38 reviews
I first looked at this page and saw that it had a four rating before I had watched it, so when I started watching it, I am like this is so cool, why is the score so low? Well, unfortunately, the film slows down immensely and becomes standard low budget monster on the loose with plot points and characters that add absolutely nothing to the movie except padding. Which is a shame, because it is great when it first begins as it is nonstop action and killing which distracts one from the bad acting. When this great opening slows, you notice it way too much as you just wish the monster would hurry up and kill someone else!
So, the story has a ship in space hitting a meteor which causes it to plummet to Earth. An alien gets out and its ship explodes leaving it stranded on Earth. Instead of doing the E.T. thing of trying to phone home, this one decides, hell, I'm going to kill everyone I see! Yes, he uses a blaster to start disintegrating everyone, even children! If you get in close to him, he kills you with his hands! A sheriff tries to stop him and manages to get a person capable of shooting the monster's laser gun out of the monster's hand. It is at this point the movie goes downhill as we have to watch a character named Drago challenge the sheriff's authority and strangle a woman and the mayor of the town worrying about the governor of the state coming for a visit. The monster just appears to infrequently after the super great start so you notice that the film has horrible actors and just is not as fun anymore as that whole Drago thing went nowhere as far as having anything to do with the plot.
The first portion of the film is a highlight, and I understand that you cannot go at that fast pace for a super extended time; especially, when you have such a low budget, but save it till the end! It was so cool watching the monster just blast everyone that it is such a drastic tempo change after the monster looses his gun, I kept hoping he'd fix it and maybe blast up the party the mayor was having, but no, the monster does not show up making for a long line of scenes having nothing to do with the alien. Drago was the worst, here was one guy you want to see get ripped to shreds, and he gets killed in a normal manner.
So, this movie does start out on fire and I do find the makers did a good job with the monster on the very small budget. There are also some nice shots of the monster in the shadows looking ominous. The film slows down to a snail's pace once the monster no longer has his weapon which is a shame. Still a couple of nice kills to be seen, but nothing like the craziness that is the first 15 or so minutes. Also a warning to anyone who watches this film as it contains a sex scene that most of you will not want to see! I saw it coming and was like "NOOOO!"
So, the story has a ship in space hitting a meteor which causes it to plummet to Earth. An alien gets out and its ship explodes leaving it stranded on Earth. Instead of doing the E.T. thing of trying to phone home, this one decides, hell, I'm going to kill everyone I see! Yes, he uses a blaster to start disintegrating everyone, even children! If you get in close to him, he kills you with his hands! A sheriff tries to stop him and manages to get a person capable of shooting the monster's laser gun out of the monster's hand. It is at this point the movie goes downhill as we have to watch a character named Drago challenge the sheriff's authority and strangle a woman and the mayor of the town worrying about the governor of the state coming for a visit. The monster just appears to infrequently after the super great start so you notice that the film has horrible actors and just is not as fun anymore as that whole Drago thing went nowhere as far as having anything to do with the plot.
The first portion of the film is a highlight, and I understand that you cannot go at that fast pace for a super extended time; especially, when you have such a low budget, but save it till the end! It was so cool watching the monster just blast everyone that it is such a drastic tempo change after the monster looses his gun, I kept hoping he'd fix it and maybe blast up the party the mayor was having, but no, the monster does not show up making for a long line of scenes having nothing to do with the alien. Drago was the worst, here was one guy you want to see get ripped to shreds, and he gets killed in a normal manner.
So, this movie does start out on fire and I do find the makers did a good job with the monster on the very small budget. There are also some nice shots of the monster in the shadows looking ominous. The film slows down to a snail's pace once the monster no longer has his weapon which is a shame. Still a couple of nice kills to be seen, but nothing like the craziness that is the first 15 or so minutes. Also a warning to anyone who watches this film as it contains a sex scene that most of you will not want to see! I saw it coming and was like "NOOOO!"
This movie was really awesome at the beginning, then eventually got to be pretty boring. The lasers and the alien are really cool. The alien has such a good face and his laser gun looks like a dollar store kid gun. The music and sound effects are the best, I would like to drive around in my car and just listen to them all day! I didn't like how a lot of it was filmed in the dark, the people were gritty enough already. Is the sherrif wearing an afro wig? Why does the biker's girlfriend not button her shirts? Why is the little boy wearing a Montreal ringer shirt? Why is the biker such a dork? Why can about 5 local police officers die and no one cares, but then some local boy dies and everyone is very sad and upset? Why do the laser shots disintergrate humans and cars but not stone walls, trees or anything else they hit? What kind of a name is Wilton? It's a fun movie to make fun of.
