Zona d'ombra

Late night TV as a kid, I would stay up in the hopes of coming across something so outrageously fun, or trashy, and that's how I initially came across this Full Moon production. This and "CRASH AND BURN" seemed to be on a loop every couple of months, becoming a staple of my late-night TV habits. Actually it's been quite awhile since I've last watched "SHADOWZONE", maybe around 15 years. My memory was rather fuzzy, but watching this little b-film again, after all these years. It remained a diverting, down-pat viewing. Mainly it reminded me of those plethora cheap Alien rip-offs, and boy, this film lifts some set-ups from "ALIEN". I must admit, it wasn't as exciting as I remembered; nonetheless it was actually efficiently made by J.S Cardone, for such a limited looking production.

When it's not simply splashing blood against walls as the victims get attacked for most part off-screen, there are a few effective moments of suitably grotesque make-up FX and a touch of splatter. You can't fail with a head explosion. Even the creature design, and we do get a good look at it, provides solid enough practical effects despite the stiff movements. The script's theory behind its origin, structural metabolism and how it adapts to survive is rather creative, yet it's hodgepodge, as the science behind all of this commotion is nonsensical and poorly expanded on, sometimes even stalling and taking away from the simple-minded fun.

The mystery of what's going on in this underground facility slowly builds up to the danger that will unfold. Now that's when stupidity comes into play, to keep the story moving and to cause some deaths. Don't you just love it when our heroine needs something to destroy the computers, so he heads out the corridor to find an emergency axe in a glass case. Um, just wait a minute -- It's been there all this time, untouched, no one thought of using it when you got a hostile creature from a parallel dimension lurking about. Things don't start off that seriously though, with the script providing moments of morbid humor, but once the creature hits the scene, that changes and the cheap, tight surroundings gets claustrophobic trapping the occupants inside.

The turning point is when James Hong (who was appearing in nearly everything that was low-budget horror related in the late 80s to early 90s) decides to get himself knocked off. I was disappointed by that, but Louise Fletcher, Miguel A. Nunez Jr and Cardone regular Frederick Flynn do make something of their characters, even providing quirky shades, as our heroine played by David Beecroft, whose character is sent there by NASA to investigate the death of one the researchers' subjects, had all the personality of a wooden plank.

Experiments in sleep have unleashed a monster in an underground government laboratory. A good B-movie cast (Louise Fletcher, Shawn Weatherly, James Hong) and great special effects (for what they must have cost) allow the suspense that is built to sustain til the finish. Sci-fi & horror fans should not be disappointed. Fletcher is first-rate.

"Shadowzone" is a typical horror film from Full Moon Entertainment.In the underground laboratory a group of scientists are doing experiments with dreams.They accidentally kill one of the volunteers.David Beecroft is sent to investigate the death.When he arrives there,he finds out that the scientists have released a monster from a dream dimension.All of them are stuck under the ground while the monster kills them."Shadowzone" is a surprisingly well-done horror film loaded with nudity and graphic violence.The acting is decent and the characters are well-developed.The climax is disappointing,though.The film is still worth checking out,if you like bloody monster flicks.My rating:7 out of 10.

It's always a lot of fun to encounter a horror film with lousy production values and an overall shortage of talent, but simultaneously an incredibly ambitious plot to compensate for all that! "Shadowzone", for example, is a very cheesy and often ineptly accomplished B-horror movie, but you certainly wouldn't think so after reading the plot synopsis! J.S. Cardone, the weird guy who also made the early 80's video-nasty "The Slayer", thought up a complex premise with dream weaves, secret NASA-sponsored medical experiments and alternate dimensions … only to arrive eventually at a movie about a shape-shifting creature stalking and gruesomely killing people in an abandoned subterranean science lab. Dig this: our brain actually protects us when we sleep, because we naturally dream about horrific stuff during our nightly subconscious journey to a parallel dimension. The acclaimed Dr. Van Fleet is working hard to control and regulate this process by isolating the brain instructions. NASA is interested in the experiments, for their astronauts on future missions, but when of Dr. Van Fleet's guinea pigs dies under mysterious circumstances, Captain Hickock is sent in to investigate. When he requests to repeat the modus operandi on another living specimen, a murderous type of shape-shifting creature is unleashed and everyone is trapped down in the hermetically sealed of base. Once the monster is loose, all the pseudo-intelligent mumbo jumbo about alternate dimensions etcetera is thrown overboard and "Shadowzone" becomes an ordinary but nevertheless entertaining little horror flick. This is actually one of my first acquaintances with the works of Full Moon Studios. A friend of mine gradually intends to introduce me to this cheesy B-movie studio's greatest "classics", and I must admit he did a fairly good job starting off with "Shadowzone". The kills are inventive and the make-up effects are enjoyably nasty (there even is a delicious head-explosion). There's some welcome gratuitous nudity and wondrously hammy acting performances from washed-up cult veterans. James Hong stars as the fanatic scientist and Louise Fletcher, the unforgettable Nurse Ratched in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", is awesome as his assistant. The finale is kind of dumb, but hey who's complaining. Good trashy fun from Full Moon.

J.S. Cardones' spooky and sinister low budget retread of "Alien" and "The Thing" does have some good ideas going for it as a result, and is fairly well produced and directed on a low budget.

A top secret government project (they'll never run out of those in genre movies), located deep underground, is hard at work conducting sleep related experiments. One of their subjects has died violently and a NASA captain, Hickock (David Beecroft, 'Falcon Crest') arrives to investigate. What the project team has discovered is that these experiments have opened a path to some other dimension and now a hideous creature is on the loose, a creature that will make quick work of the characters while they try to figure out how to fight back.

Even if rather routine in the end, "Shadowzone" is a good example of its genre, with Cardone creating a solid atmosphere and some decent suspense. Karen Grossmans' cinematography is quite stylish and moody, and the production design by Don Day is likewise impressive. Richard Band supplies the spooky music score. Mark Shostrom creates some appropriately nasty monster effects and gore.

A solid cast including several familiar faces is fun to watch, especially old pros like James Hong ("Big Trouble in Little China"), as the scientist in charge, and Louise Fletcher ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), as his assistant. They're old fashioned mad scientists, to be sure, but this does add to the overall comfortable predictability of the material. Co-starring are Shawn Weatherly (Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss South Carolina of 1980) as a fellow scientist, Lu Leonard ("Starman") as the tough talking cook, Miguel A. Nunez Jr. ("The Return of the Living Dead") as reliable technician Wiley, and Frederick Flynn (Cardones' "The Slayer") as agitated, panicky custodian Shivers. Some of you will be interested to note that there is some nudity provided courtesy of bit players Maureen Flaherty and Robbie Rives.

The movie begins on an effectively ominous note and is consistent in tone and pace right up until a rather underwhelming finale. It's definitely recommended if you're a lover of B movies and Full Moon productions in particular.

Seven out of 10.