Sci-Fi Flicks N-S

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NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)

D/W Thom Eberhardt

Most of the world is turned to dust when a comet passes overhead on New Year’s Eve. The next morning, the geeks inherit the earth and two air-head valley girl sisters have the entire city of Los Angeles to themselves. Sort of. Those who were not directly zapped to ashes by the comet transform into blood craving zomboids. The curvy babes have to battle both the zombies and government bad guy zombies with automatic fire power. Great “what if” scenario updates the LAST MAN ON EARTH premise with action, humor and a sly wink.

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)

D/W Fred Dekker

Homage to darn near every horror and science fiction movie ever made! Intergalactic brain leeches invade a college campus (Corman University!) and soon a nerd, his sorority princess and a burned out cop are battling space zombies from Arous. Moving at a breakneck speed, speeding ever quickly to the exploding frat-boy finale, Dekker fills his film with terrific characters and so many film references and in-jokes you may have to watch it a couple times just to catch them all. All the characters are named after other film directors. The best scenes include cop Tom Atkins’ weird, beach-set nightmare/fantasy, Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow beating ‘n burning a bus load of frat creeps and a zombified ax murderer who chops his way out of his grave while a TV behind the action shows Tor Johnson crawling from his grave in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Atkins has all the best lines, like when he tells the sorority sisters their boyfriends are coming. “The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is they’re dead!” Kudos to Dekker and company for such a wild, wonderful ride.

NIGHTWISH (1990)

D/W Bruce R. Cook

One of those rubber-reality flicks where nothing really is as it seems. A group of students of the paranormal go to a country house in search of a ghost. Instead they find maniacs, creatures and aliens! Bizarre tale deserves a watch for its tricky, mind-bending plotline. With Clayton Rohner & Elizabeth Kaitan.

NOT LIKE US (1995)

D. Dave Payne W. Daniella Purcell

Lame, tongue-in-cheek alien tale concerns two beings from another world that have come to Earth to torture and perform sadistic experiments on humans. Gore hounds should enjoy one scene where an alien baddie scoops out the insides of a woman so she can wear the woman’s skin. Churned out with little style from Roger Corman’s film factory.

NOT OF THIS EARTH (1988)

D. Jim Wynorski W. Jim Wynorski & R.J. Robertson

Poverty-row, extra cheese remake of Roger Corman’s fifties fave. Traci Lords is a nurse caring for an alien sent to Earth to collect blood samples for his dying planet. Traci stumbles onto the alien’s plan and thwarts it. Flick is a patchwork of scenes from other movies (including HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP and HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD), which actually adds to its appeal. Lenny Juliano is great as the wise guy chauffeur. The rest of the limited cast is made up mostly of huge hootered actresses. Check it out.

NOT OF THIS EARTH (1995)

D. Terence H. Winkless W. Charles Philip Moore

Roger Corman’s second remake of his Beverly Garland sci-fi classic is a bit more serious in tone with more money behind it, but not nearly as fun as Wynorski’s version. Except for one fantastically rendered flying alien effect, there’s little else to recommend this movie.

OBLIVION (1994)

D. Sam Irvin W. Peter David

Terrific melding of western and science fiction themes has a small community banding together to fight the lethal Red Eye, a half man, half lizard thing. This off-kilter story is a live action comic book with over the top heroes and villains, cool monsters and loads of sagebrush mood. The quality of the effects range from weak to wonderful, but you’re guaranteed a good time with this one. From producer Charles Band. A sequel followed.

PARASITE (1982)

D. Charles Band W. Alan Adler & Michael Shoob

A scientist escapes into the desert with a deadly parasite growing within him. While trying to extract it, he encounters a gang of futuristic punks who inadvertently release another parasite the scientist was studying. A bit slow at parts- giving you ample opportunity to visit the snack bar or see how far you can get with you date- Band fills his story with grotesque monster and carnage images courtesy Stan Winston. It was originally released in 3-D. This was Demi Moore’s first film appearance.

THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

D/W George Lucas

Prequel to the STAR WARS trilogy is two-long hours of CGI tedium. Something about two Jedis trying to iron out a trade agreement with aliens who resemble bowel movements. The CGI onslaught is agonizing. There is one semi-exciting pod race but overall this flick suffers from terminal lameness. Included here only because I saw it at a drive-in theater.

PHANTOMS (1998)

D. Joe Chappelle W. Dean Koontz

An eons old shape shifting creature rears its ugly head and wipes out all the inhabitants of a mountain town in mere hours. Two sisters and a handful of cops investigate and discover a creature who fancies itself the devil. Bombed at the box office, maybe because, for as fascinating a premise, Chappell and Koontz forgot to make it scary. It’s still worth a watch, but Koontz’ novel is much better.