- ethylester
- Nov 3, 2002
- Permalink
Don Dohler MUST have grew up during the fifties/early sixties and been a tremendously big fan of the monster-movies of that period! How else could you justify the handful of cheesy Sci-Fi horror movies that he unleashed upon the world during the first half of the 1980's? His movies all revolve on the exact same storyline of an alien monster invading a remote little redneck-town and killing the locals. "Nightbeast" is by far superior to "The Galaxy Invader" and "The Alien Factor", but still a pretty inept and laughable movie. The monster, which resemblances a hairless gorilla with fangs, lands on earth, takes out his laser gun and starts shooting random people so they disappear into thin air. He occasionally also rips hillbillies' heads off or their guts out, but he never seems to attempt to take over our planet or anything. Why is he here? Nobody knows and nobody even bothers to wonder about it. Thanks to the monster's arrival, the local sheriff also realizes that he's in love with his deputy! How convenient is that? Most of the time, you get the impression that the players completely worked without a script! They all just do and say what they feel is best, and Don Dohler doesn't mind because he's happy already for making another cheesy monster movie! There's some outrageous gore and gratuitous nudity, so I don't assume any 80's horror fan will complain. Heck, even the title can't be taken seriously, as the intergalactic King Kong eliminates as many people during the day as he does at night! It's true what the other reviewer said: they just don't make 'em like this anymore.
If Ed Wood was given color film stock and a budget that was double the nearly four dollars he made his entire library on, I suspect the result would be something that looked vaguely similar to the film "Nightbeast;" wooden actors, terrible effects, confusing dialogue, and plot holes large enough to drive a semi through.
The Nightbeast is an alien with a brown head and fangs, who crash lands his space ship on earth in the opening moments of the film. He then goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight. The remainder of the movie finds our "hero," Sheriff Cinder, hunting the beast, while bedding coworkers and trudging through subplots that mean nothing to anyone in or out of the film.
This so-called Nightbeast is a fascinating creature. He arrives on earth, and begins his rampage, and throughout the film, no motive is given for the carnage, no explanation provided for his origin or his reason for coming to earth. And none of the characters seem to care, or appear at all surprised that a murderous beast with bad dental work is on the loose. They try to kill it sure, but mostly out of simple survival instinct not even fear of the alien hordes as many a paranoid horror film has shown. The Nightbeast appears primarily during the day (Maybe his name is supposed to be a post-ironic commentary on our society?) and never speaks a word of dialogue. A shame too; he seems like he has a lot on his mind.
When Nightbeast hits the town, he first has a small raygun that he uses to dissolve humans away into nothing. He is so trigger happy (And presumably his gun has unlimited ammo) that he just blasts without aiming, and there are scenes filled with literally hundreds of lasers whizzing around our not-so-intrepid heroes who fire at it with their handguns showing on their faces a mixture of extreme heroism and idiocy. Of course, we later learn that the Nightbeast (Whose one weakness is electricity...funny that it doesn't like being electrocuted, SO creative) actually uses the humans for his food, begging the question if he needs to eat us to survive, then why use a raygun that destroys all trace of the humans leaving nothing to eat?
The film includes some wife-beating subplots that go nowhere, and a sex scene painful in both the unattractive nature of the participants and in the silliness of the dialogue (Example line: "You know I could take my shirt off..." Response: "And I could take my towel off.") And what kind of women completely undresses in front of her coworker with whom she's never shared a romantic encounter with in her life? She tells him she's going to take a shower then strips right in front of the guy! Did I mention he's got a salt-and-pepper curly afro and huge seventies glasses? Yeah, he's the action hero.
Lunacy of this caliber is often hard to come by. And Nightbeast truly fits that description. It won't be easy to secure yourself a copy, but it will be well worth the effort if you can. And watch out for those stupid, big-teethed aliens. Cause you never know...
The Nightbeast is an alien with a brown head and fangs, who crash lands his space ship on earth in the opening moments of the film. He then goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight. The remainder of the movie finds our "hero," Sheriff Cinder, hunting the beast, while bedding coworkers and trudging through subplots that mean nothing to anyone in or out of the film.
This so-called Nightbeast is a fascinating creature. He arrives on earth, and begins his rampage, and throughout the film, no motive is given for the carnage, no explanation provided for his origin or his reason for coming to earth. And none of the characters seem to care, or appear at all surprised that a murderous beast with bad dental work is on the loose. They try to kill it sure, but mostly out of simple survival instinct not even fear of the alien hordes as many a paranoid horror film has shown. The Nightbeast appears primarily during the day (Maybe his name is supposed to be a post-ironic commentary on our society?) and never speaks a word of dialogue. A shame too; he seems like he has a lot on his mind.
