Xtro (1983)

Tony's father Sam, abducted by aliens three years earlier, returns to earth and seeks out his wife and son, but Rachel has since been living with Joe and the reunion is awkward. Joe doesn't... See full summary »

Director:

Harry Bromley Davenport

Writers:

Harry Bromley Davenport (story), Iain Cassie,

Stars:

Philip Sayer, Bernice Stegers, Danny Brainin

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Philip Sayer	...	Sam Phillips
Bernice Stegers	...	Rachel Phillips
Danny Brainin	...	Joe Daniels
Maryam d'Abo	...	Analise Mercier
Simon Nash	...	Tony Phillips
Peter Mandell	...	Clown
David Cardy	...	Michael
Anna Wing	...	Mrs. Goodman
Robert Fyfe	...	Doctor
Katherine Best	...	Jane
Robert Pereno	...	Ben
Sean Crawford	...	Commando (as Tok)
Tim Dry	...	Monster (as Tik)
Susie Silvey	...	Woman in Cottage
Arthur Whybrow	...	Mr. Knight

Storyline

Tony's father Sam, abducted by aliens three years earlier, returns to earth and seeks out his wife and son, but Rachel has since been living with Joe and the reunion is awkward. Joe doesn't trust Sam, and Rachel can't quite decide what her feelings are for her two men. Sam is not the same as when he left, and he begins affecting Tony in frightening ways.

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Plot Keywords:

face slap | hammer | toy | telephone booth | creature feature | 

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Taglines:

This Alien is Pure Evil.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

X-tro

Filming Locations:

Ashley Gardens, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amalgamated Film Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Harry Bromley Davenport humorously described his score for the film in an interview as "screaming synthesizers."

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Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2 (2006)

User Reviews

Was It Made By Film Students ? .....

.... because it doesn`t look like it was made by professional film makers . XTRO has a really cheap and cheerless no budget production feel to it and is usual in these type of productions the make up and FX are totally unconvincing while the cast look like they`re ashamed to be in a film like this . Even so there`s no excuse for such bland performances especially Philip Sayers who looks like he`s impersonating a block of wood rather than a man who`s been abducted by aliens .

What I really disliked about this film is the very underdeveloped script . There`s no real explanation or logic as to why things happen . Take for example the scene where a character drives to a cottage then warns his companion to " Stay here " and enters the cottage with trepidation. There is absolutely no way the character would know he`d be in any danger by entering the cottage so why is he so nervous ? I think I can speculate as to why the panther appears though ( And unless you`ve seen the film the next couple of sentences will make no sense - just like the film itself ) The toy tank is supposed to be a version of the second world war German panther tank hence a panther appears . Only the toy tank is actually based on the tiger tank mark two aka King tiger , which means instead of a panther appearing in the flat a king tiger should have . It just shows you how bad XTRO is when the director tries to bring subtle irony to a senseless script and manages to screw that up .

I`m led to believe that XTRO was banned on video in the 1980s which makes it one of the very few British " Video nasties " , perhaps the only British film to receive that accolade , but there`s nothing here to churn your stomach . Churning your brain is another matter entirely