Editorials
This Alien is Pure Evil: 35 Years of ‘Xtro’ Insanity
Thanks to the well-received release of Alien in 1979, a wave of extraterrestrial based horror followed in its wake. Some blatant rip-offs, most terrible or forgettable, and a few so absolutely bonkers that they’ll sear into your memory forever upon first viewing. Harry Bromley Davenport’s insane Xtro falls squarely into the latter. Released 35 years ago in U.S. theaters on January 7, 1983, Xtro has spent the last few decades rising from critical savaging upon release into well-loved cult classic due to its amazing, enduring special effects and ballsy kitchen sink approach plot.
From a critical standpoint, the ravaging makes sense. Despite a rather simple setup, in which Sam Phillips is abducted by aliens right in front of his son’s eyes only to return altered three years later, it quickly becomes something far more complicated and not always the most coherent. A lot of that is due to keeping the extent of Sam’s alien makeup so shrouded in mystery that we sort of have to infer what his new alien abilities can do. It doesn’t help that it’s sort of all over the place. While it’s clear that Sam has returned to claim his young son, Tony, it’s not as clear why sucking on his son like a human juice box means transference of alien DNA. Even the editing can be a bit sloppy at times, with dialogue being heard before the character speaking it even appears on screen. There’s also a few plot threads that don’t make much sense or never bother to get resolved (Award winner for least empathic and competent doctor here). Character introductions are something Davenport wasn’t really interested in exploring either.
Yet, somehow, these idiosyncrasies only enhance the hypnotic charm of Xtro. Thanks to the weird juice box sucking, and Sam’s transference of alien abilities to his son, Tony develops the power to manifest anything he thinks up with his mind. Here’s where the kitchen sink aspect of the film really shines. While Sam is trying to reconnect with his estranged wife, Tony is torturing the neighbors with panthers, killer circus clowns, toy tanks, and life-sized toy soldiers. The very types of things no one anticipates when signing up for a sci-fi horror movie.
From a visual standpoint, it’s also easy to see why Xtro was hardly a favorite among critics. Gloopy, slimy, gory, bloody, and messy, Sam and Tony make a gross alien-hybrid father and son pairing. The most infamous scene landed Xtro on the supplementary list to the Video Nasties, a list of films that couldn’t be prosecuted but were liable to confiscation under a “less obscene” charge. That scene was the gnarly impregnation and subsequent birthing of a fully-grown Sam. It’s every bit as visceral as it sounds.
The special effects team is what elevates Xtro into something remarkable. From the goriest of kills and the squeamish, cringe-inducing ways in which these extraterrestrials seek reproduction, and even the various creature effects for each different iteration of the alien beings, Xtro is impressively revolting. So memorable, that even horror fans who haven’t seen the movie have still likely seen images from the film, notably the very creepy car scene early on with the crawling alien at the edge of the road.
Davenport pretty much dumps every single idea he had into this epic study of gory nihilism. Unnerving backward walking aliens, human hybrid aliens with pointy teeth, full-blown aliens, gloopy victim cocoons, slimy alien eggs, and everything in between, Davenport leaves nothing unexplored on a visual level. Plot-wise, Xtro has a bit of everything as well. It’s a sensory onslaught that leaves you feeling confused, yet in a that you can’t help but appreciate. Roger Ebert referred to Xtro as a “completely depressing, nihilistic” film in his review, and I agree. But unlike Ebert, I feel that’s what makes Xtro work.
Davenport went on to create two more sequels to this tour de force, but none held a candle to the magic of this crazy sci-fi horror. By no means a masterpiece, I’m so glad films like this exist. It’s the type of film that shouldn’t work at all, and still does. A brutal descent into complete madness, held up by fantastic special effects. Here are two 35 more years with one of the meanest sci-fi horror films in existence.
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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