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TerrorVision (1986) - Ted Nicolaou



This unique horror-comedy had caught my eye but I hadn't ever seen it. I frequently had gotten this movie mixed up with Stay Tuned, which I had seen frequently as a child and thus never picked up TerrorVision. But after my first viewing, I had become a big fan. It's also a big product of the eighties. And it totally shows.

A family with a satellite dish is frustrated with their poor service. The father customizes the dish and accidentally opens up a gateway for a horribly dangerous alien to come through. The alien has a taste for human flesh and can transfer from place to place through the television. It's dangerous in a huge house with multiple tvs.

TerrorVision is actually a really good schlock picture. The comedy is just right and it appears to be much higher quality than other movies of its same recipe. The effects aren't meant to be amazing. But for a satire on the giant alien-monster movies, it's perfect. It's provided by our good friend John Carl Buechler who had previously worked on some special effects for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Troll and Friday the 13th: The New Blood. Safe to say these horrible effects are in the hands of a master.

Gerrit Graham ended up being my favorite character for some reason. I loved him in Phantom of the Paradise and he was really entertaining in this. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. The titular song, along with a few other songs, are provided by The Fibonaccis.

This isn't a masterpiece or anything. I found this movie highly entertaining and really fun. It has a slight amount of gore, but nothing that wouldn't be shown on television. It's full of camp from beginning to end and would make for a great midnight showing somewhere. The movie has that cult film quality for sure.

Director: Ted Nicolaou
Producers: Albert Band, Charles Band and Debra Dion
Writers: Charles Band and Ted Nicolaou
Starring: Diane Franklin, Gerrit Graham. Mary Woronov, Chad Allen and Jonathan Gries
Studio: Empire Pictures
Release dates: February 14, 1986
Country: USA




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