PROGENY (1999)

D. Brian Yuzna W. Aubrey Solomon

Bizarre thriller about a doctor whose infertile wife is abducted by aliens and impregnated. Possibly. Super-tense premise follows Arnold Vosloo as he descends into a hallucinatory nightmare world to find out the truth about the unborn life growing in his wife’s womb. Twisted, uncompromising ending should jolt you a good one, like a smack to the jaw.

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967)

D. Roy Ward Baker W. Nigel Kneale

Third entry in Hammer’s Quatermass series is a solid, spectacular thriller. While digging a tunnel for the London subway system, workers discover a number of strange skulls and skeletons. Professor Quatermass is called in to help investigate the origins of the bones. Further digging unearths a space craft that may have crashed landed five million years earlier. The craft reveals telepathic insectoid creatures that may have lived on Earth before man. This is a fascinating premise told in an edge of your seat manner and wonderfully acted by all, especially Andrew Keir as Quatermass. The effects are top notch as London burns to the ground. It has inspired such filmmakers as Tobe Hooper (LIFEFORCE) and John Carpenter (PRINCE OF DARKNESS). A tremendously entertaining sci-fi outing. AKA FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH.

QUATERMASS 2 (1957)

D. Val Guest W. Nigel Kneale & Val Guest

Second in the Hammer series has Professor Quatermass (essayed by Brian Donlevy) finding a strange government facility out in the middle of nowhere and fortified with heavily armed military forces. At the same time, a nearby small town experiences an unusually large amount of meteors dropping out of the sky. Quatermass is unable to sit still until he can get a look inside the facility. Sneaking inside with a press tour, Quatermass collects enough proof that the meteors are alien invaders and the brainwashed military men are working for them. Another winner from Hammer. AKA ENEMY FROM SPACE.

THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (1955)

D. Val Guest W. Richard Landau & Val Guest

Based on a BBC television program written by Nigel Kneale, this was the first in Hammer’s Quatermass series. A rocket returns from a space mission but with only one crew member aboard. The sole survivor of the mission begins to transform into a gooey space blob and Quatermass is called in to help defeat the creature. The fast moving story is filled with intelligence, excitement, thrills and chills. Brian Donlevy is excellent as the gruff and determined Quatermass. A true drive-in sci-fi classic.

SATURN 3

D. Stanley Donen W. Martin Amis

Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett are the sole inhabitants on a paradise planet where they’ve established their own little Garden of Eden. Enter, then, psychotic Harvey Keitel and his equally psychotic robot crony who turn the paradise into a nightmarish hellhole. Semi-suspenseful and scary, movie earned a bit of notoriety at the time of its release because Farrah flashed a boobie.

SCANNERS 2: THE NEW ORDER (1991)

D. Christian Duguay W. B.J. Nelson

David Hewlett plays the scanner offspring of the Stephen Lack and Jennifer O’Neill characters from the David Cronenberg original. He tries to deal with his scanner abilities- which include telekinetic powers and bending and twisting other people’s body parts at will- and discovers his long lost sister. The sister tells him about a place where scanners are held captive and experimented. The big scanner showdown finale pits the psycho ward scanners and Hewlett against a long haired schizophrenic scanner. Great action and gory effects with one cool head explosion.

SCANNERS III: THE TAKE OVER (1992)

D. Christian Duguay W. B.J. Nelson, Julie Richard & David Preston

Filmed back to back with Part 2, this entry concerns a different brother and sister scanner team who are torn apart by an experimental drug. Sis gets hooked on the scanner smack that transforms her into a raging psychopath. It’s like a scanner version of Jekyll and Hyde. High quality sequel is action packed and brimming with exploding heads. Newcomer Liliana Komorowska is terrific as the scanner sis. Definitely worth a watch.

SCANNERCOP (1994)

D. Pierre David W. George Saunders & John Bryant

Daniel Quinn watches his scanner dad blow his head off to stop the “voices” inherent with being a scanner when he’s a kid. Adopted by one of the cops on the scene, Daniel grows up to be a super cop, using his scanner abilities to track down and stop villains. (One great scene has him shaking down a psycho who has been poisoning milk and killing children.) Quinn goes mind to mind with a cop killer who uses ordinary people and hypnosis to snuff officers of the law. Exciting and suspenseful. With Richard Lynch as the crazed cop killer.

SCANNERS: THE SHOWDOWN (1995)

D. Steve Barnett W. Mark Sevi

Was originally to be titled SCANNERCOP 2 but so many people thought SCANNNERCOP was a rip-off of SCANNERS rather than a legitimate entry in the series, it was changed prior to release. Quinn faces off with a Scanner vampire this time around who is preying on the “lifeforces” of other scanners and growing stronger after each feeding. Patrick Kilpatrick is great as the vampire Carl Volkin.

