TerrorVision Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A family installs a new satellite dish which unleashes an unstoppable killer alien upon their household.

Review: Everybody has that one movie they vaguely remember from their childhood where they can recall random scenes and moments, but they have no clue the name of the movie or even if their recollection is accurate. Well, "TerrorVision" is that movie for me. For some reason I was under the impression this film was meant to be serious, and the only major scene I could remember was the end because I was left hanging not knowing if everyone dies. Well after, maybe, 22-24 years I have finally managed to view this bad boy again. Was it better or worse than I thought? More or less, it's better than I anticipated but for completely different reasons than I was expecting.

Right from the start you must understand this is cheesy as all hell '80s style. Second, this is a comedy horror with a certain mix of sci-fi and play on old school creature features. Finally, to fully appreciate the nuances of what they were trying to accomplish through the jokes you need a base knowledge of '80s suburban life. Anyway, the Putterman family ("Gremlins" anyone?) has recently installed some piece of shit satellite dish that they think will give them a leg up on cable. Oh the glory days of wanting more channels on your TV...even with a 1000+ channels, I can't bear to watch TV anymore due to excessive stupidity. In some ways, this movie was kind of ahead of its time, because the parents in the family are swingers. To add to the humor, the couple they plan to swing with at the moment want to swap partners but to pair up with the same gender; the mom's reaction to this is great when she realizes the swinger guy isn't into her. The rest of the Putterman family is comprised of an over the top, MTV junky daughter, a militarily obsessed Grandpa, and a young son as the Grandpa's protege. I always identified with the son because he was all into guns and explosives and such as I was when I was a kid. Rounding out the cast is some douchebag repairman, the daughter's wannabe heavy metal boyfriend, and a late night horror host obviously inspired by Elvira, named Medusa.

Unfortunately for the Puttermans, their shitty satellite has intercepted space garbage in the form of an alien monster known as a "hungry beast" that would rather do nothing more than eat some humans. Eh, the hungry beast looks okay since it is meant to be more reminiscent of '50s B-movies than anything groundbreaking in special effects. Despite a mostly weird look, there is a lot of creativity in the monster's means for attack as it has a claw that liquifies its prey as well as a vacuum-like tongue to mop up the mess. Also, when it kills someone, it can generate tentacles that take on the form of the head of the victim and appears to retain most of the working knowledge of the individual. This process creates all kinds of shenanigans in the film like when the kids are looking for the parents and think they find them, the swinger couple, and the grandpa all in an orgy; truly disturbing. The son repeatedly tries to kill the hungry beast but conventional weaponry appears to do no damage and the monster is nearly invincible. Eventually the hungry beast intends to kill the boyfriend but relents, because it is confused by his arm band believing it belongs to his alien owner. You see, hungry beasts are apparently pets that can sometimes mutate and they are disposed of by being teleported to far corners of the universe. This specific hungry beast's owner, Pluthar, attempts to beam himself to Earth and help the pathetic humans kill the creature before it does too much damage. Unfortunately for Pluthar and the humans, Medusa had been invited over to see the hungry beast and inadvertently kills Pluthar instead. In a surprise twist, the hungry beast in turn kills everyone still alive and the movie ends with the creature pretending to be Medusa trying to go to the major TV studios.

This movie appears to have fallen into total obscurity, but I think it's more than worth a view. You'd be surprised by how funny a lot of the moments are and how it satirizes the era quite successfully. The lame yuppie lifestyle, MTV crazed fiends dressing like whoever they idolize, and those disturbing colors--it's all here. There is even a classic song with the film's title built in...you can't go wrong with that! Granted, there are obvious flaws, many stupid moments, cheap effects, some bad acting, and you sort of have to appreciate the decade to truly enjoy the film. If you love cornball '80s movies as much as I do, you will definitely enjoy this forgotten entry.

Notable Moment: When Pluthar is accidentally killed by Medusa right before he is about to save the day. It was funny and you don't think it's going to happen especially considering his head explodes in the process.

Final Rating: 6/10