Customer Reviews

Creature (Cinema Insomnia Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have never seen a rip-off movie try so hard to be original. Director William Malone sure tries hard, in both his directing and his script, but still fails to show any originality. Everything fromt he female lead to the actual design of the creature itself is a direct steal from Alien. With that said I have to say that Creature is actually one of the better Alien rip-offs that I have seen, and believe me there are plenty of Alien rip-offs out there. Most are very poor (Star Crystal and Dead Space come to mind), and though Creature itself isn't a great film, it actually comes out as one of the better of the bunch. Most of the cast actually try to pull this film off, especially the Stan Ivar and Wendy Schaal, but a few of the cast members come off looking really bad in the acting department. And what about Klaus Kinski? THat man was considered a great actor in his time, so what is he doing in Creature? Whatever the reason, I was still glad to see him and his short but memorable presence brings the film up in quality level. So is Creature a good film? No. Is it cheesy? Yes, though it tries hard not to be. Is it entertaining? You bet. A great midnight film that deserves a proper DVD release. Diamond Entertaiment gives us a nicely priced disc but the picture quality is only slightly better than the original VHS release from Media Home Video. Though the image isn't the best, it is far from unwatchable, and it can make a great entry into any sci-fi fans DVD library.

TRIVIA: THe film ahd a budget of $4 million and was titled The Titan Find in other parts of the world. The special effects crew went on to do the special effects for Aliens a year after working on creature. (I guess Creature was good practice for them)

This was a great movie, it deserves a better release. The picture is horrible on this disc. but, if you still want to see it you can get it. I would wait until Anchor bay releases it, if ever. but it still has a great story of sci-fi fantasy throughout.

This is a great cheesy movie. It lags a bit through the middle but provides some good laughs all around if you are interested in bad special effects and silly sci-fi plots. Also, the packaging is one of those thin cardboard sleeves found at Dollar Store DVD selections. Don't expect quality, though it's good for a few cheap laughs.

I initially got this DVD because I am a huge Klaus Kinski fan, though it doesn't contain much of that fierce energy found in many of his movies. He's pretty out of his element here in a low point of his career.

There are several totally pointless and un-arousing boob shots, cheesy one-liners, and a poor demonstration of camera techniques. I got it for (...) a very reasonable (and justifiably low) price. Well worth it;)

IN A NUTSHELL: A 'B' CREATURE FEATURE THAT TRIES VERY HARD TO OVERCOME ITS OWN LACK OF ORIGINALITY

Yes, everyone who has seen this film or is considering viewing it now is familiar with the 'Alien' trilogy. Too bad, because this film would be a decent cheesy 'B' Creature-Feature if the 'Alien' franchise did NOT exist. Since 'Creature' is so reminiscent of 'Alien' a comparison is inevitable. In such a comparison the praise and box-office success that 'Alien' has enjoyed as well as its staying power over the years seems to be justified. Again, that in a way is too bad, because if 'Creature' was not so suggestive of 'Alien' it might be a success as a 'B' Creature-Feature. Recall, 'The Blob', with Steve McQueen, or 'Tremors' with Kevin Bacon. Neither of those films was original, in fact 'Tremors' was so similar to 'Jaws' that its original name was, 'Land Shark', but those films did manage to create an identity of their own and with it some film pathos. An identity and film pathos seems to be what is lacking in 'Creature'. After all, it does have scary moments and the long dramatic climax is rather suspenseful, but somehow a thrilling cinematic experience is never sustained long enough for this film to be memorable. Too bad, since I am a real sucker for this type of film, or rather the type of film that 'Creature' almost was.

William Malone, the Director, also Directed the 1999 remake of, 'The House On Haunted Hill', which gave him the chance to remake something without having to apologize for doing so. Malone also Directed 'The Incredible Hulk Returns', 1988, and 'Scared To Death', 1980.

A CAUTION TO PARENTS: NUDITY - GORE - VIOLENCE

There is some gratuitous gore and violence, plus some really gratuitous nudity, all of which precludes viewing by younger audiences. The nudity comes chiefly in just one scene, but it is rather extreme, and frivolous. I was grateful for the poor lighting during that scene.

-----> PRINCIPAL ACTORS <-----

Stan Ivar - Mike Davison

Wendy Schaal - Beth Sladen

Lyman Ward - David Perkins

Robert Jaffe - Jon Fennel

Annette McCarthy - Dr. Wendy H. Oliver

Diane Salinger - Melanie Bryce

Klaus Kinski - Hans Rudy Hofner

John Stinson - Astronaut #1

Michael Griswold - Concord Technician #2

Marie Laurin - Susan Delambre

-----> PRODUCTION CREW <-----

William Malone - Director / Producer / Screenwriter

William J. Dunn - Producer

Alan Reed - Screenwriter

Harry Mathias - Cinematographer

Tom Chase - Composer (Music Score)

Steve Rucker - Composer (Music Score)

Bette Cohen - Editor

Michael Novotny - Production Designer

Bob Skotak - Production Designer

Trevor Bloch - Art Director

Steven Nelson - Art Director

Mike Novatny - Art Director

Doug Beswick - Costume Designer

L.A. Effects Group - Special Effects

Robert Short - Special Effects

BOTTOM LINE: NOT A TERRIBLE FILM THOUGH IT SEEMS TO BE A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MOST VIEWERS

If you want to see this film, you can get it on DVD with 2 other films, 'Snow Beast' and 'Track Of The Moon Beast'. The exact title is 'Classic Creature Movies II (Creature / Track Of The Moon Beast / Snowbeast)' and currently it sells for $5.98 direct from Amazon or from $3.43 via numerous Amazon sellers.