When Nightbeast hits the town, he first has a small raygun that he uses to dissolve humans away into nothing. He is so trigger happy (And presumably his gun has unlimited ammo) that he just blasts without aiming, and there are scenes filled with literally hundreds of lasers whizzing around our not-so-intrepid heroes who fire at it with their handguns showing on their faces a mixture of extreme heroism and idiocy. Of course, we later learn that the Nightbeast (Whose one weakness is electricity...funny that it doesn't like being electrocuted, SO creative) actually uses the humans for his food, begging the question if he needs to eat us to survive, then why use a raygun that destroys all trace of the humans leaving nothing to eat?
The film includes some wife-beating subplots that go nowhere, and a sex scene painful in both the unattractive nature of the participants and in the silliness of the dialogue (Example line: "You know I could take my shirt off..." Response: "And I could take my towel off.") And what kind of women completely undresses in front of her coworker with whom she's never shared a romantic encounter with in her life? She tells him she's going to take a shower then strips right in front of the guy! Did I mention he's got a salt-and-pepper curly afro and huge seventies glasses? Yeah, he's the action hero.
Lunacy of this caliber is often hard to come by. And Nightbeast truly fits that description. It won't be easy to secure yourself a copy, but it will be well worth the effort if you can. And watch out for those stupid, big-teethed aliens. Cause you never know...
I purchased a NIGHTBEAST video for less than a price of a rental, even if I knew nothing about it and I have to say that I'm glad I did. This is a somewhat fun (funny?) horror/sci-fi movie that's rarely dull. The body count is HIGH. One of the highest I've ever seen. The alien starts killing people left and right, with its laser or with its hands and huge toothy mouth. The beast even kills two kids. Now you've got to love that in a B-movie. Many of the killings are gory. The action is really fast and furious at the beginning but gradually peters out halfway through the film.
Anyway, the acting is spectacularly amateurish and the music often sounds like the one in FRIDAY THE 13TH. So much so that I wonder why haven't the producers of FT13 sued yet? The script is all over the place. As if the alien wasn't enough, the script also includes several competing plotlines, including a story-line about a criminal on a killing spree. And then there's the hilarious love story that blossoms right in the middle of the action between the sheriff and his female deputy. With the alien killing people all over town, the sheriff tries to stop a pool-side party held by the mayor for a state politician (the scene when the people lounging at the pool leave in a panic is hilarious. It's a priceless B-movie moment). The sheriff makes a big deal about the party, saying that there's no time for frivolities when people are dying all over the place and the town should be evacuated BUT the sheriff and the deputy do have time for some lovemaking. Nice to see where the sheriff's priorities are. Anyway, the love scene with the afro-haired sheriff and the blonde deputy with the perky breasts has got to be one of the funniest moments ever put on film. The same could be said for the conclusion of the film. Major guffaws.
I like these kind of b-movies which were produced by some local folks with no budget starring nobodies with no expectations but to entertain bored people seeing this in a rundown movie theater in the middle of nowhere. We don't see these kind of unassuming (and goofy) films being made and released anymore. It's unfortunate because they're often more fun to watch than anything released on video these days.
Anyway, the acting is spectacularly amateurish and the music often sounds like the one in FRIDAY THE 13TH. So much so that I wonder why haven't the producers of FT13 sued yet? The script is all over the place. As if the alien wasn't enough, the script also includes several competing plotlines, including a story-line about a criminal on a killing spree. And then there's the hilarious love story that blossoms right in the middle of the action between the sheriff and his female deputy. With the alien killing people all over town, the sheriff tries to stop a pool-side party held by the mayor for a state politician (the scene when the people lounging at the pool leave in a panic is hilarious. It's a priceless B-movie moment). The sheriff makes a big deal about the party, saying that there's no time for frivolities when people are dying all over the place and the town should be evacuated BUT the sheriff and the deputy do have time for some lovemaking. Nice to see where the sheriff's priorities are. Anyway, the love scene with the afro-haired sheriff and the blonde deputy with the perky breasts has got to be one of the funniest moments ever put on film. The same could be said for the conclusion of the film. Major guffaws.
I like these kind of b-movies which were produced by some local folks with no budget starring nobodies with no expectations but to entertain bored people seeing this in a rundown movie theater in the middle of nowhere. We don't see these kind of unassuming (and goofy) films being made and released anymore. It's unfortunate because they're often more fun to watch than anything released on video these days.
