Sci-Fi Flicks T-Z

T-Z

THE TERMINATOR (1984)

D. James Cameron W. Gail Anne Hurd & James Cameron

Included here just because it is one of the greatest drive-in science fiction flicks of all time. Soldier Michael Biehn comes to 1984 to protect Linda Hamilton from an unstoppable killer cyborg whose job it is to snuff her before she gives birth to the man who will lead a revolt against the machines in the future. Non stop action/horror/gun-play and exploding stuff. Astonishing effects by Stan Winston. Flick was partially conceived in a fever dream Cameron had when he became ill while filming PIRANHA II: THE SPAWNING. Holds up to many repeat viewing. A classic.

TERROR VISION (1985)

D/W Ted Nicolaou

Irreverent spoof on alien invasions, satellite dishes and family values. The Putterman family is strange indeed. Mom and Dad are swingers, Sis is a punk rock chick and little Sherman wants to be a survivalist G.I. Joe like his cranky and slightly crazy grandpa. After installing a new satellite dish in the back yard, a grotesque alien zaps down on the airwaves and takes over the family of weirdos one at a time. Funny and full of great lines, this is one of those flicks that’s even better when shared with witty friends and plenty of alcoholic refreshment.

THEY LIVE (1988)

D/W John Carpenter

Aliens disguised as humans have invaded our world through subliminal suggestion and it’s up to wrestling legend Roddy Piper to chew bubble gum and kick ass. Terrific flick is filled with wild, quirky characters, spastic gun-play, plenty of tough guy bonding and a biting, sarcastic sense of humor. It turns out that poor people are cattle to the wealthy, fat cat aliens and The Rowdy One takes it upon himself to give the world a wake up call. This is adrenaline pumping fun that just might make you wonder about the guy next to you who gets the promotion you so rightly deserve. (Carpenter appears in a cameo in a bar scene near the end of the picture. He’s watching an alien film critic complaining about all the senseless violence in films and names George Romero and John Carpenter as two of the main offenders!) Based on the short story “Eight O’Clock In The Morning” by Ray Faraday Nelson. With David Keith, Meg Foster and the great George “Buck” Flower.

THE THING (1982)

D. John Carpenter W. Bill Lancaster

Jaw dropping, monster effects filled extravaganza has a shape shifting alien taking over an Antarctic research post one body at a time. Kurt Russell does a great Clint Eastwood impression as his compadres fall victim to the ever changing “thing.” Rob Bottin’s amazing effects work has still not been outdone, nearly twenty years after the film’s release. Highlights include: the painful transformation of a “thinged” Husky, “thinged” guy’s chest bursting open to reveal rows of teeth that then bite the arms off a doctor, a disembodied head growing spider legs and creeping away and the Kurt Russell Vs. The Thing finale. Another drive-in classic from John Carpenter. Based on the short story “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell. (Dark Horse Comics produced their own sequel/continuation of this movie and is highly recommended to fans.)

TIME WALKER (1982)

D. Tom Kennedy W. Tom Friedman & Karen Levitt

The California Institute of Sciences procures a coffin found within King Tut’s tomb that contains Ankh-Venharis (the “Nobel Traveler”). After exposing rag-boy to high levels of radiation, our mummy awakens. Seems he had five crystals that a lab assistant found and sold to horn-dog frat rats so they could get sex from their girlfriends. Rag-boy does the Im-Ho-Tep boogie across campus to retrieve his crystals. Once he obtains all the crystals, rag-boy revels himself to be an alien and puts on a low budget light show to prove it. Mind numbingly dumb but watchable because of all the cheesy acting and nasty special effects. The terrific ‘B’ cast includes Ben Murphy, Nina Axelrod, Kevin Brophy, James Karen, Shari Belafonte-Harper, Warrington Gillette, Darwin Joston and Austin Stoker.

THE TOMMYKNOCKERS (1993)

D. John Power W. Lawrence D. Cohen

An alien space craft is found buried in the ground in a small Maine town and all the citizens begin to change as the ship is slowly unearthed. Soon, the populace of Haven Falls is experiencing telepathic powers and inventing strange machines that produce nightmarish results. All the while, the aliens entombed in the ship are gaining back their strength. When the ship is completely dug up, it’s up to Jimmy Smits to save mankind. A gripping sci-fi thriller. With Traci Lords and Robert Carradine.

TRANCERS (1985)

D. Charles Band W. Paul De Meo & Danny Bilson

Inspired by THE TERMINATOR, Tim Thomerson plays Jack Deth, a time traveling cop sent from 2247 to 1985 to stop his arch enemy Martin Whistler from ruling the world with his horde of brain-dead zombie trancers. Fast paced comic book action is a fun ride and Thomerson is great in the part of Deth. Four sequels followed, all produced by Band. AKA FUTURE COP.

TRUCKS (1997)

D. Chris Thomson W. Brian Taggert

If you can believe, this is a remake of sorts of Stephen King’s MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. Taking itself a bit more serious than King’s effort (as well as following the original short story closer), this tale of trucks coming to homicidal life and stalking man is still an entertaining premise for a drive-in flick (even if it was made for TV). Our story takes place in the tumbleweed town of Lunar, which is located near the legendary Area 51 (which is the blame for the animation of all the big rigs). Generates a couple decent scares but is miles away from King’s original effort. With Brenda Bakke.

