Creature Blu-ray Review

The crew aboard the archaeological research vessel Shenandoah is searching for precious manufacturing materials on Saturn’s Titan moon. They spot a rival German craft in a crater on the surface and set down to investigate. The ground beneath the ship is unstable and collapses, leaving them stranded. They head over to ask the Germans for help but that ship appears abandoned. One of the Americans discovers corpses and as she runs for help is pursued and killed in front of her teammates by a deadly alien. The others race back to the Shenandoah where they are met by Hans Hofner, who says he is the sole survivor of the German expedition. He tells them the alien uses mind control and other forms of manipulation. When their ship suddenly runs low on air, the crew must return to the alien-infested craft to survive – but for how long?

Ridley Scott’s sensational classic Alien (1979) left an indelible mark on Hollywood and spawned countless imitations. Itself inspired by Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires (1965), Alien set the bar for years to come. 1985’s Creature (aka Titan Find) borrows from both Alien and Vampires as well as earlier fare like Forbidden Planet (1956), and to a much greater extent, The Thing (1951). The film is capably directed by William Malone (House on Haunted Hill, 1999) working from a script he co-wrote with Alan Reed, and delivers a number of decent scares and some quality suspense. We don’t get to know the characters very well before they are thrown into the mix – or after for that matter – but we know who to root for.

Creature has a number of things working for it, starting with the monster. The alien is hidden in the shadows for a decent amount of time before the big reveal, which is satisfyingly creepy. Special effects are handled by genre veterans Doug Beswick (Darkman, Ticks) and Michael McCracken (Silver Bullet, Leviathan), and the cinematography by Harry Mathias (Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge) belies the picture’s low budget constraints, delivering an atmospheric world that feels much larger than it is. The film plays like a haunted house movie in space, an idea that was revisited more than a decade later with the much glossier Event Horizon (1998).

The cast does a fine job led by Stan Ivar (Little House on the Prairie) as Captain Mike Davison, Wendy Schaal (Innerspace, The ‘Burbs) as Beth Sladen and Ferris Bueller’s dad, Lyman Ward, as corporate boss David Perkins. The three carry the picture through most of its tense moments, working together to avoid the monster and plot their escape. Low-budget pictures will often cast a marquee name to boost ticket sales and the producers take the gamble of bringing in the notoriously difficult but always watchable Klaus Kinski (Crawlspace) as Hans Hofner, sole survivor of the German expedition. Kinski delivers a surprisingly restrained performance, coming off as well…normal, which is quite interesting considering the batshit stories surrounding the actor.

Supporting players include Robert Jaffe (The Mechanic) as Jon Fennel, a crew member who faces the alien early on but returns seemingly unharmed. Horror fans may recognize Jaffe as the writer/producer of Motel Hell. Diane Salinger (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) plays the icy security chief Melanie Bryce, who would appear most qualified to fight an alien but disappears for much of the third act. On a side note, Salinger appears in the Kinski documentary Creation is Violent sharing entertaining stories of what she endured working with the actor on this production. It’s not included on this disc, but it appears on Nosferatu in Venice and is worth checking out. Rounding out the cast are Annette McCarthy (Twin Peaks) and Marie Laurin (Burial of the Rats) as Dr. Wendy Oliver and Susan Delambre respectively.

I remember being lured to this movie back in the day by its memorable VHS cover art that stood out on the shelves. If you are looking for a cheesy horror-sci/fi hybrid that doesn’t rely too heavily on science facts, then Creature might just be the film for you. It’s got some decent blood and a little bit of nudity and best of all a cool-looking monster with a taste for brains! In some regards the film is ahead of its time when, for example, predicting the prominence of corporations in space exploration. As an added bonus, Vinegar Syndrome includes the slightly longer Director’s Cut titled Titan Moon that runs about four minutes longer, adding some scene extensions and a little more gore. As far as Alien-inspired low-budget knockoffs go, this is one of the better ones that make for a good time on a Friday night with friends.