- Maciste_Brother
- Jun 2, 2003
- Permalink
Don Dohler's "Nightbeast" tells us the story about an alien-like beast which is killing people in a small American town.It is a poorly made film with cheap special effects,but still it is enjoyable enough to keep most of the horror fans entertained.The acting is awful,the script is not better,but there's plenty of cheesy gore(like entrails ripping,decapitation etc.)to satisfy undemanding gore hounds.The sex scene between the sheriff and his deputy is a laugh riot!5 out of 10-check it out if you like low budget horror movies.
- HumanoidOfFlesh
- Jun 30, 2002
- Permalink
- thestarkfist
- May 29, 2015
- Permalink
- poolandrews
- Nov 24, 2004
- Permalink
An hulking alien beastie crash-lands on Earth and soon wrecks havoc upon the populace first using his laser ray gun to dissolve into dust almost every human he catches sight off (that is when his aim isn't terribly off) and later his bare claws with which he likes to rip out and eat human spleen!
All in all, it's pretty silly stuff. I do have to give it some points for being somewhat fun at times. I actually enjoyed the mindless ray gun battle at the beginning and some of the later over the top gore effects. However it doesn't help when the monster provides the movie's only truly entertaining moments and he isn't on screen for a large portion of the film's running time. The acting throughout this is just plain awful and amateurish and our lead hero Sheriff Cinder is much too unattractive to be bagging the film's hottest chick. I also have to take off points for blatantly copying THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) on several occasions. When the monster isn't on a rampage, NIGHTBEAST is far too dull and eventually his attacks become so repetitive and predictable even they become less fun. Watch this one back to back with the 1951 THING and see the difference characterization, attention to plot and detail and creating suspense makes to a monster on the loose movie.
All in all, it's pretty silly stuff. I do have to give it some points for being somewhat fun at times. I actually enjoyed the mindless ray gun battle at the beginning and some of the later over the top gore effects. However it doesn't help when the monster provides the movie's only truly entertaining moments and he isn't on screen for a large portion of the film's running time. The acting throughout this is just plain awful and amateurish and our lead hero Sheriff Cinder is much too unattractive to be bagging the film's hottest chick. I also have to take off points for blatantly copying THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) on several occasions. When the monster isn't on a rampage, NIGHTBEAST is far too dull and eventually his attacks become so repetitive and predictable even they become less fun. Watch this one back to back with the 1951 THING and see the difference characterization, attention to plot and detail and creating suspense makes to a monster on the loose movie.
- Space_Mafune
- Sep 30, 2006
- Permalink
"Nightbeast" is one of those ingratiating little, regional genre pictures that wears its "cheesy B" status right on its sleeve. It's good straightforward entertainment, with no pretensions in sight, and a lot of gleefully nasty mayhem. One of the handful of movies made by regional filmmaker Don Dohler, it begins with a bang and offers plenty of amusements until its big finish.
The title creature crashes its spacecraft on Earth, outside a rural town. It's not really fleshed out at all as a character, seeming to have no motivation; it's a total badass that claims any and all people in its vicinity as victims. The local sheriff (the late Tom Griffith, sporting an awe-inspiring greying perm) and his deputies (Karin Kardian, Jamie Zemarel) have their hands full trying to destroy the antagonist while evacuating the town.
It's easy to level accusations of being "tacky" at such a movie - from the gore effects to much of the acting - but that merely adds to the low-rent charm if you're a B movie enthusiast like this viewer. Certainly you have to admire Dohler (who is also no longer with us) for having his movie hit the ground running. His first major set piece has the rampaging monster actually shooting it out with the cops! Granted, his pacing does slow down in the second half, with Griffith and Kardian indulging in an obligatory sex scene accompanied by romantic piano music.
The cast will likely amuse you, no matter if they can't carry the same gravitas as more seasoned Hollywood players. Griffith, Zemarel, and Kardian are watchable as the heroes, while other Dohler regulars like George Stover, Anne Frith, and Don Leifert fill out supporting roles. Leifert plays a murderous lowlife biker in a gratuitous subplot. Richard Dyszel is a hoot as the town mayor who's one of those classic Stubborn Dummies you can find in COUNTLESS movies of both the A and B level. But whatever you do, don't call him "Bertie".
This is lots of fun, if you're partial to movies like this to begin with.
Some latter day notoriety has resulted from the participation of a then very young J.J. Abrams, in one of his earliest movie credits. He contributed to the music score and also worked on sound effects.
