I love how bad at stereotyping 80's horror films tended to be. The makers of these movies visions of what the youth of that period were into and they ways that they talked, walked and interacted are so off target that they almost come around full circle and make some semblance of sense. This flick was no exception. The trainwreck of a "waveo" chick they tried to create and her uber over the top surfer slang spewing metalhead boyfriend were a sight to behold, and would have kept me entertained even without the help of the ultra goofy plot that they resided in.
Getting right to the point, this movie is a stinker. But not in any sort of a bad way, it's funny, immature, inappropriate and unprofessional. The characters, as I mentioned, are all walking stereotypes, however inaccurate they may be. But they're all fun, not fun enough to cry about after they meet their sloppily scripted ends, but fun enough to laugh with (and at) up until (and during) that point. The cheese factor is so thick in this movie that even had there been any actual 'acting' it would have been for naught....but the period lingo and campy one liners hold their own charm. The story is a pretty basic alien attack scenario that, were it not for it's ridiculously cliched 80's surroundings may have been slightly forgettable, but thanks to that asinine and all too brightly colored decade, this flick will stick with me for awhile.
Visually, this movie is exactly what one would expect. Beautiful era make-up, more slime than ten nickelodeon gameshows and an alien mutant monster that resembles a tentacled turd with teeth. Great splatter effects are in all of the kill scenes, and while none of it is disturbing or realistic in any way, it's still highly amusing.
This is a little peice of film history right here. It shows that sometimes films can be saved by just being made in the time that they did. If this pile of dung had rolled out in '94 versus '86 I'd venture to say I may not even know of it's exsistence. But lucky for me, and you (if you have the distinct pleasure of viewing this pile) it was made in them good ol' eighties. All hail cocaine and swingers.
tastelessness 6.5/10
gore 7.5/10
must-see-ness 7/10