This movie opens with two astronauts finding some capsules on Titan. The capsules are semi-transparent, and they look into one and see a scary monster, which opens its mouth to reveal a bunch of sharp teeth. They jump back, but then for some reason convince themselves that they didn't see what they just saw (a trick of light or some such). So one guy wants to take a picture of the other guy standing next to the capsule, but he can't get both the astronaut and the capsule in the picture (why doesn't he take a step back?) so he has him sit on the capsule. Oh look, now the capsule has a hole in it...but not to worry. "Gee, I sure wish it was you sitting on this capsule" the guy says saveral times.

Guess what happens next? I mean, how can a person take anything that happens after that opening scene seriously? The rest of the movie isn't quite that bad, though some parts come close. The other big problem is that the dialogue is terrible throughout. The characters act like vacant love-struck teenagers. Although the characters are rather likeable and the females are certainly very attractive, I just couldn't get past the clunky, silly words coming out of their mouths.

There are some scary parts, in fact this could have been one heck of a scary movie, but everything is just so...well, goofy. Anyhow, I give it three stars because after a while you get used to the cheesy dialogue and the plot is actually interesting. The monster is quite well done considering the limited budget. Recommended for viewing after you've been smoking the same thing the writers and cast members were smoking.

I remember ehen I first saw this film, I was 11 and it scared the s*** out of me. Now that I am older I still find this Alien rip-off very entertaining. For one the films special effects are great considering the budget it had, and the film score is top-notch. Its no Aliens, but all in all a great little scare, and well worth the price.

William Malone did everything but star in this movie. He wrote it, he produced it, and he directed it. And it's not bad, either. The cast is good -- Klaus Kinski, as the leering Hofner, who has the hots for the cold, gun-toting security officer Bryce, played by Diane Salinger, and Marie Laurin as the hapless Susan, who has a nifty long nude scene, stand out, but the rest are good enough, too -- and the script has some good lines and chilling scenes. The special effects are perfectly adequate for a modestly budgeted film like this. All in all, not a bad evening's diversion.

And you can't beat the price! You can't expect much in the way of bonus features at this level and you don't get much. Just a 4-Chapter scene access, a list of other Diamond Entertainment features, a little background on the movue, and a mini-biography of Kinski. The image quality on this DVD is pretty good and the sound is OK, although it sometimes overpowers the dialog. Diamond is to be commended for their effort at bringing out these budget editions of some great and not-so-great old movies!

"Creature" is a 1984 monster-in-space movie with virtually no originality but plenty of terrible dialogue and special effects. The film is extremely derivative in almost every aspect: what recent monster or sci-fi movie doesn't make a guest appearance here? Certainly "Alien" and "Jaws" do, at least in spirit. (The conclusion's homage to "Jaws" is especially eye-rolling.)

The acting and especially dialogue are ghastly, although the actors really do try to work with what's been handed to them as best they can. The film starts with an interesting enough corporate intrigue angle (which unfortunately goes nowhere), and progresses to a guy in a rubber suit chasing the stars around cheesy sets in short order. There are a lot of diversions along the way (e.g. lots of hot soldering action, and Klaus Kinski as a creepy German), but it really boils down to the cast getting decimated by a creature that harkens back to other sci-fi creatures.

The film features special effects that vary from not bad to really appalling, but the content of the film is really the issue here, and it can never overcome its derivative nature and the fact that many other movies have trodden the same turf and have been much more entertaining.

Low budget and low production values don't always equate to a bad movie. This time it does. It's not the cheap special effects or cinematography that gets this one down. It's the important stuff like scripting and execution that pulled this one down. If certain things were done differently this could actually have been a pretty good movie. Unfortunately that's not the case.

First and foremost flaw in this flounder of a film is how it was put together. Sure it has a rather clichéd plot, however there were some interesting aspects that could have been explored had the makers of this film put more thought in the script and structure. You have little things happening that lend very little to the overall plot yet take up all of your attention. Don't even get me started on the backstory of Creature, which also takes up your attention only to give absolutely nothing to the plot.

Low budget special effects can be forgiven to a certain degree. Things like laser and electricity blasts, spaceship models and set design can only go so far with a limited cash flow. Most of the special effects for this film aren't bad for its category. The glaring exception is the creature that this movie is named after. You would think that such a pivotal thing would have gotten better attention. The creature is laughable close up. Sure they did what they can and hide it in shadows for most of the film, but in the end once you see this thing you will roll on the floor laughing instead of having your heart filled with dread.

The acting I have no problem with. The actors did their roles as best they could with the limited scope. The characters themselves were bland and two-dimensional (when they have any dimension at all). Music is serviceable and the sound effects are mostly noises taken from other shows (a fun game to play could be Name-that-Special-Effect when watching). Of course the technical things aren't really painful to watch, but when you add that to the bad script and even worse monster it starts to add up.

Not much to see here folks. If you like bad B-movie style outer space monster flicks then this one is just par for the course. For the rest of you who prefer more substance you can steer clear of Creature without missing anything. Of course there is some camp value, but not as much as other films. Something could have been made out of this premise, but that didn't happen.

First off, anyone who picks up a cheepie DVD from Diamond Entertainment should know that you'll only get four scene selections and little to no supplemental material, which is forgivable because the price tag is usually right on for what you're getting. "Creature" is a bad, corny, laughable "Alien" clone complete with a guy in a rubber monster suit and a nondescript cast, cheap sets, and an atrocious script. I'm actually sort of on the fence about how much I like/dislike the film... One thing I can't object to, though, is Klaus Kinski's deliciously smarmy (and all too brief) performance as a stranded astronaut; it's a fine testament to his acting ability that he could lend credibility to the highest 'art film' and the lowliest B-movies. Aside from that, there are some neat special effects (although I'm not sure I believe the claim that they were done by the same group that did "Aliens") and T&A to keep your attention.