Seven out of 10.
The title creature crashes its spacecraft on Earth, outside a rural town. It's not really fleshed out at all as a character, seeming to have no motivation; it's a total badass that claims any and all people in its vicinity as victims. The local sheriff (the late Tom Griffith, sporting an awe-inspiring greying perm) and his deputies (Karin Kardian, Jamie Zemarel) have their hands full trying to destroy the antagonist while evacuating the town.
It's easy to level accusations of being "tacky" at such a movie - from the gore effects to much of the acting - but that merely adds to the low-rent charm if you're a B movie enthusiast like this viewer. Certainly you have to admire Dohler (who is also no longer with us) for having his movie hit the ground running. His first major set piece has the rampaging monster actually shooting it out with the cops! Granted, his pacing does slow down in the second half, with Griffith and Kardian indulging in an obligatory sex scene accompanied by romantic piano music.
The cast will likely amuse you, no matter if they can't carry the same gravitas as more seasoned Hollywood players. Griffith, Zemarel, and Kardian are watchable as the heroes, while other Dohler regulars like George Stover, Anne Frith, and Don Leifert fill out supporting roles. Leifert plays a murderous lowlife biker in a gratuitous subplot. Richard Dyszel is a hoot as the town mayor who's one of those classic Stubborn Dummies you can find in COUNTLESS movies of both the A and B level. But whatever you do, don't call him "Bertie".
This is lots of fun, if you're partial to movies like this to begin with.
Some latter day notoriety has resulted from the participation of a then very young J.J. Abrams, in one of his earliest movie credits. He contributed to the music score and also worked on sound effects.
Seven out of 10.
- Hey_Sweden
- Aug 31, 2020
- Permalink
- Checkerbreath
- Dec 27, 2009
- Permalink
NIGHTBEAST is independent film-maker Don Dohler's follow up to his oddly brilliant ALIEN FACTOR, and it's another quirky, action-packed sci-fi offering. In fact, it's very similar to ALIEN FACTOR, albeit with the crucial difference that there's only a single alien creature rampaging through rural America in this film.
NIGHTBEAST starts with a bang by chronicling the alien's violent arrival on Earth and doesn't really let up from there. The narrative is an odyssey of cheesy 1980s-era computer effects of ray guns firing and subsequent disintegrations, mixed with the more adult exploitation staples of gore and nudity. Of the former, one of the alien's early victims gets graphically disembowelled by the entity, while half of the cast members seem willing to strip down for long-winded sex scenes used to pad out the narrative.
While this padding threatens to drag the film's entertainment value down, thankfully it never overwhelms the production or its emphasis on low-rent action sequences. Although the majority of the movie takes place at night, Dohler keeps things watchable and there's a surprising amount of atmosphere in the production too. The alien itself is undoubtedly inspired by ALIEN but looks even meaner even though the special effects aren't as good.
NIGHTBEAST starts with a bang by chronicling the alien's violent arrival on Earth and doesn't really let up from there. The narrative is an odyssey of cheesy 1980s-era computer effects of ray guns firing and subsequent disintegrations, mixed with the more adult exploitation staples of gore and nudity. Of the former, one of the alien's early victims gets graphically disembowelled by the entity, while half of the cast members seem willing to strip down for long-winded sex scenes used to pad out the narrative.
While this padding threatens to drag the film's entertainment value down, thankfully it never overwhelms the production or its emphasis on low-rent action sequences. Although the majority of the movie takes place at night, Dohler keeps things watchable and there's a surprising amount of atmosphere in the production too. The alien itself is undoubtedly inspired by ALIEN but looks even meaner even though the special effects aren't as good.
- Leofwine_draca
- Jul 14, 2016
- Permalink
From hardly alien sounding lasers, to an elementary school style shuttle crash, "Nightbeast" is better classified as a farcical mix of fake blood and bare chest. The almost pornographic style of the film seems to be a failed attempt to recover from a lack of cohesive or effective story. The acting however is not nearly as beastly, many of the young, aspiring, actors admirably showcase a hidden talent. Particularly Don Leifert and Jamie Zemarel, who shed a well needed shard of light on this otherwise terrible film. Nightbeast would have never shown up on set had he known the terrible movie making talent of this small Maryland town.
- sagewoodruff
- Dec 18, 2007
- Permalink
Nightbeast, although never able to rise above it's limited budget, still manages to leave a sweet taste in your mouth.
