Xtro (1983)

This film is quite the little oddity from England. I don't usually have British E.T. gone rogue movies on my bingo card, but Xtro was a pleasant surprise with quite an explosion of imagination on display. Director Harry Bromley Davenport has a rough and ready approach which doesn't always work, but the entertainment value is up there, so it's still worth a watch.

Father and son Sam and Tony Phillips are playing outside their London home, when strange lights spirit Sam away. It's three years later, and Tony awakens from a dream remembering the incident. He and mother Rachel have tried to move on, but Tony remains fixated on his father, barely accepting Rachel's new partner Joe. The lights return, depositing a seed that grows into a strange half human thing. After some mayhem amongst the locals, it goes on to rape a hapless woman. This poor victim then proceeds to give birth (in death) to a full grown ‘Sam’ in an icky, latex ripping moment.

This reborn ‘Sam’ then proceeds to attempt to return to the family he was taken from, but unknown to them, has strange needs that will satisfy at any cost. He also has his sights on Tony – and it's not clear whether his plans are fatherly, or a completely alien agenda.

Performance wise, Sam (Philip Sayer), Rachel (Bernice Stegers) and Joe (Danny Brainin) are all adequate, and raise the film above cheap drive in fare. Simon Nash as young Tony is okay for a child actor I guess, and doesn't ruin the film. Maryam D'Abo makes her film debut as the sexpot Au Pair Analise, providing a few requisite nude scenes before becoming an egg producing cocoon!

There's plenty of gruesome practical effects on display, from the backwards walking initial alien – who has a similar role to a face hugger from Alien, to alien Sam's skin-ripping rebirth, which made me wince. Later in the story, Sam begins to deteriorate as his alien nature takes hold, providing the makeup team with a chance to show off their skills in creating a succession of decaying creatures leading to the monster's final form.

I believe back in the day Xtro gained something of a reputation as a "video nasty" and it's probably the alien rape scene that tipped it over the edge. It's an unpleasant moment for sure but not dwelled on like the full-grown adult birth, which is obviously fake but not a nice concept to think about.

Technically, the film's editing I found to be quite rough, and probably the most B-grade aspect of the film. Many scenes are rushed and cut short when they're dramatically about to take off. The score by director Davenport is pretty dire, lots of simple keyboard beeps and bloops, becoming more hysterical in the action scenes. Maybe he should have hired someone with a fresh take.

On the positive side, the film-makers have upped their game when it comes to imaginative scenarios for young Tony. Once under Dad's influence, Tony gains the power to make his inner thoughts summon real life simulacrums. A toy clown becomes a sinister full size assistant to his childish revenge games. A toy soldier becomes a lethal adult-size assassin, pitted against an old woman who killed his pet snake. None of it makes for hard science if you take things seriously, but it's kind of fun to watch.

All in all, I'd say give Xtro a look if this description sounds like your cup of tea. It's a far cry from modern cinema that we'll never see again, and director Davenport adds a few flourishes that puts the film a couple of notches above a pure trash experience. Maybe it would make a good double bill with E.T. just to keep the audience experience off-kilter!

Do have a pleasant evening.