College freshmen Chris and J.C. (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall) are trying to join a fraternity and are given the initiation challenge of stealing a body from the morgue. In attempting to do this, they unfreeze a cryogenically-frozen body that was inhabited by parasitic alien slugs in 1959. Now the alien slugs are free and attacking the college campus, turning people into zombies. After his friend is killed, Chris tries to stop the slugs & zombies with the help of a detective (Tom Atkins) whose tragic backstory ties into the alien attack in 1959.
This terrific '80s horror comedy from Fred Dekker is one of the most underrated movies from that decade. Steve Marshall is great fun as the handicapped best friend of 'the hero.' He gets many of the movie's best lines. Jason Lively and beautiful Jill Whitlow are both good. Allan Kayser (Bubba from "Mama's Family") is the Zabka-esque jock villain. The movie's highlight is Tom Atkins, who gives a memorable performance as the tough and sarcastic detective. The movie's filled with in-jokes and references that genre fans will enjoy. The movie itself is a sort of homage to classic B sci-fi/horror flicks of the '50s. By the way, in one scene Jill Whitlow is making cookies or something in the kitchen with her sorority sisters. She drops a wooden spoon and kicks it under the refrigerator. Then she picks it up and proceeds to put it right back in the bowl. Eww, how gross is that? That made me want to vomit far more than any of the movie's special effects! Give it a shot and I'm sure you'll agree it's great fun and years ahead of its time. Any movie with a Dick Miller cameo can't be that bad.
