CREEPOZOIDS
***
Directed by David DeCoteau.
Starring Richard L. Hawkins, Linnea Quigley, Ken Abraham, Michael Aranda, Kim McKamy.
Horror/Sci-Fi, USA, 72 mins, Cert 15.
Released in the UK on Blu-ray via 101 Films on Monday 14th April 2025.
The ALIEN knock-off is pretty much a genre all of its own, as in the wake of Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic you got, amongst others, such treats as ALIEN 2: ON EARTH (an Italian rip-off that isn’t as exciting as it sounds), GALAXY OF TERROR (Robert Englund and Sid Haig in a Roger Corman-produced cheapie which, again, isn’t as good as you think), Norman J. Warren’s dull INSEMINOID, the bonkers XTRO, the underwater-set LEVIATHAN, Vin Diesel’s PITCH BLACK and CREEPOZOIDS, which was Empire Pictures’ 1987 effort, now given a new Blu-ray release from 101 Films.
Set in the dim and distant future of 1998(!), the world is now a barren wasteland thanks to a nuclear war, and a group of military survivors break into an underground research laboratory to escape from the falling acid rain. As they explore their new shelter, they discover that there have been some very dodgy genetic experiments taking place, the result of which is still lurking in the labyrinthine corridors and makes itself known as the group fight for survival, against the mutated creature stalking them and against each other.
Produced on a budget of around $150,000, CREEPOZOIDS actually looks a lot better than it should, with its gloopy, fanged monster not quite up to Stan Winston standards but it is better than anything Troma put out at the time on similarly tight budgets. The gore effects are also decent considering there have been bigger, higher profile movies in the same genre that have come off a lot worse, so horror fans looking for some solid grindhouse blood and violence are well catered for here.
Scream queen Linnea Quigley plays Blanca, one of the survivors, so you know you can tick gratuitous nudity off the list of 1980s B-movie tropes, and she is the most recognisable face here, although the overall standard of acting from everybody is very mixed, meaning some performances are wooden and stiff, to others being totally over-the-top with no middle ground to balance it out. Yes, it isn’t the sort of movie to attract Academy Award winners, but still. At least the short running time means nobody is around long enough to make it too painful to listen to.
With a basic central plot that lifts the creature-in-the-dark element of ALIEN, CREEPOZOIDS does try and elevate things a little by bringing in elements from other movies, most notably the paranoia of John Carpenter’s THE THING and a creepy monster mutation that doesn’t just nod to Larry Coen’s IT’S ALIVE, it totally headbutts it. It doesn’t go too far with the trust issues between the crew, but it adds just enough danger to the confined space setting that doesn’t involve the creature, and the whole Larry Coen tribute is really just to fill the last ten minutes as the filmmakers obviously ran out of ideas and found something they could blow the rest of their budget on. Either that or someone had a prop left over from another project, so they used it here.
Coming backed with an audio commentary by director David DeCoteau and a trailer, CREEPOZOIDS looks crisp and colourful, which is a surprise given how dark most of the movie is, but the separation of the gore and what is happening in the shadows allows a lot of the crude effects to be seen more clearly. In the ever-expanding field of movies ‘inspired’ by the Xenomorph and its many incarnations, CREEPOZOIDS is not the best of the bunch – STARSHIP TROOPERS, since you’re asking – but it is far from being the worst, thanks to its short running time meaning that there was no room for any excess baggage or sub-plots about corrupt corporations or the meaning of existence; it simply hits the ground running and bombards you with sex, violence and mutants for just over an hour before getting out - job done!
Chris Ward