Parasite (1982)

Director:

Charles Band

Writers:

Alan J. Adler (writer)
Frank Levering (writer)

Release Date:

12 March 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The first futuristic monster movie in 3-D.

Plot:

Paul Dean has creted a deadly parasite that is now attached to his stomach. He and his female companion...

Plot Keywords:

Parasite | Desert | Scientist | Female Nudity | Blood

Cast

Robert Glaudini	...	Dr. Paul Dean
Demi Moore	...	Patricia Welles
Luca Bercovici	...	Ricus
James Davidson	...	Wolf the Merchant
Al Fann	...	Collins
Tom Villard	...	Zeke
Scott Thomson	...	Chris
Cherie Currie	...	Dana
Vivian Blaine	...	Miss Daley
James Cavan	...	Buddy
Joannelle Nadine Romero	...	Bo
Freddie Moore	...	Arn
Natalie May	...	Shell
Cheryl Smith	...	Captive Girl
Joel Miller	...	Town Punk

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Demi Moore met first husband-to-be Freddie Moore on this shoot.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the first gang member gets infected by the parasite, they refer to it several times as 'that thing on his arm' despite the fact that it is on his chest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Troll (1986)

Yes, Mr. Band, you definitely crossed the line.

Originally touted as "the first futuristic monster movie in 3-D", this very lightly plotted feature is about scientist Paul Dean (Robert Glaudini) who developed a breed of parasite for an evil government and ended up with one of the things feeding inside of him. He escapes (carrying the other parasite inside a cannister) and holes up in a tiny California desert town, befriending pretty young orphaned farmer (Demi Moore) and incurring the wrath of the local gang of punks, all while being hunted by sinister government agent (James Davidson).

Although this movie had future Oscar winner Stan Winston as one of the creature effects creators, the effects are not among his best work, and some critics came up with pretty hilarious descriptions of the title beasts (e.g. "a sock puppet with teeth"). "Parasite" is of no real distinction - it's a pretty standard "The Future Is Gonna Suck" type movie that really only seeks to flaunt its (literally) in-your-face gore. However, I confess that I was reasonably amused. This isn't supposed to be Shakespeare - it's kind of fun on its simple little level. I liked it, and I thought it had some pretty good actors (although it is true that Demi is not one of them, at least not in this film). I think it's as good as it could have been considering the low budget that it probably had.

The mere prospect of seeing one of the monsters burst out of the face of Broadway legend 'Miss' Vivian Blaine (was she hard up for work, or something?) may either disgust or amuse you.

6/10