BLOOD
OVERALL
BEASTS
BREASTS
aka: Return of the Alien's
Deadly Spawn
Deadly Spawn
Director: Douglas McKeown
Writers: Ted A. Bohus & John Dods
Cast---
Charles George Hildebrandt ... Charles
Tom DeFranco ... Pete
Richard Lee Porter ... Frankie
Jean Tafler ... Ellen
Karen Tighe ... Kathy
James Brewster ... Sam
Elissa Neil ... Barb
Ethel Michelson ... Aunt Millie
Runtime: 78 min | USA: 81 min
Writers: Ted A. Bohus & John Dods
Cast---
Charles George Hildebrandt ... Charles
Tom DeFranco ... Pete
Richard Lee Porter ... Frankie
Jean Tafler ... Ellen
Karen Tighe ... Kathy
James Brewster ... Sam
Elissa Neil ... Barb
Ethel Michelson ... Aunt Millie
Runtime: 78 min | USA: 81 min
THE DEADLY SPAWN (1983)
THIS FILM IS A MASTERPIECE! Go buy it!
Oh, you want more of a detailed review...well, I suppose if you don't trust my taste in movies by now, I
should explain why I think this classic 1983 sci-fi gore epic is worth adding to your shelves. First of all, I
must state that I had met Ted A. Bohus about five years ago. Ted is one of the producers (for the
longest time I thought he had actually directed it) and also the editor and publisher of a cool magazine
called SPFX Magazine (which you can buy online, but I'm not sure if they are still making new issues).
Ted had recorded a voice over for a film of mine (THE MONSTER MAN, shameless plug) and I stupidly
lost the tape so his voice does not appear in the film. I was going to pay him, but he told me to use it for
the movie and just to buy him a Diet Coke. I bought him three and have remembered that chance
encounter fondly throughout the years, hoping that one day I could finally see his proud baby, THE
DEADLY SPAWN, once and for all. Well, I finally got my chance and boy was I blown away!
A meteorite lands in a suburb carrying the titular spawn and the worm-like, flesh-hungry monsters
decide to hide out in the basement of a family's nearby home. The youngest son, Charlie, is a monster
fan (as evidenced by his mask and toy collection) so he instantly becomes the hero in my mind. Also,
the uncle looks a lot like my friend Javier Fernandez (check out Pic #5)...freaky. The older brother, Pete,
is a science nerd with dreams of being the next Carl Sagan. He doesn't believe in anything that science
hasn't proven true, but life is about to shit all over his preconceived scientific stubbornness when the
alien sperm starts growing into an 8 foot tall monstrosity. The first to go are Charlie and Pete's parents
(we get a peek at their mom's nips through her flimsy nightgown) and right off the bat director Douglas
McKeown (who only directed this film, and did a wonderful job) pulls no punches with some of the goriest
alien killing I have ever seen. Skin is ripped off, arms are chomped to bits, it's beautiful!
The film wastes no time on exposition or "the town lawman" who has a feeling that something has gone
wrong. You are basically with this family and their friends in this house on a rainy afternoon as these
blood-thirsty monsters scamper about causing mischief and eating the shit out of people. Charlie
stumbles into them while taking a detour through the cellar to scare his uncle. The boy is frozen to the
spot as the multitude of creatures are revealed to him. He learns quickly that they cannot see, but have
excellent hearing. This scene is a marvel of special effects work and tension-packed filmmaking. Pete's
friends come over to study and they bring a dead alien worm that they find on the road. They are all at a
loss, but Pete refuses to except that anything like it can be real or that it came from outer space. Soon,
as I said, that is a moot point as they aliens make themselves quite obvious and display their appetite. At
the same time, their aunt is hosting a luncheon and the old ladies get attacked by a gaggle of the alien
worms. If you've never seen old ladies flail around as alien sperm bite their ankles and faces, then do
yourself a favor and watch this movie!
An amazing surprise takes you by the throat as one of the characters dies and the vicious wrongness
of it all leaves you swaying. The film ramps up to a satisfying end, with Pete and his friends trapped in
the attic and Charlie coming to the rescue. He has rigged a fake head with some of his magic flash
powder. All he has to do is get the monster's attention and make it swallow the head. Will his monster
fan ingenuity help him defeat the alien menace? Will the world be saved? Is this the end of the world as
we know it? Will Pete finally realize that there are, in fact, aliens out there that want to eat us? I dare not
spoil it, just go watch it right the fuck now!
The first thing that jumped out at me was the film's directing style. It's shot almost like a silent foreign
film, in terms of lighting and angles, with a bit of Hitchcock thrown in for good measure. It's a
well-directed film, which is already more than we can say about a lot of independent films of that era (or
any era, really). The second thing is the amount of glorious gore on display. I am not kidding when I say
this is the reddest and wettest alien movie I have ever seen. Imagine if Fulci had made an alien movie
(wait, I think he did, didn't he?), and this is what you'd get. The teen cast is fine, and Charlie stays quiet
for most of the film, but he gives the right looks at the right time, so the acting isn't horrible. The setting
is perfect, too. Who would have imagined that an alien invasion would take place during a rainy day? I
would have figured a dark and stormy night, but the daytime setting somehow makes everything play out
realistically. All in all, this was a sure-fire golden coffin winner, but there weren't really any breasts (just
those nips I mentioned). It gets my highest recommendation. THIS FILM IS A MASTERPIECE! Go buy it!
- Jose Prendes
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