellar looking for her better half,she feels a hand on her shoulder,only to turn around and find its a severed hand hanging out of the monsters mouth. Then there's the ladies get together as they get down to stuff there faces with some home baked food not realising they are eating a liquidised monster,then its there turn to get eaten.
The main protagonist is Charles George Hildebrandt as Charles ,a horror movie and monster loving kid who obviously has good taste as we see a copy of A Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Dennis Gifford on the floor of his bedroom. Its low a budget movie,but it all adds to a rather naturalistic feel and look to the movie and you can tell the film-makers Ted A. Bohus (story) John Dods (story) and Douglas McKeown the Director are fans of the genre and even manage to come up with some new twists on some old ideas.Its a true monster loving film .

Inspector Abberline · #**393** 9th July 2016, 04:49 PM

Alien 2: On Earth (1980) Alien 2 sulla Terra (original title)

Lets be honest even if you had not seen Alien 2 before,the chances of it being classic Italian masterpiece was going to be pretty low,this aint Fellini were talking about here. Luckily or unluckily depending on your view of the film,I had watched it on video back in the good old days,so I could vaguely remember what I was expecting to get. It is fare to say that Alien 2 sulla Terra is pretty low budget stuff,starting off with some rather washed out 1970's NASA footage cobbled together to form the story of some returning astronauts. Mean while back on earth a group of non descriptive Italian actors (except for Michele Soavi) decide to explore some rather nice looking caves,and seeing as there not on a day trip to Cheddar Caves the chances of them wandering around licking a 99 ice cream and going off for a bag of fish and chips at Wookey Hole Caves is pretty slim. Most of the criticism aimed at Alien 2 sulla Terra is that its pretty ponderous and all round bad.Well I have to say,hand on heart,that even though I had not seen the film in well over twenty years,I rather enjoyed it,In fact none of the criticism levelled at it ,really bothered me at all,I kind of take it for granted that low budget exploitation films can be at times a chore,but much like other movies of its ilk Contamination , Nightmare City and The Incredible Melting Man I feel there are all ways worth persevering with. Especially once the gore starts flowing and our intrepid cavers are having there faces ripped off by some Alien or Aliens stalking them through the stalactites.Directed by Ciro Ippolito (as Sam Cromwell) Alien 2: On Earth looks rather nice on Blu ray,and the filming in the Castellana Caves gives the film a far more interesting look than any sound stage in Rome.As I said,I enjoyed this face ripping alien film,Im amused by the fact that they ripped off the Alien franchise,so hopefully annoying someone at 20th Century Fox.

mr 420 · #**394** 10th July 2016, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Alien 2: On Earth (1980) Alien 2 sulla Terra (original title)

Lets be honest even if you had not seen Alien 2 before,the chances of it being classic Italian masterpiece was going to be pretty low,this aint Fellini were talking about here. Luckily or unluckily depending on your view of the film,I had watched it on video back in the good old days,so I could vaguely remember what I was expecting to get. It is fare to say that Alien 2 sulla Terra is pretty low budget stuff,starting off with some rather washed out 1970's NASA footage cobbled together to form the story of some returning astronauts. Mean while back on earth a group of non descriptive Italian actors (except for Michele Soavi) decide to explore some rather nice looking caves,and seeing as there not on a day trip to Cheddar Caves the chances of them wandering around licking a 99 ice cream and going off for a bag of fish and chips at Wookey Hole Caves is pretty slim. Most of the criticism aimed at Alien 2 sulla Terra is that its pretty ponderous and all round bad.Well I have to say,hand on heart,that even though I had not seen the film in well over twenty years,I rather enjoyed it,In fact none of the criticism levelled at it ,really bothered me at all,I kind of take it for granted that low budget exploitation films can be at times a chore,but much like other movies of its ilk Contamination , Nightmare City and The Incredible Melting Man I feel there are all ways worth persevering with. Especially once the gore starts flowing and our intrepid cavers are having there faces ripped off by some Alien or Aliens stalking them through the stalactites.Directed by Ciro Ippolito (as Sam Cromwell) Alien 2: On Earth looks rather nice on Blu ray,and the filming in the Castellana Caves gives the film a far more interesting look than any sound stage in Rome.As I said,I enjoyed this face ripping alien film,Im amused by the fact that they ripped off the Alien franchise,so hopefully annoying someone at 20th Century Fox.

Fantastic stuff, Inspector!! Did you ever get round to watching Dead Kids aka Strange Behaviour?