SCARED TO DEATH (1980)

D/W William Malone

ALIEN copy follows the exploits of ex-cop turned hack novelist John Stinson discovering the existence of a government created humanoid that lives underneath LA and feeds off of the spinal fluid of hapless victims. The characters are rather lifeless and the first half of the film is slow but the gore and creature effects are terrific and the creature stomping finale is pretty cool. It’s rumored that Malone wrote and directed a SCARED TO DEATH II which revolved around three creatures breaking loose on an airplane and causing havoc at 35,000 feet, but it has never surfaced. An unofficial sequel, SYNGENOR, was released in 1990 without Malone’s participation.

SCREAMERS (1981)

D. Sergio Martino & Dan T. Miller

This Italian import was originally produced as THE FISH MEN, then Roger Corman bought it, cut it, and had Miller ad a spectacular, gory twelve minute prologue to pump some life into it. The rest of the slow moving story follows the non-adventure of some castaways washed upon the island where a doctor has created a super race of, you guessed it, fish men! I recommend only the first twelve minutes- you’re on your own for the rest. This flick made drive-in history when Jim Wynorski spliced the scene of a big breasted lab assistant getting her blouse torn off in the trailer, and came up with a tag line that promised viewers they would see a man turned inside out (neither of which appeared in the film!). Corman received a phone call the day after it was shown at an Atlanta drive-in. The manager of the theater complained that the patrons caused a riot at his drive-in because the movie’s ad campaign lied!

SCREAMERS (1995)

D. Christian Duguay W. Dan O’Bannon & Miguel Tejada Flores

Hardcore, grim premise concerns rival outposts on a distant moon battling a horde of buzz saw toothed killer robots that burrow under the ground, decimate their victims instantaneously, reproduce, grow intelligent and soon figure a way to take on human form. Non stop battle scenes and paranoia make this one of the best sci-fi flicks of the ‘90s. Incredible sets and production values are better than most major studio productions. Another wonderful screenplay by Dan O’Bannon. Based on the short story “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick. With Peter Weller and Jennifer Rubin.

SEEDPEOPLE (1992)

D. Peter Manoogian W. Jackson Barr

Goofy but entertaining variation on the INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS theme from producer Charles Band. The good people of Comet Valley are besieged by alien spores that transform them into man eating weeds. The infected switch between human and weed form while a small band of people try to defeat the “seed” menace.

SPECIES (1995)

D. Roger Donaldson W. Dennis Feldman

An alien being escapes from a government lab, eats a bunch of junk food, turns into a leggy supermodel and then scours LA for a potential mate. A team of “mercenaries” is brought in to hunt and destroy the horny femme fatale. Great alien designs and effects and lots of gooey, gross stuff throughout. From Frank Mancuso, Jr., the guy who brought us seven of the original eight FRIDAY THE 13TH films. A sequel followed.

STAR HUNTER (1995)

D. Cole McKay W. R.J. Robertson & Mark Litton

A busload of jocks and cheerleaders break down in a bad part of town and soon find themselves being hunted by an intergalactic big game hunter. So-so production values and action has the hunter laying waste to most of the brain-dead kids and a couple of dumb cops. The beginning incorporates a fistful of scenes from both BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS and FORBIDDEN WORLD. With Roddy McDowall and Stella Stevens.

STAR PORTAL (1997)

D/W John Purdy

As amazing as this sounds, this is producer Roger Corman’s THIRD attempt at remaking his classic ‘50s hit NOT OF THIS EARTH. Although slightly altered, the story follows a grieving widow whose body is inhabited by an alien coming to Earth to collect samples of human blood. She learns about the joys of sex and violence. Cop Steven Bauer suspects the sultry Athena Massey of being up to something, but he’s not prepared to find out she’s not from this Earth! Has a couple neat alien effects and a bunch of scenes from BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS peppering its running time.

STRANGE INVADERS (1983)

D. Michael Laughlin W. William Condon & Michael Laughlin

This comic tale is a throw back to the alien invasion flicks of the fifties. A small mid-western town is totally inhabited by aliens and a news reporter threatens to blow their cover. A fun time waster that offers a look back to a simpler time and simpler sci-fi flicks. With Diane Scarwid, Nancy Allen and Kenneth Tobey.

SYNGENOR (1990)

D. George Elanjian, Jr. W. Brent Friedman

Unofficial sequel to 1980’s SCARED TO DEATH follows the escape of a genetic hybrid, the Syngenor (Synthesized Genetic Organism), as it attacks unsuspecting schmoes and sucks their spinal fluid dry. Same story as the original film but with better production values and more money. The creature designs are awesome and David Gale gives another great over-the-top performance. There was to be a SYNGENOR 2, to star Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Brinke Stevens but it never happened.