alien

Bootleg Bug Hunt: A Carrot From Another Planet

/ Fitzpatrix / 1 Comment

It’s only fitting that the Bootleg Bug Hunt series ends on the 40th anniversary of the release of the groundbreaking sci-fi horror thriller Alien. Throughout this series, I’ve looked at some of the strangest and silliest low-budget movies that attempted to exploit the popularity of Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett’s creation in a multitude of ways ranging from bog-standard horror films with a freshly applied coat of science fiction paint to psychedelic, visually impressive space operas. The subject of the final Bootleg Bug Hunt review, 1985’s Creature, is planted firmly in the former category but it may be one of the better examples of Xenomorphs-ploitation you could ask for.

o1cn0129qtwklowcodfud_0-item_pic

The sandworms from Beetlejuice are back with a vengeance!

Creature shows us the fateful voyage of the Shenandoah, a vessel owned by a futuristic multinational corporation, as its crew undertakes their mission of exploring a mysterious laboratory located on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. Along the way, they answer a peculiar distress signal and discover a member of a rival company who was stranded on the moon by a dangerous alien monster that controls the minds of its victims with parasites. Of course, Creature shares numerous similarities with Alien but the most surprising element that it imitates is the corporate intrigue. The first act of Creature spends some time setting up NTI, the company the crew works for, as well as its rivals before the main story kicks in. In theory, this could have been a great way to set the film apart from other Alien knockoffs but the concept isn’t given a lot of emphasis or closure in the narrative. Furthermore, thanks to its derivative design and clunky motions, the titular creature is somewhat disappointing. Fortunately, William Malone’s energetic direction, the impressive makeup effects, Thomas Chase and Steve Rucker’s spooky score and some solid performances from the cast are enough to make up for undermining a potentially more riveting story. The standouts in the acting category include Diane Salinger (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) as an icy security officer, American Dad’s Wendy Schaal, who brings much needed humanity to her shallow role as an audience surrogate, and character actor Lyman Ward, best known as Ferris Bueller’s father, who provides a bit of dignity as one of the corporate heads of NTI.

I’d give Creature a chance if you have a taste for a decent sci-fi B-movie. Despite its formulaic nature and routine script, it still delivers its fair share of thrills and chills.

Credit: DST3KTrailers

Bootleg Bug Hunt: Ruled by Twins

/ Fitzpatrix / 1 Comment

In many ways, Alien is a film about sex, how society understands it and how it affects others. This symbolism presents itself in almost every aspect of the film through a wide variety of motifs, ranging from the obvious visual metaphor of the Facehugger and Chestburster scenes representing sexual assault and forced reproduction, as well as the phallic design of the Xenomorph, to the more subtle details like the crew of the Nostromo referring to the ship’s computer as “MOTHER”. For some audiences, Alien’s innate eroticism may be one of the most significant parts of the film’s enduring appeal. Of course, many low-budget Alien knockoffs responded to these analogies by offering a multitude of erogenous images without any real nuance. However, there is one notable Alien copycat that attempted to address the subconsciously prurient themes of Ridley Scott’s film: 1981’s Inseminoid.

59c27fda9f12b3003efe4a65

“I just ate a whole bathtub full of cherry cobbler.”

Partially funded by the prolific Shaw Brothers Studio, Inseminoid was directed by Norman J. Warren, a British filmmaker who specialized in erotic dramas like Her Private Hell and horror films such as Satan’s Slave and Prey. The story, penned by the married couple of Gloria and Nick Maley, involves a interplanetary mining expedition that goes dangerously wrong after Sandy, a crew member, is raped by a hostile extraterrestrial. The unborn hybrid twins, designed by Nick Maley, proceed to control Sandy’s mind in an effort to protect themselves. If you’ve never seen this film before, the premise itself may be an obstacle that keeps you from truly enjoying the overall work. On one hand, Judy Geeson (The Eagle Has Landed) easily provides the most intriguing performance in the film as Sandy, managing to compellingly balance sympathy and intimidation. On the other hand, it’s very troubling that after Sandy is impregnated, she is somewhat dehumanized by the narrative by becoming a puppet for her unwanted offspring. Compared to Alien’s understated and sophisticated approach to the topic of sexual violence, Inseminoid almost seems to address Sandy’s situation like a carnival barker beckoning guests to see the sideshow. Although Warren’s direction throughout the rest of the film brings the appropriate amount of gloom and suspense, it falters in its portrayal of Sandy’s plight by wallowing in her pain and confusion.

Sandy’s treatment aside, I’d say that Inseminoid still holds together as an adequate Alien facsimile. It has above-average acting, creative cinematography and a stirring electronic score by John Scott. Perhaps if it was a little more mindful of its central character’s agony, it could have gained a better reputation as a cult classic.

Credit: bmoviereviews

Bootleg Bug Hunt: Dingwhopper

/ Fitzpatrix / 1 Comment

Roger Corman has had an interesting relationship with the film Alien. When the film was in development, Dan O’Bannon and Ron Shusett offered their treatment to Corman with the intention of filming it on a low budget before getting a better deal from Brandywine Productions. After Alien’s runaway success, Corman, with his distribution company New World Pictures, produced two attempts to capitalize on the public’s sudden interest in sci-fi horror. First, there was 1981’s Galaxy of Terror, which featured above average performances from Edward Albert, Robert Englund and Erin Moran, as well as intriguing production design from legendary director James Cameron. The second, which is today’s subject, is 1982’s Forbidden World, a film that may lack the star power of its predecessor but still has a strange appeal that makes it a pretty fun viewing experience.

mv5by2u2mzyxymutzdi1oc00zgzmltk2zjutm2vjmgjkmzg0m2m5xkeyxkfqcgdeqxvynjqxoda2oda40._v1_

Quick, Henry, the Flit!

