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Post by wmcclain on Apr 13, 2021 22:13:41 GMT
Creature (1985), written and directed by William Malone. Aka Titan Find. Those alien relics are a quarter of a million years old, right? Nothing inside the glass capsules can be alive, of course not. Then it is certainly ok to shine a light inside and sit on one for a photograph... Oh, no, that was a mistake. Sorry, Fred. Now something is loose and it is just awful. Maybe they can kill it with electricity, but remember kids: they always jump one more time!We paid money to see this back then and it played in the really nice Cinerama theater that hosted all the big SF spectacles of the era. SF-horror films -- even cheezy low budget ripoffs -- were really big for a few years after Alien (1979). Anyway, we laughed and laughed, imagining a phone call from one of the actresses: "Mom, Dad? I got the part! ... No it's not porn... I do have to run around naked on a poison gas planet and have my brains sucked out, but it is a good role. Not like that exploding head guy." Still, I think it was a cut above the typical Roger Corman homage to splatterific alien menaces and I wanted to see it again. Problem: it never had a proper home video release. I've got a cropped 1.33 version in one of those economy SF packs, but this is a scope ratio film. Googling around, I found the strangest story. I don't know if it is all true, but this is what I read: frustrated by the lack of a proper DVD release, the director used his personal print to produce his own bootleg DVD and was planning a Blu-ray release when the studio shut him down. Only a few discs made it into the wild where they command high prices. A director's bootleg: that's weird. Still, you can understand MGM's reasoning: the DVD era is only 20 years old and they still might want to make some nickels on this obscure catalog title. Someday, when they get around to it. I found a suspiciously cheap copy on ebay: $14.99 opening bid plus $5 shipping from Brazil. Brand new, still in shrink wrap. Ok, let's try it. As the only bidder, I won it! As I suspected, it is a bootleg of the bootleg: - This is burned media, single layer, where the label specifically says dual layer.
- Cover and disc are signed, but the marking is printed on.
- The files are dated 2016, several years after the supposed production.
At least he used quality Taiyo Yuden media, unless the the media code is also phony, which happens. The content is complete with correct aspect ratio, all extras and director's commentary. Quality suffers from the recompression: I see macroblocking in dark scenes and the intermittent gridded or graph-paper overlay you see when squeezing video too hard. And yet: I am tickled to have it. If you want your own, check ebay for "Titan Find DVD", the seller from Brazil. You might PM him an offer if you don't want to sit through an auction. He always has more. Notes: The director provides a commentary track both fond and rueful, saying: - No one really wants to make a cheezy movie but you make what the producers pay for. They were beginners desperate to be filmmakers and German financiers put up $750,000 for something like Alien (1979). Ok, movie magic time!
- It was a happy shoot except for (1) being extremely hot in LA that summer and having to wear the spacesuits, and (2) one week of Klaus Kinski.
- The producers dropped Kinski on them at the last moment. He was a nonstop raving madman and everyone has stories. Particularly women who didn't keep their boobs out of his reach.
- The director collects SF film props and used them in this one. He's particularly fond of Forbidden Planet (1956) and we have bits of Krell technology in view.
- They had actually cut the gratuitous sex scene (required in 80s films) for lack of time. When they put it back in they had already struck the spacecraft sets. The actress said: "Why don't we just do it out on the planetary surface. And I think I should be naked". Director: "Well, if you really think so... Also, when you first go up to him and it's off camera, grab his crotch. Let's see what sort of expression we get from him".
- The film negative is lost. At the time he bought an answer print from the lab and kept it in a refrigerator all these years. It is the source of the DVD, but is slightly different from the theatrical release. Just tiny edits, he says.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Apr 14, 2021 2:13:55 GMT
Haven't seen it, but it's gotta be better than Creature from 2011.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 14, 2021 2:23:24 GMT
I have this old DVD called Classic Creature Movies, and it has three movies; Creature, Track Of The Moon Beast (an absolutely terrible movie) and the made-for-TV classic Snowbeast. I ought to dust that off and see Creature again, it's been so long.
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Post by Ass_E9 on Apr 14, 2021 2:49:08 GMT
Ever the professional, recites dialogue while munching on what appears to be a sandwich/hamburger in wrapper that he picked up at a fast food joint on the way to the set.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 14, 2021 10:30:15 GMT
I remember I picked up a DVD of it, a few years ago, under the title of Creature, and yeah, I guess it never leaved much a "great" impression on me. However, Klaus Kinski seemed to put in quite an "act", and that the film were directed by the same guy, who a few years earlier, had delivered Scared to Death (1980). Another monster movie, where I believe that rubber-suit creature, had a whistling sound or noise, which kind of got on my nerves, a few times over.
