Occasionally a film comes along that reminds you that not all Italian films are made in Italy.
But the middle of nowhere in Utah? At least when they made The Visitor (1979) in Atlanta they could take in a Basketball game or two.
Despite the U.S. location we have an Italian team of writers and an Italian director.
They’re even hiding behind fake Anglo names. How much more Italian can cheap SF horror film be?
Still, it is a bit disconcerting to learn that that terrible acting on the part of the Sheriff is honest-to-goodness bad American acting and not merely overdubbed Italian acting in a foreign language.
I honestly can’t say whether that’s better or worse.
We are on somewhat familiar horror film territory: we’ve got strange things happening in the woods, the local power plant dumping nuclear waste, and the first few deaths. As always, the few who know what’s going on try to convince the local authorities to act, with the usual lack of results.
However, the monster is a bit unexpected and the effects are reasonably good, even if there are few scenes suffering from movie octopus syndrome: that’s when actors have to wrap themselves in rubber tentacles.
And while the acting is often a bit flat, a great deal of enthusiasm has gone into the “creature” effects. The “monster” isn’t exactly photogenic, or memorable, but the attacks are moderately impressive. There’s a tense and usually suspenseful build up to each new attack and some reasonably dramatic staging.
It all ends in a big way, with an army of locals trying to put an end to the menace.
Which isn’t something I’ve seen before.
So don’t expect too much and make sure you have plenty of popcorn and sarcasm. A little weedkiller won’t hurt, either.
Just don’t ask me “.7” of what.
I have no clue.
rivets on the poster 