Surprisingly effective little sci-fi horror flick produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures. Experiments funded by the military has a staggering side-effect when the head scientist, Dr. Van Fleet(James Hong)discovers that an alternate universe exists when a subject is induced into a vast, deep sleep..something sinister lies on the other side and uses the subject as a portal into our world. Everyone within the underground facility are in danger as the being which has found it's way into our dimension is hostile towards those it/they consider a threat. Captain Hickock(David Beecroft)is investigating the mysterious death of a test subject in the underground facility and we can see that the scientists involved with the EDS(Extreme Dream Sleep)are hiding something. Sensing this, Hickock wishes to see the printout results on the corpse and to settle doubts that his death wasn't a result of the sleep experiment..unconvinced of the results, and unpersuaded that Van Fleet's claims of a genetic cerebral hemorrhage as the cause are correct, he wishes to see if another current subject would suffer the exact fate if the sleep levels were the same. In doing this procedure, the current subject is induced into sleep too long and the being from the other universe is able to use him as a gateway into our plain. This puts everyone in peril for the being has the amazing power to shift it's molecular structure and can imitate anything lifted from the thoughts of humans. It travels throughout the facility and must be caught and killed or else..once it attacks Van Fleet who had locked himself in the sleep lab with the being, we realize that it is not exactly friendly.
Really neat B-movie cast includes Louise Fletcher as a rather odd scientist(Dr. Erhardt)who finds the being spellbinding, and seems to have been cut off from society a bit too long, and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as computer specialist/electronics genius Wiley. If you have seen Miguel A. Núñez Jr. in other films, you can just about expect his fate. David Beecroft is your typical hero, an outsider unaccustomed to the way things are in an underground facility isolated from the world he belongs. Through Hickock, Beecroft is a no-nonsense, take-charge kind of character who is realistic and practical when faced with a really difficult situation, which he certainly inherits when searching for the truth regarding the death of a civilian. Frederick Flynn is the tobacco-chewing, easily rattled handyman, Tommy Shivers, who could use a shave, bath, and some manners. He's also really bad at his job, and we see how poorly managed and worse-for-wear the facility is as Hickock inspects the place..pipes often spit steam, water leaks are apparent, and rats are visible in the kitchen area. Affected by earthquakes and hampered by such a small staff, the facility sure could use a make-over. The being itself is a series of monsters, not particularly as scary now due to the advancement in special effects(..or as effective as say Bottin's work in THE THING or Stan Winston's work in PUMPKINHEAD), but effectively grotesque when they pop up on characters..the monkey creature is quite a ghastly creation. I have read about SHADOWZONE's comparison to ALIEN, but the only similarity I noticed was the plot regarding characters roaming the halls and rooms of the facility as the being is somewhere in the vicinity..some attempting to put food together for the long haul with Hickock & Wiley attempting to repair the damaged transformer after the mishap regarding the being's entry into our universe. Shawn Weatherly is scientist Dr. Kidwell, who is so attached to her pet monkey(..a supposed lab animal no longer needed when Van Fleet began to test human subjects)she'll risk her life to find it when it goes missing..the twist regarding her finding a monkey is a doozy. Not as gory or violent as it could've been, probably due to lack of budget(..for a Band production, the film looks great, particularly the underground facility and it's devastated state due to natural and unnatural factors), but director JS Cardone is able to build the dread quite nicely due to the fact that the being could be anywhere and mimic certain things(..this was perhaps what many believe was ripped from THE THING, I guess, because an animal is used by the being to trick characters). Maureen Flaherty and Robbie Rives are the nude test subjects shown frequently in all their glory. Lu Leonard has a funny role as the rather grumpy cook dealing with a rat problem Shivers won't correct due to his procrastination. Hong is entertaining in an all-too-short role as a nervously cautious scientist worried that Hickock might make a discovery that halts the funding of his experiments. The film does feature some questionable decisions by characters who seem to leap before thinking things thru.
Really neat B-movie cast includes Louise Fletcher as a rather odd scientist(Dr. Erhardt)who finds the being spellbinding, and seems to have been cut off from society a bit too long, and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as computer specialist/electronics genius Wiley. If you have seen Miguel A. Núñez Jr. in other films, you can just about expect his fate. David Beecroft is your typical hero, an outsider unaccustomed to the way things are in an underground facility isolated from the world he belongs. Through Hickock, Beecroft is a no-nonsense, take-charge kind of character who is realistic and practical when faced with a really difficult situation, which he certainly inherits when searching for the truth regarding the death of a civilian. Frederick Flynn is the tobacco-chewing, easily rattled handyman, Tommy Shivers, who could use a shave, bath, and some manners. He's also really bad at his job, and we see how poorly managed and worse-for-wear the facility is as Hickock inspects the place..pipes often spit steam, water leaks are apparent, and rats are visible in the kitchen area. Affected by earthquakes and hampered by such a small staff, the facility sure could use a make-over. The being itself is a series of monsters, not particularly as scary now due to the advancement in special effects(..or as effective as say Bottin's work in THE THING or Stan Winston's work in PUMPKINHEAD), but effectively grotesque when they pop up on characters..the monkey creature is quite a ghastly creation. I have read about SHADOWZONE's comparison to ALIEN, but the only similarity I noticed was the plot regarding characters roaming the halls and rooms of the facility as the being is somewhere in the vicinity..some attempting to put food together for the long haul with Hickock & Wiley attempting to repair the damaged transformer after the mishap regarding the being's entry into our universe. Shawn Weatherly is scientist Dr. Kidwell, who is so attached to her pet monkey(..a supposed lab animal no longer needed when Van Fleet began to test human subjects)she'll risk her life to find it when it goes missing..the twist regarding her finding a monkey is a doozy. Not as gory or violent as it could've been, probably due to lack of budget(..for a Band production, the film looks great, particularly the underground facility and it's devastated state due to natural and unnatural factors), but director JS Cardone is able to build the dread quite nicely due to the fact that the being could be anywhere and mimic certain things(..this was perhaps what many believe was ripped from THE THING, I guess, because an animal is used by the being to trick characters). Maureen Flaherty and Robbie Rives are the nude test subjects shown frequently in all their glory. Lu Leonard has a funny role as the rather grumpy cook dealing with a rat problem Shivers won't correct due to his procrastination. Hong is entertaining in an all-too-short role as a nervously cautious scientist worried that Hickock might make a discovery that halts the funding of his experiments. The film does feature some questionable decisions by characters who seem to leap before thinking things thru.