With Creature or Titan Find, a few years later on, Malone surely had more to work from, in terms of budget and talents in front of the camera, and where Kinski seemed to enjoy showing up in these sci-fi/film, where I believe he also did another one, called Star Knight, which were filmed around the same time. Anyway, his part as the german scientist Hans Rudy Hofner (they could not find any more german sounding name than that?), is at times really sleazy and campy.
As I remember it, we see a scene, where Kinski sneaks up to his female co-worker, and touches her breasts, before she slams him to the walls or ground, and if that was not enough to make him understand, that she did not like his "romantic" effort, he ends up once more, later on, trying to grab her ass, and where the female part says something like: "SCREW YOU!", and Klaus then replies with a slimy look on his face "YES, I would like to do that with YOU!", or something similar.
I also think the female, who ends up as the "victim" for Klaus and his many sexual attempts, is more or less, a take upon Ash from Alien, but looks more like Rachel (Sean Young) from Blade Runner, on steroids.
Another big reason to why I wanted to watch this film, is because of the beautiful Wendy Schaal (The 'Burbs), who has one of the leading roles here.
All in, a rather boring and slow moving sci-fi/horror film, which never quite took off, but include some rather amusing and ridiculous scenes, but one I might re-watch somewhere in the future.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Apr 14, 2021 12:16:01 GMT
I got the same exact DVD. But it’s definitely not a burnt disc. I picked up mine from a website less than a decade ago. I think it’s a proper copy with the director’s signature next the alien’s head in silver/grey marker pen. However there’s no signature on the disc. Its got on the front/back of DVD case ‘Renewed 2012 Luminous Processes Ltd’. Copyrighted Tifin Productions 1985.
As for Alien rip-offs, or cash-ins. Roger Corman productions Forbidden World and Galaxy of Terror would be my favourites. As for Creature aka Titan Find, it was a diverting film. Not in the same league for me as the previous two films, but decent enough for an Alien clone. I rewatched it’s a couple years ago. Looked way better than the old vhs print. Anyhow this was my thoughts from an old Letterboxd review;
“What kind of scientist are you”!
Don't be shy, just admit it. The not too bright kind. To open proceedings we get a pair of doofuses in what feels like a comedy routine with their banter. Then it moves straight onto another comedic scenario, before introducing our main cast of guys and gals. Quite a forgettable bunch. Rewatching it again, I didn't realise how humorous William Malone's low-budget "ALIEN" rip-off could be, if caught in the right mood. Although it didn't stop there.
How about that minor Klaus Kinski performance. It's not that insane, just creepy. We do get to see him hit on and get a little too close to the most dangerous lady of the crew ("I see you like guns, what else do you like?"). Casually jabbering about the alien's origin. Giving out important advice ("The creature is sly") and then putting out there his plan of escape. So not to make them nervous, he also grins a lot to show he's a nice guy. Well, actually it made him creepier. Especially his infatuation with the tallest lady of the crew. "I wanna go with Ms Bryce". Maybe it's not the dialogue, but the delivery of it with that grin. Yep, but the dialogues are still bad. And let's not forget the chomping down on a sandwich, while making it look like an artform. No doubts, the best moment of the film.
Another amusing inclusion would be that of Wendy Schaal's character's choice of novelisation. Malone's debut film "SCARED TO DEATH". There's a joke or two made about her reading material, but I think it's a rather diverting little b-monster film.
As for "TITAN FIND" aka "CREATURE" being an "ALIEN" rip-off, it's fundamental to the core. You could say the alien design looks like a reject xenomorph. No wonder why it's kept mainly in the dark and the movements are like it's on a treadmill going nowhere fast. Still, I somewhat enjoyed rewatching this cheesy fare. More so than last time. Even with the slow-tempo, talky first half and bland familiarity of the situation, there's a smidgen of creativity involving the alien's method of killing the crew. Parasitic controlled zombies. Nice. Death scenes can be a little hysterical, but there's a neat touch of blood splatter to liven it up. And you can't go wrong with a head explosion. The taut set-designs look on the cheap, but covering that was dark moody lighting & a blue smoky tinge adding much needed atmosphere. For such a production, it looks better than it probably should.