Reeling from a collision with a meteor, a spaceship crashes in the forest of a small town. The alien (which strangely resembles the 'Predator') comes stumbling out, angry and lost. He goes on a killing spree which includes some campers. The sheriff decides to ask the locals to help him go after the creature. The towns-people, mostly farmers, hunters and loggers, reluctantly agree. A violent, gory battle quickly ensues.
As I was watching Nightbeast I kept thinking to myself 'this is Mayberry vs The Predator'. Even the sheriff, reminded of Andy Griffith. I hated to admit it but I kind of enjoyed this film. There are some great moments, for example, there is a scene where an elderly hunter, who manages to shoot a weapon out of the creatures hand, falls to his knees and begins to weep. Plus, the creature is often shown fleetingly, like an apparition, and it is apparent that Dohler was hinting at something here but I couldn't figure it out.
Sadly, Nightbeast suffers from it's all too small budget. The special effects appear amateurish and the gore scenes look fake. The film also has problems with the plot, there are too many sub-plots. There is like three separate stories going on all at once and you are constantly jumping back and forth amongst them. Also, there is a rather weird sex scene between the sheriff and his deputy, that seems totally out of place here, as if it was inserted afterwards.
Outside of all these minuses, there is something I liked about Nightbeast. Maybe it is because of all the minuses that I keep coming back for more, the same reason I keep coming back for Plan Nine From Outer Space.
Reeling from a collision with a meteor, a spaceship crashes in the forest of a small town. The alien (which strangely resembles the 'Predator') comes stumbling out, angry and lost. He goes on a killing spree which includes some campers. The sheriff decides to ask the locals to help him go after the creature. The towns-people, mostly farmers, hunters and loggers, reluctantly agree. A violent, gory battle quickly ensues.
As I was watching Nightbeast I kept thinking to myself 'this is Mayberry vs The Predator'. Even the sheriff, reminded of Andy Griffith. I hated to admit it but I kind of enjoyed this film. There are some great moments, for example, there is a scene where an elderly hunter, who manages to shoot a weapon out of the creatures hand, falls to his knees and begins to weep. Plus, the creature is often shown fleetingly, like an apparition, and it is apparent that Dohler was hinting at something here but I couldn't figure it out.
Sadly, Nightbeast suffers from it's all too small budget. The special effects appear amateurish and the gore scenes look fake. The film also has problems with the plot, there are too many sub-plots. There is like three separate stories going on all at once and you are constantly jumping back and forth amongst them. Also, there is a rather weird sex scene between the sheriff and his deputy, that seems totally out of place here, as if it was inserted afterwards.
Outside of all these minuses, there is something I liked about Nightbeast. Maybe it is because of all the minuses that I keep coming back for more, the same reason I keep coming back for Plan Nine From Outer Space.
Don Dohler's Nightbeast comes from Amazing Film Productions, which might be pushing it a bit (okay... a lot). A classic example of low-budget regional B-movie sci-fi/horror schlock, the film opens with an ugly alien with lots of teeth crash-landing in small-town U.S.A. where it proceeds to kill and mutilate anyone it meets. Why? 'Cos it's hangry!
The hero of the piece is Sheriff Cinder (Tom Griffith), who sports a greying afro perm, a droopy moustache, and large sunglasses; he's joined by several other locals in trying to destroy the monster, including deputy Lisa Kent (Karin Kardian), whose hair is almost as bad as the Sheriff's. As well as shockingly nasty hair, Nightbeast also features terrible performances all-round from the presumably amateur cast, some gratuitous female nudity, an out-of-nowhere sex scene between Cinder and Kent (two unattractive people bumping uglies is the real horror!), and a healthy dose of gore, including disembowelment, a severed arm, a clawed face, decapitation, and a guy fried to a crisp by high-voltage.
These gore effects are cheap but satisfyingly messy; the visual effects, on the other hand, are just cheap, from the terrible alien craft in space to the really naff sparkly laser-gun blasts, this is laughable stuff indeed. Dohler's direction is basic and the film does tend to drag between the splattery death scenes, but if you're into cheesy '80s drive-in trash, I guess you could do worse.
The hero of the piece is Sheriff Cinder (Tom Griffith), who sports a greying afro perm, a droopy moustache, and large sunglasses; he's joined by several other locals in trying to destroy the monster, including deputy Lisa Kent (Karin Kardian), whose hair is almost as bad as the Sheriff's. As well as shockingly nasty hair, Nightbeast also features terrible performances all-round from the presumably amateur cast, some gratuitous female nudity, an out-of-nowhere sex scene between Cinder and Kent (two unattractive people bumping uglies is the real horror!), and a healthy dose of gore, including disembowelment, a severed arm, a clawed face, decapitation, and a guy fried to a crisp by high-voltage.
