Xtro, attacco alla Terra

A man is kidnapped by aliens and returns some years later in the form of four legged crablike monster.He rapes a woman and a fully grown human explodes from her womb the next day."Xtro" is a rather unpleasant low-budget horror gem that is definitely not for the squeamish.The film offers plenty of strange atmosphere and lots of cheap but effective special effects.The gore is suitably nasty and the birth scene is truly disgusting and memorable.The cast is generally decent and the finale is extremely grotesque.Later Bond girl Maryam D'Abo plays the nanny and has a wonderful nude scene.Overall,"Xtro" is much better than two crappy sequels that followed.Give it a look.9 out of 10.

It's easy to pass Xtro off as a piece of trash; as that's essentially what it is, but those who are well versed in Sci-Fi horror will surely see it's positive elements shining through. It would seem that just about every idea director Harry Bromley Davenport ever had has ended up in this film, and so what we end up with is a disjointed and silly; albeit continually shocking and inventive little movie, which blends over the top images of extreme gore with the corruption of a family unit. The film was a part of the DPP's 'Video Nasty' list back in the eighties, which has ended up meaning that the film has an unfavourable reputation, which it doesn't really deserve; both because the cheesy gore effects can't really be taken seriously, and because the film is too cheerful to be reputed as a shocker. The plot is actually quite good, as it follows a young boy who witnesses his father being taken by aliens. Naturally, nobody believes him; although his story becomes somewhat more plausible three years later when his father reappears and disrupts the mother and her new man with his presence, and murderous new powers.

The film features several memorable scenes, the best of which sees a woman giving birth to a fully grown man! The special effects clearly didn't cost much, but that's not a problem as they fit the film and the director does well in ensuring that the effects are consistent in their style, and that they always fit the tone of the movie. The film was produced in Britain, and take obvious influence from Ridley Scott's masterpiece, 'Alien' as well as a whole range of other Sci-Fi films. The plot is well used in conjunction with the idea of a malevolent alien coming to Earth and killing people, and by keeping the focus on the disrupted family unit; director Harry Bromley Davenport manages to elevate the film above the normal level of B-grade schlock. The film isn't strong on atmosphere, although the poor production values do give it a gritty feel that bodes well with the plot. The acting is typically terrible, with only Bernice Stegers ('Macabre') providing any kind of standout. Overall, this film will no doubt be too silly and inconstant for some; but if you like your films to be weird and high on imagination; you can't go wrong with Xtro!

After being abducted by aliens three years earlier Sam (Phillip Sayer) returns to earth and reunites himself with his wife Rachel (Bernice Stegers) and son Tony (Simon Nash). While Sam was away Rachel moved on with her life and started seeing Joe (Danny Brainin) and after the arrival of Sam at the couples flat Joe begins to suspect that Sam is not all that he appears to be.

‘Xtro' is not a bad little sci-fi horror movie in my opinion. While it suffers from bad, wooden acting and a sometimes incoherent plot the film is generally well thought out and capably directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. The biggest complaint I have with the movie was the lack of character development with regards to the alien. While some creatures or villains are scarier when the viewer is unaware of its origins I feel this particular life form would have benefited from at least a slight background story which was sadly lacking. However, though the plot can be sometimes a little confusing, most of the story eventually comes across well despite leaving a few unanswered questions and being slow in places. As I previously mentioned the film was fairly well directed and this really comes through in a few scenes which generally have an extremely trippy and unnerving effect.

The effects in ‘Xtro' are quite surprisingly of very good quality especially considering the budget for this flick. Though one or two of the make-up effects looked rather out-of-place from the rest most of the effects were well produced and made ‘Xtro' a rather gory movie which should keep gore fans happy. This movie found its way onto the infamous Video Nasty list and though it probably should not have been put there one can almost understand why as it features a couple of particularly brutal scenes involving women. Having said that there are far more vile movies out there and it would seem ‘Xtro' was just a poor victim of media propaganda.

‘Xtro' is certainly worth a look in my opinion for sci-fi/horror fans. Complete with a delightfully erratic and haunting 80's soundtrack the movie is fairly entertaining despite its shortcomings. ‘Xtro' is probably not for those who expect a lot of action but instead a good movie for people who like slow-paced movies with various plot aspects to think about. My rating for ‘Xtro' – 7/10.

Like director Harry Bromley Davenport mentions on the (very amusing and upfront short) interview that comes with the double pairing DVD of the first two films, it's a mess. Simple as that. It's an incoherent slab of twisted ideas and episodic plots, some quite random (a dwarf in a clown costume springs out of nowhere) in quite a bewildering British low-budget Sci-fi / horror production. No wonder why this is considered a cult favourite. Trashy and nasty junk indeed, but unusually compelling because you just don't know how it's going to go about things. Instead of a clear-cut narrative (as it does have a unique spin on the various materials within), the header is to mainly shock, baffle and weird out. It effectively does that with few creative visuals, bloody make-up FX and crass special effects. Achieved from the eerie imagery and Davenport's elastically wallowing synthesizer (sounding quite second-rate, but uncannily otherworldly) score is a thick dose of atmosphere. Even the film's colouring is drearily painted. Davenport's direction is eccentrically boundless and this helps it move quickly without outstaying its welcome, (even if has that slow-burn style to it). The cast are more than decent. Bernice Stegers provides a strong show-in and lifts it up with her presence. Philip Sayer is capably empathetic and the lovely French actress Maryam D'Abo makes her acting debut. A curiously surreal and sombre uneven (purposely I guess?) b-grade fright feature that from the get-go, leaves you pretty much in the dark.

A man is abducted by aliens and returned to his family 3 years later. Strange and terrible things begin happening almost immediately.

XTRO is an extremely odd movie with loads of jaw-dropping set pieces, including: #1- A woman attacked by a crawling, grasshopper-legged alien! #2- The disgusting birth of a full-grown man! #3- Murder by a 6' tall action figure! #4- An eeevil, homicidal clown! #5- A woman turned into a cocooned egg-laying machine!

This movie has a nightmare quality about it, and weirdness to spare! In addition, the heavenly Maryam D'Abo just can't seem to keep her clothing from flying off!

For those looking for something VERY different...