Where I thought the main weakness lies was with the hokey script. More so than the impassive acting and their overuse of face makeup. There are some howlers, but nothing beats one of the film's final line of dialogue; "I got lost". Might seem like nothing, but in the context of things it’s absolute dross.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 14, 2021 12:39:49 GMT
I got the same exact DVD. But it’s definitely not a burnt disc. I picked up mine from a website less than a decade ago. I think it’s a proper copy with the director’s signature next the alien’s head in silver/grey marker pen. However there’s no signature on the disc. Its got on the front/back of DVD case ‘Renewed 2012 Luminous Processes Ltd’. Copyrighted Tifin Productions 1985. The DVD I picked up back in 2019, looked very cheapish, with a widescreen logo above the names of Stan Ivar, Wendy Schaal, Lyman Ward and Klaus Kinksi, followed by some tagline, and a picture of the creature along with the movie title below. However, the DVD disc kind of smells "funny", and has a blueish color beneath, so I am pretty sure this is kind of similar treatment, as many of the Warner Archive releases, but probably one that is lesser in quality. Still, I am "glad", I rather picked up that, than some of the ridiculously overpriced copies, I have seen lying around for years. Also, my DVD comes with nothing else, but the movie. I think there were no chapters included either. The runtime says about 100 minutes, so I am not sure if that is the fully uncut version, but I guess my chances of double dipping this one, is not gonna happen. As for Alien rip-offs, or cash-ins. Roger Corman productions Forbidden World and Galaxy of Terror would be my favourites. As for Creature aka Titan Find, it was a diverting film. Not in the same league for me as the previous two films, but decent enough for an Alien clone. I rewatched it’s a couple years ago. Looked way better than the old vhs print. Anyhow this was my thoughts from an old Letterboxd review; “What kind of scientist are you”! Don't be shy, just admit it. The not too bright kind. To open proceedings we get a pair of doofuses in what feels like a comedy routine with their banter. Then it moves straight onto another comedic scenario, before introducing our main cast of guys and gals. Quite a forgettable bunch. Rewatching it again, I didn't realise how humorous William Malone's low-budget "ALIEN" rip-off could be, if caught in the right mood. Although it didn't stop there. How about that minor Klaus Kinski performance. It's not that insane, just creepy. We do get to see him hit on and get a little too close to the most dangerous lady of the crew ("I see you like guns, what else do you like?"). Casually jabbering about the alien's origin. Giving out important advice ("The creature is sly") and then putting out there his plan of escape. So not to make them nervous, he also grins a lot to show he's a nice guy. Well, actually it made him creepier. Especially his infatuation with the tallest lady of the crew. "I wanna go with Ms Bryce". Maybe it's not the dialogue, but the delivery of it with that grin. Yep, but the dialogues are still bad. And let's not forget the chomping down on a sandwich, while making it look like an artform. No doubts, the best moment of the film. Another amusing inclusion would be that of Wendy Schaal's character's choice of novelisation. Malone's debut film "SCARED TO DEATH". There's a joke or two made about her reading material, but I think it's a rather diverting little b-monster film. As for "TITAN FIND" aka "CREATURE" being an "ALIEN" rip-off, it's fundamental to the core. You could say the alien design looks like a reject xenomorph. No wonder why it's kept mainly in the dark and the movements are like it's on a treadmill going nowhere fast. Still, I somewhat enjoyed rewatching this cheesy fare. More so than last time. Even with the slow-tempo, talky first half and bland familiarity of the situation, there's a smidgen of creativity involving the alien's method of killing the crew. Parasitic controlled zombies. Nice. Death scenes can be a little hysterical, but there's a neat touch of blood splatter to liven it up. And you can't go wrong with a head explosion. The taut set-designs look on the cheap, but covering that was dark moody lighting & a blue smoky tinge adding much needed atmosphere. For such a production, it looks better than it probably should. Where I thought the main weakness lies was with the hokey script. More so than the impassive acting and their overuse of face makeup. There are some howlers, but nothing beats one of the film's final line of dialogue; "I got lost". Might seem like nothing, but in the context of things it’s absolute dross. Yep, comparing this with the far better made and fun Roger Corman sci-fi alien "clones, such as Galaxy of Terror or Forbidden World, Creature just does not measure up to those, but Klaus Kinski brings forward a certain "charm", even though I guess that is not how most directors and crew would remember him as, but still, I will keep it in my small sci-fi horror collection, for now. Another Kinski sci-fi release, and surely a much better one, is Android from 1982, where he plays some creepy (shocking) scientist that has his android, Max (Don Keith Opper) getting on with a crew of criminals on the run, specially the female part, which is also one that Kinski seems to have good eye for. And yeah, things kind of go overboard after a while, but I quite liked that one.
