Evil Spawn (1987)

I love this movie so much

Powerful

Excellent but underrated film

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Okay. I've seen some low budget films in my time. Some of them have been quite entertaining on a basic scale of laughing at how bad they are, and others have been absolutely dire. One film which falls at the bottom end of this bad film scale is METAMORPHOSIS. I knew I was in for a bad time as soon as the credits showed up. Well, maybe I shouldn't say the "credits", as I'm not exactly sure what they were. Bad computer titles appeared over a scene of what looked like (and was) someone holding a Camcorder out of a car window, and just taping the view in front of them. Wow, great credits. Then the "film" began.I have to say, even at the low price I paid for it, I was sorely disappointed. Another case of "don't judge a book by its cover", this video sleeve had a cool design but the film itself was nothing like it. Most of the time we were watching Bobbie Bresee (an apparent horror icon of the '80s, she was in this and GHOULIES...but the question is, where is she now?) talk and chat to her friends.The trouble with the film is that everything is so s-l-o-w. One slow motion scene of Bresee going to collect an Oscar was shown twice in its prolonged agony. John Carradine turns up at the beginning for two minutes and dies (he probably saw how bad the film was). I guess the producer thought adding in some gratuitous nudity would make people enjoy the film. He was wrong. Forrest J Ackerman turns up in a comedy cameo again, what was it with him and bad low budget films of the '80s? The film is so bad at one point the camera isn't even in focus. The acting is atrocious as well. This film is only worth watching if you want to see how bad it is. Otherwise...if you see it, burn it. It's for the best you know.

Wow, I'm actually speechless … I have watched lots of awful horror movies in my life and I definitely know to keep my expectations low regarding late 80's low-budgeted monster movies – especially when the name Fred Olen Ray is even remotely involved – but still somehow I'm truly baffled about how inept and terrible "Evil Spawn" actually is! The best way to describe the film (if you can even call it that) is to label is a smutty and sleazy 80's remake of Roger Corman's "The Wasp Woman". Vain and arrogant actress Lynn Roman still considers herself as beautiful, young and successful, but her surrounding is slightly more realistic. Her agent can't find her any more roles, befriended directors prefer young brunettes and even her own husband sleeps with younger actresses. Luckily for Lynn, a totally bonkers female scientist comes to see her with a serum extracted from intergalactic Venus microbes that supposedly will make her appear younger again. Yes, seriously! The serum actually works, but not sufficiently and it doesn't help Lynn to obtain new roles. And thus, like any normal person would react, she injects copious amounts of serum into her veins and mutates into a gigantic alien bug creature that feeds on humans. Sounds like a lot of brainless B-movie fun, doesn't it? Well it certainly is, but exclusively for people that are already familiar with the oeuvre/style of Fred Olen Ray and then still have an incredibly high tolerance lever for incompetence. The little intro video hosted by Olen Ray himself, known as the Night Owl Theater, already states clear that the man isn't really interested in good horror cinema, but merely in ugly monsters and especially naked women. It's particularly the retarded little details that make "Evil Spawn" such an amusing waste of 70 minutes. The film opens with images of a ridiculous looking spaceship, and yet the rest of the entire film takes place on earth. John Carradine, who looks more dead than alive, appears for approximately three minutes even though he receives top-billing on the DVD cover. He mumbles a couple of inaudible sentences and then literally drops dead in his seat. Several monster films of the 1980's have become genuine classics thanks to their marvelous transformation sequences. Like "An American Werewolf in London" for example. The transformation sequences in "Evil Spawn" are slightly less overwhelming. When Lynn injects herself with serum, she first receives a mouthful of ugly sharp teeth but then immediately changes into a full-grown and unidentifiable creature! It's harsh, but I more or less understand why this film didn't receive an Oscar nomination for the special effects. There's plentiful of gore and nudity, of course, quite often at the same time, like when the sexy brunette secretary gets eaten by the poolside and blood runs down over her butt-cheeks. The acting performances are horrible, although most of the cast members aren't all that inexperienced. Lead actress Bobbie Bresee appeared in a handful of B-movies, including "Mausoleum" and "Ghoulies", and furthermore there's Gordon Mitchell (who starred in literally hundreds of Italian flicks) and Jerry Fox. "Evil Spawn" is a lot of dumb fun, but I think everyone agrees the best thing about it is actually the DVD cover image.

The original EVIL SPAWN was completed and released in the halcyon days of video, when just about anything that was made could find its way onto product hungry rental shelves and turn a profit for all involved. It is an okay low budget horror item. The revised and revamped ALIEN WITHIN inserts new footage with venerable genre stalwarts Richard Harrison and Gordon Mitchell, and twists the storyline in a different direction. The revised ALIEN WITHIN will be of interest to fans of these veteran actors and Fred Olen Ray. I believe Ray was involved with the original film, and ended up with the rights after some litigation, and elected to make the revisions with new footage. ALIEN WITHIN showed on TV and came out on video from a small outfit, MNTX, which also released Brett McCormick's MACON COUNTY WAR (with Dan Haggerty). I prefer the new version, but that's just my opinion.

... is in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Some woman who's about to get chowed down on by some unseen evil opts to take the suicide route. She jams a gun into her mouth and get this... they cut to a shot of the wall behind her, brains and muck splatter the wall and a second later, you hear the gunshot. Give the sound editors a friggin' award! I rented this over ten years ago because my friend liked the nude woman on the cover so much that he had to see it. I haven't let him live it down since. Avoid at all costs and I do mean all.