Review of The Deadly Spawn

"The Deadly Spawn" is very likable, earnest stuff, and one can tell that it's made by fellow fans of the sci-fi and horror genres. Made for approximately $25,000, and filmed on location in New Jersey, it's done in a fine old school style, with use of obvious matte paintings and the kind of practical effects that people like me thrilled over during their introductions to this kind of thing. Its story deals with a meteorite that crashes in the woods, a meteorite bearing a disgusting species that basically looks like a many toothed, very phallic version of Audrey II. (The miniature versions of the monster definitely will have viewers thinking along sexual lines!) After gobbling up some dumb ass campers, the creatures find a nice comfy home in the damp cellar of a nearby house, and during the course of the next (rainy) day, find an assortment of human victims on which to snack. Now, "The Deadly Spawn" is likely not going to quite be for everybody, as it takes its time preparing for its wild finale. One may grow impatient as the people inside the house go about their business completely oblivious to the danger down below. For a movie running a mere 82 minutes, there is some slow pacing going on, to be sure. But it's too hard to really knock a movie featuring such characters as a horror junkie kid (Charles George Hildebrandt) who's got enough smarts to figure out a way to destroy the monster (Give this kid credit, also, for staying so cool when he sees what remains of his mom.), his science obsessed teen aged brother (Tom DeFranco), and their psychiatrist uncle (John Schmerling) who takes the time to interview his precocious young nephew about his interest. The writing isn't completely predictable, with a nasty fate in store for a rather amiable character. There's lots of splatter tossed about, and genre lovers will be delighted once the attack is finally underway and our human cast starts getting munched on. It's never, ever taken too seriously, with the tongue in cheek tone emphasized strongly with that priceless "it ain't over yet" final shot. The acting is admirably sincere, and the shoestring budget, and absence of excessive slickness you'd get from a studio picture, makes "The Deadly Spawn" a pleasing, unpretentious, and simply fun experience, flaws and all. Seven out of 10.