I remember when I was a child I got hold of this weird VHS movie called XTRO that gave me so many delightful feelings of horror, fascination and a lasting crush on Maryam D'Abo. I was pretty much certain that my memories of it were warped and that if I watch it now it will all seem silly, but boy was I wrong.
The film itself finds strength in what other movies count as weaknesses: an unknown cast, low budget, plastic monster effects. I am convinced, though, that any remake with regular actors and computer CGI would not result in the same weird feeling, giving it almost complete realism. The only thing that I would have improved is the sound to image synchronization, which made it obvious that most sounds were added later in the studio.
The best part of the movie is the script. Both back in my childhood and now, it evoked feelings of kinship with the alien. And weirdly so, as it is one of the most nasty creatures in horror. The most intriguing aspect is the schizoid nature of the monster, part human part alien, torn between its merciless nature and the love for his human child.
Bottom line: there were three XTRO movies, with stories completely unrelated to each other, but only this one is worth watching. It continues to blow me away even now, despite (or maybe because) of its quirky production values and very original script. Actually, that is the only reason I didn't rate it a 9. If you love horror or SF, you should see it.