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Post by forca84 on Apr 29, 2021 2:54:53 GMT
I recently watched this again with "Leviathan", "Deep Star Six", and "The Rift"... They are all similar. But I'm a sucker for Alien/creature movies. I like the effects.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 29, 2021 7:06:08 GMT
I recently watched this again with "Leviathan", "Deep Star Six", and "The Rift"... They are all similar. But I'm a sucker for Alien/creature movies. I like the effects. I remember, a while back, that I were planning on giving a few of the cheaper/lesser known, deepwater-horror releases of that period, a go, along with Lords of the Deep, or something like that. Still not gotten around to do so, but maybe when my "hunger" for this kind of movies comes back, I will give them a closer look at. Speaking of the many 70s and 80s alien/creature films, I guess what attracts me to them, is more than often, the atmosphere/look of them, where as I love these dark/grainy worlds, so much more, than the more "clean" cut movies, and I guess the lesser we get to see of the monster, is usually for the better. Of course, I do sure love it, when the nasty creatures, finally arrives, such as in Alien (1979) or Aliens (1986), but within the more b-movie genre, I think few did a better job, than Humanoids from the Deep (1980). Those were some truly slimy and ruthless bastards, and one of the few times, I think a movieposter/artwork, have really lived up, to the monsters you end up seeing in the film, at least within the world of b-movies/low budget films of the 70s and 80s.
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Post by forca84 on Apr 29, 2021 12:59:25 GMT
I recently watched this again with "Leviathan", "Deep Star Six", and "The Rift"... They are all similar. But I'm a sucker for Alien/creature movies. I like the effects. I remember, a while back, that I were planning on giving a few of the cheaper/lesser known, deepwater-horror releases of that period, a go, along with Lords of the Deep, or something like that. Still not gotten around to do so, but maybe when my "hunger" for this kind of movies comes back, I will give them a closer look at. Speaking of the many 70s and 80s alien/creature films, I guess what attracts me to them, is more than often, the atmosphere/look of them, where as I love these dark/grainy worlds, so much more, than the more "clean" cut movies, and I guess the lesser we get to see of the monster, is usually for the better. Of course, I do sure love it, when the nasty creatures, finally arrives, such as in Alien (1979) or Aliens (1986), but within the more b-movie genre, I think few did a better job, than Humanoids from the Deep (1980). Those were some truly slimy and ruthless bastards, and one of the few times, I think a movieposter/artwork, have really lived up, to the monsters you end up seeing in the film, at least within the world of b-movies/low budget films of the 70s and 80s. Yeah... Those atmospheric movies are fun. I would add "Sphere" and "Event horizon" and 1986's "Breeders". I've only watched the original "Humanoids from the deep". Not the 1996 version.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Apr 30, 2021 9:47:52 GMT
Yeah... Those atmospheric movies are fun. I would add "Sphere" and "Event horizon" and 1986's "Breeders". I've only watched the original "Humanoids from the deep". Not the 1996 version. Sphere, I saw only last year, and I guess for all the talent involved, the film ended up as one of those, which looked impressive, but instead got very tiresome and boring. Rated it 4/10 back in 2011-12, and having seen it, again. No changes in how I feel or rate it. Event Horizon however, is more like it. Breeders I only saw once, but still own a DVD, so might re-watch it later. From what I remember, it had that sleazy/creepy tone/vibe to it, but one I felt might climb upwards, on the rating scale, with a closer look. Yep, I saw the dull tv-made remake of Humanoids from the Deep, later on. And, yeah. Not something that is much to bother with. Cheaply made, and probably used a whole lot of stock-footage of the original, and other Corman titles, just to fill in.
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Post by nicktatler76 on Apr 30, 2021 17:23:02 GMT
A guilty pleasure of mine- one of the better Alien rip offs alongside Forbidden World (which had one of the nastiest deaths in films like this- the guy whose body was dissolving into alien protein).
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