Alien Predator

Seen this as a kid in the 80s. NO one believed me there was a movie called Alien Preditors. Thought I was making it up. Thank god for google. Even though the kids who said I was full of crap will never read this Im just gonna say after all these years..Here it is. Suck it. Oh and the movie is cheesy as hell...I'd still watch it again and again though. Out of spite mostly now. Kids on vacation in Spain come across some old lab that fell from space that contained a little monster. It infects the locals and terror ensues. If you like monster,80s horror with a slice of science fiction thrown in, you'll love this movie. Has the 80s gore we all love and miss and just enough plot to follow but not enough to make too much sense.

My review was written in February 1987 after watching the film at Cine 42 on Manhattan's 42nd St.

"Alien Predator" (that what it says on screen, despite confusing ads which spell it "Alien Predators") is a truly stupid horror film shot in Spain in 1984 as "The Falling". Initially aimed at release along with two other Helen Sarlui productions by Film Ventures International, pic went on the shelf when that company experienced financial problems and surfaces instead via home video firm turned theatrical distributor TWE. A lawsuit or at least stern warning should be in the offing from 20th Century Fox, since new title not only intones the likes of Fox' "Alien" and "aliens" hits, but also Fox' upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger-starrer "Predator". TWE also cut corners by virtually duplicating the poster art here from its 1984 flop "Creature".

It would be difficult to come up with a more obnoxious triumvirate than leading players Dennis Christopher, Martin Hewitt and Lynn-Holly Johnson, smirking, flirting and pouting as three squeaky-clean kids on a vacation in Spain in their massive recreational vehicle and dune buggy. Too bad for them that Skylab crashed nearby in 1979 and five years later, Spaniards are being exposed to the result of an experiment conducted on Skylab involving living microbes found on the moon from the Apollo 14 mission. These microbes result in an alien critter (shown only briefly as an imitation of the small, early forms of the monster in "Alien") that inhabits a human host, drives the human crazy and in 48 hours pops out in time-honored chest-burster fashion to begin the process again.

Tedious presentation actually apes Michael Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain" (filmed by Robert Wise in 1970) with a NASA scientist Professor Tracer (Luis Prendes sporting an incongruous Spanish accent) comin gu unbelievably with an instant antidote using himself as guinea pig. As in "Strain", there is a multi-leveled, underground complex.

Deran Sarafian's direction is sluggish, relying on pointless car chases to try and drum up excitement. His script is worse, filled with mushy speeches by the three young leads and a series of idotic references to Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone". Special effects are weak and audiences will be very angry at the nonappearance of the expected, full-grown title monster.

As bad of a movie this is, it can still be viewed as a good (rainy)Saturday afternoon time-waster. There are far worse(halloween:resurrection)movies out there. I would recommend this to anyone who likes campy, b-grade, low-budget type films. A lot better than another piece of crap that I won't mention here(halloween:resurrection).

Three American students Damon, Michael and Samantha are on vacation in their RV in Spain. But it's far from relaxing, when everyone they encounter in the sleepy village seems to be acting weird and they come across a NASA scientist who claims the town has been infected by aliens, and soon they would follow the same fate. The only cure is found in a secret underground storage depot, and time is running out for them.

The idea was there, however the money wasn't and the execution could use a finer tune up. Writer / Director Deran Sarafian's film "The Falling" AKA "Alien Predator" seems to cop a real shellacking, however I didn't mind it. I don't think it was the pits, but there's no way this trash is good either. Due to its limited scope, everything looks kind of bare, but I thought it was well conceived to keep it taut, claustrophobic and very foreboding. The Spanish countryside perfectly presented an eerie and isolated air. Everything seems to be building on mood and atmosphere, maybe not on purpose but the stark photography, dim lighting and the infectiously dreary score lend to it largely. However there's no denying how inane and silly this outing eventually turns out to be, especially after some effective build-ups (like the opening to the film). The fragmented story is a complete mess and truly baffling. It has many sub-plots to feed off, but very little sees daylight. Yeah, certain things had me going "What on earth?" quite a bit. Sometimes it would seem to stall too much that you end up wishing a little more did happen, and the haggard script can get rather overbearing. This goes for the token romance mush. What's really unconvincing has got to be the rubber beasties (at first you think it might be a virus/parasite) that finally make it in towards the end, but before that lousy letdown the potent gore FX leading up to it comes off really well with its grisly splatter. Sarafin's direction is very downbeat, with some minor flourishes of imagination and dumb jolts. The conclusion was a neat touch. Dennis Christopher, Martin Hewitt and the perky Lynn-Holly Johnson were surprisingly enjoyable, if quite overstated with the flimsy characters. Luis Prendes is unintentionally laughable due to how seriously deadpan he goes about his NASA scientist. A real no brain, low budget helping… oh yeah. The final product could've been far worse though. Or am I getting soft?

The young American tourists in Spain encounter lethal alien lifeforms that were brought to Earth by Apollo 14 then tested on animals aboard SkyLab.But SkyLab has now crashed to Earth and the aliens have survived,infect the locals and messily killing them.The trio of young people pick up a NASA scientist who has to get an antidote to a nearby laboratory."Alien Predator" was one of the very first horror films I have seen as the kid.That's why I can't give it a negative rating,even though the pace is lethargic and the gore is kept to minimum.However the film is suitably dark and atmospheric and offers a few creepy moments.The acting is decent and the characters are likeable.6 out of 10.