These gore effects are cheap but satisfyingly messy; the visual effects, on the other hand, are just cheap, from the terrible alien craft in space to the really naff sparkly laser-gun blasts, this is laughable stuff indeed. Dohler's direction is basic and the film does tend to drag between the splattery death scenes, but if you're into cheesy '80s drive-in trash, I guess you could do worse.
- BA_Harrison
- Sep 13, 2019
- Permalink
Cult independent director Don Dohler, who also gave unto us such low budget flicks as Fiend and Alien Factor strikes again here with this mildly entertaining homicidal alien flick.
I actually remember my first encounter with this film (or at least the poster for said flick) many, many years ago when it first came out on video here in the UK. I was a wee lad at the time and can still vividly remember feeling a combination of fear and fascination at the site of this bizarre looking shiny suited monster crouching over a dead victim. Cut back to the present and purely by chance I came across the film again recently - well needless to say, I just had to check it out after all these years!
Now armed with adult eyes the first thing that struck me was that the alien featured in this, as another reviewer pointed out, looks not dissimilar to a hairless gorilla! (with a laser gun no less!) - A fact which in all honesty makes it rather hard to take said critter at all seriously or furthermore to emote any fear from (not that the film manages to evoke any sense of tension and/or scares whatsoever anyway).
Aside from said beasties somewhat unfortunate rendering, we are also treated to some pretty risible acting displays, bland characterisations and general tediousness of plotting/pacing. Sounds pretty bad eh? Well, yes it is but credit where credits due - the film somehow remains watchable throughout at least. In fact to be equitable, for a simple 'small town menaced by alien invader' flick, this works about as well as any and even has a healthy splattering of gore to lift the proceedings somewhat.
Certainly far from a classic but does nonetheless have a rather curious nostalgic charm to it, especially for me in fact as I had wanted for so long to find out exactly what the film was I had seen the poster for all those years ago.
Ah, the magic of childhood memories eh?
I actually remember my first encounter with this film (or at least the poster for said flick) many, many years ago when it first came out on video here in the UK. I was a wee lad at the time and can still vividly remember feeling a combination of fear and fascination at the site of this bizarre looking shiny suited monster crouching over a dead victim. Cut back to the present and purely by chance I came across the film again recently - well needless to say, I just had to check it out after all these years!
Now armed with adult eyes the first thing that struck me was that the alien featured in this, as another reviewer pointed out, looks not dissimilar to a hairless gorilla! (with a laser gun no less!) - A fact which in all honesty makes it rather hard to take said critter at all seriously or furthermore to emote any fear from (not that the film manages to evoke any sense of tension and/or scares whatsoever anyway).
Aside from said beasties somewhat unfortunate rendering, we are also treated to some pretty risible acting displays, bland characterisations and general tediousness of plotting/pacing. Sounds pretty bad eh? Well, yes it is but credit where credits due - the film somehow remains watchable throughout at least. In fact to be equitable, for a simple 'small town menaced by alien invader' flick, this works about as well as any and even has a healthy splattering of gore to lift the proceedings somewhat.
Certainly far from a classic but does nonetheless have a rather curious nostalgic charm to it, especially for me in fact as I had wanted for so long to find out exactly what the film was I had seen the poster for all those years ago.
Ah, the magic of childhood memories eh?
- HaemovoreRex
- Jun 20, 2007
- Permalink
OK, when I say "wow," I mean, "Jesus, please help me." I have an old VHS copy that was printed before Troma got a copy of the title. The movie is about an alien crash landing on Earth to terrorize us with a gun that blasts people into oblivion. WATCH OUT!!! And by that, I mean watch out for those special effects. There is an amazing number of mistakes. The acting is terrible, but I'd say the only one putting forth any effort would be the Sheriff. The film itself is really grainy and poorly lighted. In one particular scene, it is day outside and then the shot shows the Night Beast shooting his gun with night behind him. Then it shows day again. *Shakes head* I usually like low-budget horror films, but I had to force myself to finish it because I never watch a movie without finishing it. The only accomplishment this film achieved was an alien that wasn't stereotypical. So for that, and ONLY for that... I give it a 3 out of 10.
Don't watch this movie if you've had a bad day. You'll be even more depressed at the failed attempt this movie makes.
Don't watch this movie if you've had a bad day. You'll be even more depressed at the failed attempt this movie makes.
