I purchased a NIGHTBEAST video for less than a price of a rental, even if I knew nothing about it and I have to say that I'm glad I did. This is a somewhat fun (funny?) horror/sci-fi movie that's rarely dull. The body count is HIGH. One of the highest I've ever seen. The alien starts killing people left and right, with its laser or with its hands and huge toothy mouth. The beast even kills two kids. Now you've got to love that in a B-movie. Many of the killings are gory. The action is really fast and furious at the beginning but gradually peters out halfway through the film.
Anyway, the acting is spectacularly amateurish and the music often sounds like the one in FRIDAY THE 13TH. So much so that I wonder why haven't the producers of FT13 sued yet? The script is all over the place. As if the alien wasn't enough, the script also includes several competing plotlines, including a story-line about a criminal on a killing spree. And then there's the hilarious love story that blossoms right in the middle of the action between the sheriff and his female deputy. With the alien killing people all over town, the sheriff tries to stop a pool-side party held by the mayor for a state politician (the scene when the people lounging at the pool leave in a panic is hilarious. It's a priceless B-movie moment). The sheriff makes a big deal about the party, saying that there's no time for frivolities when people are dying all over the place and the town should be evacuated BUT the sheriff and the deputy do have time for some lovemaking. Nice to see where the sheriff's priorities are. Anyway, the love scene with the afro-haired sheriff and the blonde deputy with the perky breasts has got to be one of the funniest moments ever put on film. The same could be said for the conclusion of the film. Major guffaws.
I like these kind of b-movies which were produced by some local folks with no budget starring nobodies with no expectations but to entertain bored people seeing this in a rundown movie theater in the middle of nowhere. We don't see these kind of unassuming (and goofy) films being made and released anymore. It's unfortunate because they're often more fun to watch than anything released on video these days.
