The Deadly Spawn (1983)

Director:

Douglas McKeown

Writers:

Ted A. Bohus (writer)
John Dods (story)

Release Date:

22 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

They Came To Earth To Feed On Human Flesh!

Plot:

Alien creatures invade a small town and a group of four teenagers, plus one little boy, try to escape from them.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Alien | Creature | Teen | Violence

Cast

Charles George Hildebrandt	...	Charles
Tom DeFranco	...	Pete
Richard Lee Porter	...	Frankie
Jean Tafler	...	Ellen
Karen Tighe	...	Kathy
James Brewster	...	Sam
Elissa Neil	...	Barb
Ethel Michelson	...	Aunt Millie
John Schmerling	...	Uncle Herb
Judith Mayes	...	Bunny
Andrew Michaels	...	Camper #1
John Arndt	...	Camper #2
Diane Stevens	...	Nibbs
Darlene Kenley	...	Hilde
Madeline Charanis	...	Ju Ju

Also Known As:

Deadly Spawn
Return of the Alien's Deadly Spawn (USA) (alternative title)
Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn (UK)
The Alien's Deadly Spawn (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

78 min | USA:81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Filmline

Trivia:

The effects of the mini-spawns slithering across the floor in the basement was achieved by cutting a "S" wriggle into the floor, and pulling the spawns along under the floor.

Quotes:

Aunt Millie: [looking at Bunny's ceramic animals] I've never seen this giraffe before.
Bunny: He's new!
Aunt Millie: He's big!
Bunny: Don't you just love him?
Aunt Millie: To pieces.
Bunny: Do you know what I've always wanted?
Aunt Millie: What?
Bunny: A really handsome gorilla.
Aunt Millie: A WHAT?
Bunny: A gorilla! But, they don't seem to make fine ceramics of the great apes, for some reason. They are our nearest relations, you know, the great apes. But they never left the proverbial Garden of Eden like we did. Did you know he's a vegetarian?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

Surprisingly fun low-budget monster mayhem

For some it's probably criminally easy to dismiss a movie like this just because of it's low budget, but "The Deadly Spawn" was somewhat of a cult-hit in it's day and it's easy to see why. The make-up-effects are quite good for a movie this cheap (reportedly it cost just $ 20,000 and ended up making millions), and writer/director Douglas McKeown actually takes time building characters before he lets them die gory deaths (moahahaha).

The monsters are quite effective, at least those small eel-like buggers reminiscent of the chest-burster that ruined everyone's breakfast in "Alien" (1979). It also deserves kudos for - in the end - painting a realistic picture of the traumatizing effects something like this would have on those who survive.

If you like alien-invasion-movies in general, or just love the charm of horror on a shoestring-budget, this might be your cup of tea.