Future-Kill (1985)

Director:

Ronald W. Moore

Writers:

Ronald W. Moore (screenplay)
Edwin Neal (additional material) ...

Release Date:

May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In the future, the Mutants rule!

Plot:

The star of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" returns in a story about frat boys lost in the big city while hunted by a violent leader and his elite gang of gun-happy guards.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | Splatter | Fraternity | Murder | Nuclear

Cast

Edwin Neal	...	Splatter
Marilyn Burns	...	Dorothy Grim
Gabriel Folse	...	Paul
Wade Reese	...	Steve
Barton Faulks	...	Tom
Rob Rowley	...	Jay
Craig Kanne	...	Clint
Jeffrey Scott	...	George (as Jeffry Scott)
Alice Villarreal	...	Julie
Doug Davis	...	Eddie Pain
Karin Kay	...	Curious Bad Girl
Elizabeth Henshaw	...	Uncurious Bad Girl
Cathy Durkin	...	Julie's Friend
Kate Cadenhead	...	Helpful Mutant
Joe Abner	...	Fire Breather

Also Known As:

Night of the Alien (UK) (video title)
Splatter

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R (cut) | USA:X | Australia:R | UK:18 | Canada:R (Ontario) | West Germany:18 | Canada:R (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Magic Shadows

Trivia:

A couple of different stories exist as to how H.R. Giger was persuaded to design the poster art for this low-budget film. Edwin Neal, who spent the 1980s traveling extensively to science fiction and movie conventions selling movie memorabilia, always claimed that he was the one responsible for getting Giger involved; however, in Giger's book "Necronomicon II," Giger says that director Ronald W. Moore was with whom he dealt. Giger goes on to say that he felt manipulated by Moore, who told him in tears that the film would lose its financing without the Giger poster. Whatever the case, the original art did eventually end up in Neal's possession, along with numerous other prints and portfolios by Giger, lending credence to Neal's claims of involvement.

Goofs:

Continuity: After George is slashed by Splatter in the research lab hallway, the blood smear on the wall disappears in the next shot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Manipulation

Can't we all just get along?

"Future-Kill," with its menacingly hyphenated title and H.R. Giger-esquire (turns out Giger himself actually did it) box art, was a film of quasi-mythic cult attraction in the time of VHS. Its real claim to any sort of notoriety? The participation of two actors from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (Edwin Neal and Marilyn Burns, the latter of which basically has an extended cameo). I rented the film years ago for that very reason, and didn't find it great, but didn't hate it, either; at best, it felt like a semi-coherent mix of "Porky's," "Repo Man," and the early works of Sam Raimi. After viewing it a second time, I can genuinely say I liked the film. While the current DVD version (via Subversive) doesn't perform any alchemy on the film's murky cinematography (it's essentially a port-over of the old VHS), it adds to a strangely nostalgic feel for '80s "No Nukes" protests, New Wave fashions (gotta love the Bowie-esquire eye makeup!), and no-taboo sex comedies that weren't afraid to show a lot of skin. Director/co-writer Ronald Moore has crafted an erratic, borderline-amateur feature that starts like one of the endless rip-offs of "Animal House" (pampered frat guys spurn a rival frat leader), abruptly shifts into a variant on "Escape from New York" (frat guys run afoul of a radiation-poisoned psychotic, aptly named Splatter (Neal), and even finds time to reflect on the socio-economic differences between the bourgeois frat guys and the urban "mutants" looking to live nuke-free (with the final conclusion being that neither is all that different). While Moore's directorial flourishes are minimal, the periodic use of muted slow motion during violent scenes seems to tie in with the film's contradictorily anti-violent philosophy, and is employed to good effect; and while the frat guys aren't very well-defined, some are allowed to develop as characters, to the point where the suspenseful climax actually carries a surprising (albeit low-grade) impact. While "Future-Kill"'s philosophy might not be the most thought-out, and while it may not be a model of superior film-making, it should be given credit for at least attempting to go about its slaughter with some semblance of brainpower. (The funky vintage synth score also deserves a shout-out.)