VAPIRELLA (1995)

D. Jim Wynorski W. Gary Gerani

Horribly lame adaptation of Forry Ackerman’s sultry comic book vixen is done in from the start. Weak script and zero budget are the final nails in this flick’s coffin. Talisa Soto is the blood seeking alien vamp that comes to Earth and battles a horde of vampires led by Roger Daltrey. Soto looks great in the Vampirella costume but has no handle on the character she’s portraying. Scenes from GALAXY OF TERROR and a cameo by Angus Scrimm are the best parts of this one.

VAMPIRE MEN OF THE LOST PLANET (1971)

D. Al Adamson

Vampires from another planet cause havoc on Earth so the XB-13 rocket ship takes to the cosmos to stop the blood-sucking siege. Led by cranky old John Carradine, the astronauts find an “uncharted” planet that’s surface atmosphere changes colors like a planetary mood ring. (Filmed in “Spectrum-X,” these color tints give the film just the right bit of hallucinatory madness!) The astronauts encounter giant battling lizards, warring tribes of cleanly shaven cavemen, evil vampire cavemen, a brood of mutated rock-lobster cavemen and a cave babe whom the astronauts perform a minor surgery, they implant a device directly into her brain which enables her to speak and understand English. All without the benefit of a sterilized lab! This bottom half of a cheesy double feature is recommended only to the staunchest of Weird Al fans, “dumb-but-fun” movie fans and horn-doggers who just want to score in the back seat without missing anything.

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1995)

D. John Carpenter W. David Himelstein

One of Carpenter’s most powerful and effective thrillers in years. Aliens impregnate women of a small town and the mothers give birth to a brood of white haired creepazoids. (One even looks like a miniature Tony Curtis!) The kids are linked telepathically and rule the town by their tenth birthday. Christopher Reeve is intense as a local doctor who desperately tries to teach the kids humanity. An above average remake.

VIRTUOSITY (1995)

D. Brett Leonard W. Eric Bernt

Hyper-kinetic virtual reality actioner pits criminal cop Denzel Washington against a psychotic computer program that has been made flesh and savagely stalks man. This avalanche of violence and destruction will keep you glued to your seat while you try to figure out how Denzel will outwit the killing machine.

THE WASP WOMAN (1995)

D. Jim Wynorski W. Daniella Purcell & Guy Prevost

Remake of Roger Corman’s classic drive-in creature feature has Jennifer Rubin taking injections to reverse her aging. A slight side-effect of the injections causes her to transforms into a giant breasted insectoid wasp-monster that craves flesh and blood. One outrageous scene has Rubin getting friendly with a guy’s- well, you know- then transforming and biting the little sucker clean off, leaving his ‘taters just a dangling. With cameos by Fred Olen Ray and Jay Richardson. Big Jim Wynorski my very well be THE master of the Corman remake.

WITHOUT WARNING (1980)

D. Greydon Clark W. Lyn Freeman, Daniel Grodnik, Steve Mathis & Ben Nott

Although unclear as to why it took four writers to flesh out this simple “alien hunter” tale which predated PREDATOR by seven years, it’s still one cool sci-fi/horror drive-in flick with plenty of grossness and gore. Teeners out for a day at the lake are attacked by an alien that uses flying, fanged discs to down its prey. Two survive and team up with Jack Palance and Martin Landau to blast the alien predator back into the cosmos. Offers a good amount of shocks and scares. This is probably Clark’s greatest contribution to drive-in cinema.

X- THE UNKNOWN (1956)

D. Leslie Norman W. Jimmy Sangster

Creepy Hammer offering centers around a marsh where an oily, radioactive goo comes bubbling up and swallows any luckless victim who steps in the muck. Atmospheric photography heightens its over-all spookiness. With Dean Jaggar. Worth a watch for fans of ‘50s sci-fi scare fests.

X-TRO (1983)

D/W Harry Bromley Davenport

Confusing but scary and disgusting flick concerns a man who was abducted by aliens and then returned years later to contaminate the world with the millions of microscopic alien larvae flowing through his bloodstream. Gory highlights include a woman giving birth to a full grown man (Ouch!) and lots of gross alien egg lying and flesh slurping. Nightmarish and dream-like.

X-TRO 2: THE SECOND ENCOUNTER (1991)

D. Harry Bromley Davenport W. John Curtis, Ed Kovach, Steven Lister & Robert Smith

Scientists fooling around with parallel universes bring back a grotesque creature and somehow it falls upon Jan Michael Vincent’s shoulders to save the world. An okay selection with plenty of action, a good monster, good production values and gore for when you’re in an un-demanding mood.

ZONE TROOPERS (1985)

D. Danny Bilson W. Paul De Meo & Danny Bilson

Lighthearted WWII sci-fier has aliens coming to Earth and blasting away Nazis to help a group of American soldiers lost in Europe. Bizarre storyline actually works thanks to the comic book handling by Bilson and De Meo. John Buechler contributed the decent looking aliens. From producer Charles Band featuring Tim Thomerson and Timothy Van Patten.