Forbidden World is the thrilling story of an agent for a futuristic government who is assigned to monitor a research station that houses a murderous genetic experiment that, in a twist that seems eerily prescient after the release of Alien: Covenant, contains trace amounts of human DNA. Compared to the somewhat thoughtful Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden is a much more vulgar, broader and more experimental film, with chaotic editing and exaggerated directing courtesy of Galaxy editor Allan Holzman. The self-awareness of Holzman’s direction and the performances of some of the cast members seem to be compensating for the recycled Galaxy sets and the bargain-basement effects, especially the goofy monster that resembles an amalgam of the Xenomorph and Audrey II. The most noteworthy performance comes from obscure character actor Fox Harris as the scientist who discovers the key to defeating the beast. Because the other actors come off looking like either bland cyphers or melodramatic flakes, the quirky yet naturally endearing Harris carries the film. Tying the film together is a spellbinding, John Carpenter-esque electronic score by Susan Justin that suitably imparts the various moods of the film.

Overall, when it comes to Corman-produced exploitations of Alien, Forbidden World may not have much polish or class but it’s still exciting and crazy enough to keep your attention.

Credit: HD Retro Trailers

Bootleg Bug Hunt: That’s Not Coffee

/ Fitzpatrix / 2 Comments

It’s always fun to see what a filmmaker can accomplish within budgetary limits, especially when it comes to genre films. There have been countless instances of pre-production concepts that were either discarded or altered during principal photography, editing or even during the screenwriting phase because the producers had to pinch a few pennies and cut a few corners just to get the movie made. One of the fundamentals of low-budget filmmaking is knowing what’s necessary for your story, which can be a great asset to the creative process and an efficient way of maintaining the film’s budget. A textbook example of this type of cost-effective film production is the infamous Italian director Luigi Cozzi’s 1980 Alien cash-in, Contamination.

5027035016511

Meet the Cacodemon’s vegan cousin.

In this sci-fi splatter-fest, an investigation of a seemingly deserted ship that washed ashore near New York Harbor leads to the discovery of a slew of strange alien eggs and the decimated corpses of the passengers who fell victim to the deadly toxins that the eggs secrete. This chain of events leads a government agent (Louise Marleau), a former astronaut (Ian McCulloch), and a NYPD lieutenant (Marino Mase) into the web of a genocidal extraterrestrial menace. Due to its low budget, Contamination resembles nothing more than an alternate universe version of Alien that was made on the cheap in the sixties by Herschell Gordon Lewis or Guy Hamilton. To be fair, Cozzi and his crew put their limited resources to good use. Instead of the lived-in, claustrophobic interiors of the Nostromo and the congeniality of its crew, the cast of Contamination attempts to project an aura of sophistication while they fight masked henchmen and wander around big cities, beautiful villages and James Bond-esque military bases and secret labs. Although the pacing is a little too languid to be truly thrilling, some of the other elements of the film more than make up for it, including the believable chemistry between Marleau and McCulloch, the appropriately disgusting design of the chief alien creature, and the intense synth rock score by the Italian band the Goblins, who are best known for their collaborations with the innovative horror director Dario Argento.

In conclusion, if you crave a creepily chaotic cavalcade of campy creature carnage, consider Cozzi’s Contamination.

Credit: ObscureTrailers

Bootleg Bug Hunt: Doubt is Demon Brother to Despair

/ Fitzpatrix / 2 Comments

April 26th is Alien Day, a celebration of the insanely popular sci-fi horror film franchise, Alien. Debuting in 1979, Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett’s spine-tingling tale of the USS Nostromo’s fateful encounter with an astronomic apex predator that would eventually be dubbed the Xenomorph has endured and influenced several generations of science fiction storytellers and analysts. Of course, much like the Star Wars phenomenon, the immediate impact of Alien spawned a slew of low-budget imitators that copied the film’s moody aesthetic, used future sensibilities and intense action. 1981’s Galaxy of Terror, produced by reputable independent filmmaker Roger Corman and helmed by Hammer director Bruce D. Clark, is a notable knockoff that attempts to aim for loftier heights but is somewhat curtailed by its desire for shock value.

galaxy-of-terror

Hell had to make room for the new jacuzzi.

Like Alien, the appeal of Galaxy is reliant on the chemistry of the cast. If Galaxy has a definitive strength, it’s in the performances that slightly elevate the film above the level of a typical B-grade schlockfest. Grace Zabriskie, as the starship captain leading the rescue mission that kicks off the plot, gives a somewhat haunting portrayal of an officer who survived a disaster and seeks to maintain control of her new crew. Other standouts include Ray Walston as the enigmatic cook of the crew, a pre-Nightmare on Elm Street Robert Englund as a technician, Bernard Behrens (Obi-Wan Kenobi in the NPR Star Wars radio dramas) as the mission commander, and Erin Moran (Joanie from Happy Days) as the ship’s empath. The film is also carried by some pretty impressive practical effects, featuring some of Aliens director James Cameron’s earliest production design work. Unfortunately, these fascinating elements are mixed in with a story that’s both barebones and scattershot, often indulging and wallowing in every horror and space opera cliche in the book. This lack of focus is best exemplified by a strange framing device involving a being called the Planet Master that feels like a weak stab in the direction of more thoughtful sci-fi in the vein of Forbidden Planet and 2001 and robs a bit of mystery from the suspense.

Despite its haphazard approach, Galaxy of Terror is an enjoyable piece of low-budget cheese that’s more than just James Cameron’s demo reel for Aliens and Terminator. There’s enough imagination on display that makes it stand out in the realm of cheap, Alien-influenced exploitation films.

Credit: Trash Film Orgy