TerrorVision (1986)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Ted Nicolaou

Writer:

Ted Nicolaou (written by)

Release Date:

14 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

People of Earth, your planet is about to be destroyed... We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

Plot:

A family's new satellite TV system starts receiving signals from another planet, and soon it becomes the passageway to an alien world.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Monster | Satellite Dish | Lizard | Man Eating Monster

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Diane Franklin	...	Suzy
Gerrit Graham	...	Stanley
Mary Woronov	...	Raquel
Chad Allen	...	Sherman
Jon Gries	...	OD (as Jonathan Gries)
Bert Remsen	...	Grampa
Alejandro Rey	...	Spiro
Randi Brooks	...	Cherry
Jennifer Richards	...	Medusa
Sonny Carl Davis	...	Norton
Ian Patrick Williams	...	Nutky
William Paulson	...	Pluthar
John Leamer	...	Chauffeur

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Belgium:16 (video rating) | Italy:VM14 (VHS rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Norway:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Altair Productions

Trivia:

When Suzy introduces the monster to music, her arm is resting on top of Sanyo's first CD player model, the DAD-8. It was made between 1983-84 and is sought out by collectors for its rarity and quality sound.

Quotes:

Suzy Putterman: This is TV. T-V. Next to food and music, this is mankind's greatest invention.

Movie Connections:

References E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Soundtrack:

TerrorVision

Good ole fun

This is a movie I've kind of been wanting to see. I am ready to add this to my list of personal favorites after watching it for the first time, so I know they did some stuff right. While it's still fresh in my mind, there are some things I definitely want to say. First off, I am extremely surprised that this doesn't seem to have a cult following to it. "TerrorVision" is a great film that should have definitely achieved cult status. From the start (after some credits set to music by Siouxsie and the Banshees imitators!), this has a definite John Waters look and feel. When the fast-paced story moves into grotesque monster territory, it gets even better. And, regardless of how goofy it is, I dig the commentaries the filmmakers are sprinkling all throughout this movie, the main one of all being the most obvious: television giving birth to monsters. This is definitely one of those wild movies that gets weirder and more bizarre as it moves along. As for people quoting favorite lines from Bert Remsen's "Gramps" character, I love it when he refers to MTV as a secret conspiracy to rot the brain. "TerrorVision" wasn't as gory as I've heard, relying more on gooey FX than gory ones, but there are no complaints here. I love this, it was a real upper of a flagrant horror satire. I am so glad I saw this, and I would give it no less than a definite 9 on a scale of one to ten. In fact, I'm tempted to give it a full 10.