Britain has produced some great science fiction writers, such as the late Sir Arthur C Clarke, and an iconic science fiction television show, "Doctor Who". Sci-fi, however, has not been something that the British cinema has normally excelled in, although there have been occasional exceptions such as "Village of the Damned" and "Quest for Love". In the late seventies and early eighties, however, sci-fi was all the rage, following the success of "Star Wars", and even the British felt they had to get in on the act. Lack of finance meant that Britain was unable to produce its own big-budget space epics of the "Star Wars" type; that camp, self-mocking parody "Flash Gordon" was about the closest we got. "Inseminoid" is rather based upon another successful American science fiction film of the late seventies, "Alien".
A group of interplanetary archaeologists (apparently in the far distant future there will be such an academic discipline) are carrying out a dig on an alien planet, otherwise known as Chislehurst (a dormitory town on the southern edge of London). One of the team, Sandy, is raped and impregnated by an alien creature. (Although the film is set many centuries in the future, all the characters have nice, user-friendly twentieth century English names like Mark, Gary, Sharon and Sandy). Pregnancy seems to change Sandy's character for the worse, because she goes on a homicidal rampage, slaughtering her colleagues one by one in order to feed on their blood. Although Sandy is outnumbered by about ten to one, and although the others have weapons which she lacks, they are unable to combine effectively to overcome her, merely offering themselves up like lambs to the slaughter.
In the course of the film we make some interesting discoveries about the planet and its inhabitants, namely:-
Alien males have transparent plastic penises.
The main symptom of pregnancy among alien females is not morning sickness but murderous bloodlust. This possibly explains why their species is on the verge of extinction.
Contrary to what biologists might think, it is quite possible for humanoid life to evolve on a barren planet with temperatures of ninety degrees below zero.
There may be intelligent life in outer space but there is precious little in the British film industry.
The film was made on a very low budget, as will be evident from the sets, costumes and props. The only thing director Norman Warren can do to make the exterior scenes look a bit less like Chislehurst is to shoot them through a red filter, although that makes it look as though the characters are moving at the bottom of an ocean of strawberry jam.
Low budgets are not necessarily an impossible obstacle in the science-fiction field; the makers of British television series such as "Doctor Who" and "Blake's Seven", and even American ones such as "Star Trek", did not have at their disposal the huge amounts of cash George Lucas spent on "Star Wars". They could, however, sometimes call upon intelligent scripts and decent acting, which is not the case with "Inseminoid". The cast, at least on the female side, includes some relatively well-known names such as Judy Geeson, Stephanie Beacham and Victoria Tennant, none of whom look as though they know what they are doing in a film like this.
At its best, science fiction can ask some pertinent questions about how science and technology might possibly develop in the future, and also about the philosophical, ethical and social implications of those developments. At its worst, it is "Plan 9 from Outer Space". On a scale of Ed Wood to Asimov, "Inseminoid" comes very close to the bottom end; it is only the third film I have ever given the minimum mark. The science fiction setting is really no more than an excuse for some video-nasty type gore and mayhem. 1/10.
A group of interplanetary archaeologists (apparently in the far distant future there will be such an academic discipline) are carrying out a dig on an alien planet, otherwise known as Chislehurst (a dormitory town on the southern edge of London). One of the team, Sandy, is raped and impregnated by an alien creature. (Although the film is set many centuries in the future, all the characters have nice, user-friendly twentieth century English names like Mark, Gary, Sharon and Sandy). Pregnancy seems to change Sandy's character for the worse, because she goes on a homicidal rampage, slaughtering her colleagues one by one in order to feed on their blood. Although Sandy is outnumbered by about ten to one, and although the others have weapons which she lacks, they are unable to combine effectively to overcome her, merely offering themselves up like lambs to the slaughter.
In the course of the film we make some interesting discoveries about the planet and its inhabitants, namely:-
Alien males have transparent plastic penises.
The main symptom of pregnancy among alien females is not morning sickness but murderous bloodlust. This possibly explains why their species is on the verge of extinction.
Contrary to what biologists might think, it is quite possible for humanoid life to evolve on a barren planet with temperatures of ninety degrees below zero.
There may be intelligent life in outer space but there is precious little in the British film industry.
The film was made on a very low budget, as will be evident from the sets, costumes and props. The only thing director Norman Warren can do to make the exterior scenes look a bit less like Chislehurst is to shoot them through a red filter, although that makes it look as though the characters are moving at the bottom of an ocean of strawberry jam.
Low budgets are not necessarily an impossible obstacle in the science-fiction field; the makers of British television series such as "Doctor Who" and "Blake's Seven", and even American ones such as "Star Trek", did not have at their disposal the huge amounts of cash George Lucas spent on "Star Wars". They could, however, sometimes call upon intelligent scripts and decent acting, which is not the case with "Inseminoid". The cast, at least on the female side, includes some relatively well-known names such as Judy Geeson, Stephanie Beacham and Victoria Tennant, none of whom look as though they know what they are doing in a film like this.
At its best, science fiction can ask some pertinent questions about how science and technology might possibly develop in the future, and also about the philosophical, ethical and social implications of those developments. At its worst, it is "Plan 9 from Outer Space". On a scale of Ed Wood to Asimov, "Inseminoid" comes very close to the bottom end; it is only the third film I have ever given the minimum mark. The science fiction setting is really no more than an excuse for some video-nasty type gore and mayhem. 1/10.