I Married a Monster

I MARRIED A MONSTER is an ill-advised late '90s remake of the 1950s B-movie sci-fi classic I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE. In this version, the story has been modernised to the then-present day, with a situation and bunch of characters who look like they belong in some insipid daytime soap rather than a decent sci-fi film.

And, at the risk of being sexist, I'd say this was a film aimed at the housewife market. It's a safe, non-confrontational production, in which the scares are diluted and the sci-fi elements handled in that embarrassingly cheesy way so beloved of the decade. The TV movie budget means we're saddled with weak scripting and even worse special effects.

Future DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star Richard Burgi plays a suburban husband whose trip into the woods at night sees him returning changed...somehow. There's a mildly successful air of mystery surrounding the production, and a few eerie scenes reminiscent of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, but it's weak overall. It doesn't help that there are some AWFUL CGI effects used to animate the aliens which make the entire climax a laughing stock. As usual, stick with the original for the best version of the story.

This remake of the classic, I married a Monster from Outer Space, is a very enjoyable piece of sci fi cotton candy, without any deep insights to be gained, but a nice way to spend an evening and preferable to watching crappy sitcoms or dumb reality shows. There's nothing really scary in it and there are nice moments of humor as we watch the alien become acclimated to human habits and behavior. Kind of a more serious version of the "Third Rock" sitcom, and actually not as good as it. Yet it is nicely paced and doesn't slack off or run dry, and it's seemingly a bit oriented towards the womens' point of view, likely since it is directed by a woman and that makes it all the more interesting. I saw it on VHS which was fun because all of the points where the commercials are cut in instead cut to the next scene, which gave me a nice sense of relief each time it happened. With several nifty scenes of aliens and effects, it's definitely worth the $2 I paid for it, and I have no qualms about watching it with my any girls who can't stand scary films, but like soap opera. They'll dig it.

I thought the original of this film was quaint and charming as well as having me sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure it out.

Since I had already seen the original, when I saw this on Sci Fi Channel- I don't know if this remake was deliberately made for Sci Fi - I knew what it was within the first few minutes. Since I like Richard Burgi as a character actor, I wanted to see how he would pull it off.

The writers/producers etc, modernized the film a bit by trying to explain the plight of the "aliens" (They could no longer reproduce their own kind and needed help) using the same pseudo science that has been crammed in our ears in the 90's. Maybe it added a bit of polish to the film, or not.

This film. Film? This production takes on a more sinister edge than the original did- The original ended with a confrontation between the young woman and the alien and an understanding of sorts took place, although no resolution of the Alien's problem.

I sort of remember that in this remake, the woman became rather hostile towards the Burgi/Alien- I think it could have ended better. But the ending is just the ending, and the yarn is a swell yarn, being of the basic 1958 Science Fiction Pulp Stock. Many great science fiction stories were written in the 50's and some of them even made it to film.

This is a swell thing to watch on like a rainy day or something. I rate it highly cos of all the remakes of old 50's Sci Fi, this one came off well. I actually enjoyed this quite a bit.

But if anyone really wants to see this story told WELL, I suggest the original 1958 version with Tom Tyron and Gloria Talbott, directed by Gene Fowler Jr.

Nick and Kelly are ready to be married but Travis (Kelly's dog) leads Nick to a strange blue wall that will change the honeymoon for Kelly. Richard Burgi and Susan Walters play Nick and Kelly and make a good couple. Nick loves to drink, smoke, and play pool with the fellas for fun but Nick suddenly abstains from this type of fun. Sex is the one thing that he loves because he wants a child. We find out that an alien race is dying and needs to interbreed with women from Earth to save their population. It becomes a battle of survival between humans and aliens with the dog population also being involved. A fine film.

Sure it's "cheap SciFi", *but* it sticks to the plot of the original "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (1958) with some interesting CG embellishments. For my money, it's just as good as the original. The feel and look of the 1998 version also are different, perhaps because it was directed by a woman. I found IMM an intriguing remake, and I'd like to own both it and the 1958 version on a DVD, particularly if we could get the principals of both to talk about the differences between the two versions.