As a young lad I watched Creature or The Titan Find as it was boxed in the UK some time after my first exposure to the genius that is Alien.
At the time I was unable to pick out the often blatant rip-offs from Ridley Scott's masterpiece. I was however, scared sh*tless. The Titan Find creeped me out in a way that Alien, as magnificent as it is, simply didn't.
Years later my disgust at what has become of modern action and science-fiction films – rendered bloated by cost-cutting yet impotent CG effects has found me searching obscure websites for interesting films buried by the sands of time.
Put simply: I would much rather sit through a sleazy 1980's b-movie with dodgy acting than the modern breed of bloated, egocentric, cash cow, star vehicles.
Okay, so I shove the DVD of The Titan Find in the machine and discover that this film has obviously never had a proper DVD release and this is simply ripped from a VHS tape. Frankly, I don't mind, the grainy quality of the picture reminds me of the good old days of home video and stops some of the more shonky sets from looking too lame.
My next observation is the sheer lengths the film makers went to to emulate Alien. Even the score in the first half hour of the film sounds like it and the scene where the ship has a rough touch down on the surface of Titan is basically a direct transcript of the Nostromo's landing on LV426.
Yet, I still have feelings of nothing but love for this film. The reason for this is that underneath all the cheap emulation is a film that has it's own strong points. It is in fact a slice of lurid gore, loaded with cracking horror riffs all drenched in that delicious 1980's atmosphere.
If I may just go back in time once more and explain why I bothered to search this film out: Like many of you out there I have seen thousands of films over the years. Over ninety percent of them are consigned to the waste disposal chute of my mind. Destined to never be thought of ever again. Not so with the Titan find. Though it has been somewhere around the two decade mark since I watched it there are certain images, events and characters that are forever etched in my consciousness. As I watched the filmd anew last night and saw them again I was amazed that they have lost almost nothing with time. The bizarre image from the bridge of the space ship seconds before it crashes into the base at the beginning of the film is a profoundly disturbing moment even now and one that I found myself rewinding twice over before I continued.
Beyond that the first hour of the film (up until the monster's slightly disappointing reveal) is evenly peppered with wonderfully nasty stuff: Fennel being lured outside by his hot yet decaying girlfriend, the discovery of the German crew then Fennel's reappearance and gruesomely literal unmasking all still pack a punch and gorehounds will not be disappointed.
Despite some slightly B-movie acting The Titan Find even manages to notch up a few good characters with Bryce and Sladen providing diverse hotness with icy, post-Ripley cool in the former and cuddly, girly lovability in the latter. Oh yeah, and some bloke called Klaus Kinski is in it too, busting loose a few raw acting chops!
My only disappointment when comparing my memory to the modern reality was the final reel in which the creature itself is confronted. To be honest, the unpredictable, bloody atmosphere and creepy happenings leave the building completely as we see a ridiculous rubber model slug it out with the remaining survivors.
Happily the film makers obviously realised the monster was a bit crap and so hold it back until the final ten minutes. Search this film out and get your mind past the Alien-isms.
At the time I was unable to pick out the often blatant rip-offs from Ridley Scott's masterpiece. I was however, scared sh*tless. The Titan Find creeped me out in a way that Alien, as magnificent as it is, simply didn't.
Years later my disgust at what has become of modern action and science-fiction films – rendered bloated by cost-cutting yet impotent CG effects has found me searching obscure websites for interesting films buried by the sands of time.
Put simply: I would much rather sit through a sleazy 1980's b-movie with dodgy acting than the modern breed of bloated, egocentric, cash cow, star vehicles.
Okay, so I shove the DVD of The Titan Find in the machine and discover that this film has obviously never had a proper DVD release and this is simply ripped from a VHS tape. Frankly, I don't mind, the grainy quality of the picture reminds me of the good old days of home video and stops some of the more shonky sets from looking too lame.
My next observation is the sheer lengths the film makers went to to emulate Alien. Even the score in the first half hour of the film sounds like it and the scene where the ship has a rough touch down on the surface of Titan is basically a direct transcript of the Nostromo's landing on LV426.
Yet, I still have feelings of nothing but love for this film. The reason for this is that underneath all the cheap emulation is a film that has it's own strong points. It is in fact a slice of lurid gore, loaded with cracking horror riffs all drenched in that delicious 1980's atmosphere.
If I may just go back in time once more and explain why I bothered to search this film out: Like many of you out there I have seen thousands of films over the years. Over ninety percent of them are consigned to the waste disposal chute of my mind. Destined to never be thought of ever again. Not so with the Titan find. Though it has been somewhere around the two decade mark since I watched it there are certain images, events and characters that are forever etched in my consciousness. As I watched the filmd anew last night and saw them again I was amazed that they have lost almost nothing with time. The bizarre image from the bridge of the space ship seconds before it crashes into the base at the beginning of the film is a profoundly disturbing moment even now and one that I found myself rewinding twice over before I continued.
Beyond that the first hour of the film (up until the monster's slightly disappointing reveal) is evenly peppered with wonderfully nasty stuff: Fennel being lured outside by his hot yet decaying girlfriend, the discovery of the German crew then Fennel's reappearance and gruesomely literal unmasking all still pack a punch and gorehounds will not be disappointed.
Despite some slightly B-movie acting The Titan Find even manages to notch up a few good characters with Bryce and Sladen providing diverse hotness with icy, post-Ripley cool in the former and cuddly, girly lovability in the latter. Oh yeah, and some bloke called Klaus Kinski is in it too, busting loose a few raw acting chops!
My only disappointment when comparing my memory to the modern reality was the final reel in which the creature itself is confronted. To be honest, the unpredictable, bloody atmosphere and creepy happenings leave the building completely as we see a ridiculous rubber model slug it out with the remaining survivors.
Happily the film makers obviously realised the monster was a bit crap and so hold it back until the final ten minutes. Search this film out and get your mind past the Alien-isms.