TerrorVision

This is a movie I've kind of been wanting to see. I am ready to add this to my list of personal favorites after watching it for the first time, so I know they did some stuff right. While it's still fresh in my mind, there are some things I definitely want to say. First off, I am extremely surprised that this doesn't seem to have a cult following to it. "TerrorVision" is a great film that should have definitely achieved cult status. From the start (after some credits set to music by Siouxsie and the Banshees imitators!), this has a definite John Waters look and feel. When the fast-paced story moves into grotesque monster territory, it gets even better. And, regardless of how goofy it is, I dig the commentaries the filmmakers are sprinkling all throughout this movie, the main one of all being the most obvious: television giving birth to monsters. This is definitely one of those wild movies that gets weirder and more bizarre as it moves along. As for people quoting favorite lines from Bert Remsen's "Gramps" character, I love it when he refers to MTV as a secret conspiracy to rot the brain. "TerrorVision" wasn't as gory as I've heard, relying more on gooey FX than gory ones, but there are no complaints here. I love this, it was a real upper of a flagrant horror satire. I am so glad I saw this, and I would give it no less than a definite 9 on a scale of one to ten. In fact, I'm tempted to give it a full 10.

We're introduced to a family brimming with all the worst trappings of the 1980's; the clichés have been elevated to the absurd and it's to the director, Ted Nicolaou's, credit that, in 1986, he was able to poke so much fun at the decade without the benefit of hindsight. The result is an off-the-wall comedy that feels like a 1950's monster movie, staring 'Leave it to Beaver', as filtered through 'Adult Swim'.

The daughter, Suzy, played by Diane Frankin ('Better Off Dead' / 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'), has the hair and make-up of an animated Cindy Lauper and an over-the-top valley-girl gab. A very young Chad Allen (you'll recognize him from nearly every family TV show of the late 80's and early 90's), is the war-game-obsessed son. The mother, played by the always fantastic Mary Woronov (Roger Corman's poster girl and star of 'Eating Raoul'), is a distant, self-involved socialite more interested in her exercise videos than her kids. Gerrit Graham ('Phantom of the Paradise' / 'Demon Seed'), hams it up as the swinging (literally) father always on the lookout for the next big thing. Rounding out the family is Grampa, the paranoid vet with a bomb shelter in the basement (Bert Remsen – 'Nashville' / 'Places in the Heart') and Suzy's boyfriend, 'O.D.', the tweaked metal-head dropout played buy 1980's staple, Jon Gries ('Real Genius' / 'Running Scared'). Together, this group inhabits a home that looks like a cross between a sex spa and a Patrick Nagel exhibition on ecstasy.

Wacky from minute one (the theme song being one of the film's high points), the family has just hooked up their new satellite dish while, simultaneously, far across the cosmos, a creature that can only be described as a booger with eyes, is being transported in exile by a humanoid-lizard alien that we don't learn much more about until the film's climax. The monster is mistakenly transmitted to the family's satellite dish and has the ability to escape at will from their TV sets. Nonsense ensues as the monster is able, by transforming its tongue, to impersonate the face and voice of anyone it kills.

The film never really crosses into any straight genre and manages to hover, quite proudly, over 'wonderfully weird'. If all of Hollywood had ostracized, instead of embraced, Tim Burton, this is the kind of live-action cartoon he'd be making.

Terrorvision was one of those 80's cult classics that I never got round to watching until now, I went in expecting very little but came away quite amused.

Telling the story of an extraterrestrial being beamed down to earth into a families satellite dish and running rampant with an unearthly hunger its a scifi comedy horror that actually entertains.

With a host of familiar faces and a retro soundtrack this creature feature actually looks quite good considering its age. It reminded me of Critters (1986) and alike that the creators didn't take it all too seriously.

Over the top, silly yet at the same time quite horrific this is a true 80's gem and a lot of fun.

The Good:

Great creature effects

Likable cast

All looks the part

The Bad:

Feels very dated in places

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If you prank call the police they'll block your number

Being "Greek" in the swinging world means you're gay

"TerrorVision" is an odd sci-fi/horror/comedy that seems to wear its "Poltergeist" influence on its sleeve. Either that or the filmmakers didn't care enough to hide the debt they owe to that movie.

The plot is about an otherworldly monster that comes - where else? - through the TV. Its arrival is even noticed by a cute little blond kid, a boy this time (Heather O'Rourke, R. I. P.).

The movie also doubles as a kind-of satire about middle class attitudes of the time as "Poltergeist" did, though that is barely noticeable. I liked the patriarch complaining about the punk/metal slacker his daughter brings home to meet the family, saying he looks ridiculous while putting metal chains around his neck to draw attention to his ample chest hair (they're preparing for a "'swingers' party", you see).

I admit I will watch anything with Diane Franklin in it. She's barely recognizable this time around, so heavily punked up you wonder why her parents are so shocked at the sight of her boyfriend - his own parents would probably be more shocked to see her.

I mentioned the movie was "odd" at the beginning of this review. I said that for a couple of reasons: one, despite the movie apparently being set in boring, staid 1980s suburbia, the house the characters live in looks like something out of "A Clockwork Orange". There are all kinds of weird art deco touches to the furnishing, like doors that belong on a submarine airlock. There's even semi-pornographic art work on the walls.

The other weird thing about this movie is that all the blood in it is green. Not just the monster blood (paging R. L. Stine) - I mean the human blood. I couldn't work out why humans in this movie have green blood. Was that simply to avoid a harder rating? Overall, it's an enjoyable movie for horror/b-movie fans which unsurprisingly died on a theatrical release. It's not "a truly wretched movie" (Janet Maslin) - if you're a fan of these types of movies, you know there are much worse out there. It's well enough made, well enough acted, funny at times, and has some cool gore effects.

"Terrorvision" is a fun little slab of 80s cheese. With the costumes,(ranging from Yuppie to Metal Head to Cyndi Lauper) slang, set decor, music (including a 5 sec shot of Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P. >:) ) props (including a hi-fi with the one of the first CD players.) this movie doesn't need carbon dating to show it was made in that era. I first came across this film on the Sci-Fi Channel in the summer of 1999 (the defunct Vestron Television was the ones who distributed the edited mess and judging by the edits made for broadcast, this was aired circa the late 80s when FCC restrictions were *really* tight) I kinda threw it off as a bad movie. Years later, I picked up the complete R-rated video at the local mom-and-pop video store and watched it. The 2nd time around was way better than the first. My opinion changed after seeing the full version. If you like classic B-movie material meshed with the 80s, this is your movie.