Wes Craven, creator of Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream directed this ’80’s science fiction horror film for television. The money must have been right. The movie is a clear cut example of good folk versus evil folk and it has a somewhat annoying 1980’s sheen to it. Robert Urich relocates his family to his new work site and residence. It turns out that the influencers in the community all belong to a fashionable country club. Low and behold, the country club harbors a malignant force that guarantees success or failure in the suburban, gated community that the family moves to. Play Satan’s game or pay, essentially.
The science fiction element to this melodramatic farce includes a space suit Urich is working on that can detect non human life forms and withstand extreme temperatures. See where this is leading to? It is also equipped with a powerful laser weapon. Unfortunately, it is not used enough in the bizarro conclusion to this film. It has to be seen to be believed. Brings back memories of “House of Evil” (1978).
Good time waster, I guess. Craven cashed out bigtime!
Another major contributor to the horror field has died. Wes Craven has left behind a legacy, love it or hate it. I liked this first entry in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series. There were a few sequels that I didn’t much care for. And after awhile, Freddy Kreuger’s wisecracks can get grating and tiresome. There are some style points to consider though. Craven incorporated a lot of dazzling effects in this film that still retain the power to creep out the viewer. There are elastic walls groping toward intended victims with claws and bodies busting through. There is the girl who finds herself plastered to the ceiling. There is a substantial quota of blood and gore. No wonder this series lasted as long as it did. The kids love all this shit! If nothing else, Craven will be recognized as an industrious talent who had a keen eye for developing horror franchises and having his earlier works rebooted. “Scream” is the other major franchise but that whole phenomenon eluded me. I guess I was too old.
Probably my all time favorite movie. This trailer is interesting in that it has the crude egg model and the tracking shot of the alien planet surface which are unique to the trailer and do not appear in the theatrical release. Hugely influential film.
A varied collection of unusual movie and music video clips.