- spencewenn
- Feb 18, 2007
- Permalink
- kirbylee70-599-526179
- Aug 8, 2021
- Permalink
I have actually never watched the 1982 sci-fi horror movie "Nightbeast" before now in 2023. I was, however, familiar with the creature from the movie. I guess I've seen it in a documentary about 1980s horror movies.
I didn't know what to expect from writer and director Don Dohler, as I sat down to watch "Nightbeast". However, I wasn't really harboring much of any high expectations, I can say that much. But the movie got a fair chance.
"Nightbeast" is a rather bland movie. Sure, it is watchable if you enjoy 1980s cheese, and it is smeared on pretty thick in this movie from Don Dohler. The storyline was straight forward, but rather simplistic. And the fact that some scenes made little sense and some really awkward intimate scenes made it all the more cringeworthy.
The acting performances in "Nightbeast" were so-so. Some of the performances were fair, while others were dubious. But then again, the movie didn't exactly warrant you to expect award-winning performances.
Visually then "Nightbeast" was probably good back in 1982. However, it hasn't aged well and doesn't really come off at passable today. The creature design was simplistic, and obviously just a rubber mask. Funny, though, that despite it being a rubber mask, it was actually more articulate than some of the more recently made creature features.
I loved the shooting scenes, especially since the revolvers are never reloaded and apparantly have an infinite amount of ammunition. And the creature also had a tendency of going berserk with its gun, shooting lasers literally all over the place.
All in all, then "Nightbeast" was not an outstanding movie. Watchable, sure, but hardly a memorable movie experience, nor one I will return to a second time.
My rating of "Nightbeast" lands on a three out of ten stars.
I didn't know what to expect from writer and director Don Dohler, as I sat down to watch "Nightbeast". However, I wasn't really harboring much of any high expectations, I can say that much. But the movie got a fair chance.
"Nightbeast" is a rather bland movie. Sure, it is watchable if you enjoy 1980s cheese, and it is smeared on pretty thick in this movie from Don Dohler. The storyline was straight forward, but rather simplistic. And the fact that some scenes made little sense and some really awkward intimate scenes made it all the more cringeworthy.
The acting performances in "Nightbeast" were so-so. Some of the performances were fair, while others were dubious. But then again, the movie didn't exactly warrant you to expect award-winning performances.
Visually then "Nightbeast" was probably good back in 1982. However, it hasn't aged well and doesn't really come off at passable today. The creature design was simplistic, and obviously just a rubber mask. Funny, though, that despite it being a rubber mask, it was actually more articulate than some of the more recently made creature features.
I loved the shooting scenes, especially since the revolvers are never reloaded and apparantly have an infinite amount of ammunition. And the creature also had a tendency of going berserk with its gun, shooting lasers literally all over the place.
All in all, then "Nightbeast" was not an outstanding movie. Watchable, sure, but hardly a memorable movie experience, nor one I will return to a second time.
My rating of "Nightbeast" lands on a three out of ten stars.
- paul_haakonsen
- Mar 2, 2023
- Permalink
- lorddrewsus
- Aug 2, 2019
- Permalink
This flick never saw the light of a projector bulb. It was distributed on DVD by Troma so right away you know the kind of qulity you're going to get.
It is supposedly a cult classic, but frankly I don't know why. It's horrible.
A good chuck of the movie is filmed through a fog machine which maybe wasnt a bad idea since the acting is attrocious.
These people could not ac their way out of a paper bag.
The monster wears a decent rubber mask and you dont see him much which is a good thing because I'd bet if you did you'd see how cheesy the mask really is.
The gore scenes are the ony good things in this flick.
The music is horrible and BTW it's done by JJ Abrams in his first screen credit.
It is supposedly a cult classic, but frankly I don't know why. It's horrible.
A good chuck of the movie is filmed through a fog machine which maybe wasnt a bad idea since the acting is attrocious.
These people could not ac their way out of a paper bag.
The monster wears a decent rubber mask and you dont see him much which is a good thing because I'd bet if you did you'd see how cheesy the mask really is.
The gore scenes are the ony good things in this flick.
The music is horrible and BTW it's done by JJ Abrams in his first screen credit.
Whoa boy. I was about to comment solely on the cheese of the monster in this...then the sex scene happened. It was...it was one of the worse good bad things I've seen in my life. Imagine your parents in a sex scene. There it is.
Wow.
Just wow.
This was basically an R-rated episode of Scooby Doo, which is exactly what I said about Don Dohlers previous movie "the Alien Factor" last year. In my review of that I only wished for more gore and I got it with this. Not too much but enough for long me to give this the highest recommendation that is humanly possible.
Wow.
Just wow.
This was basically an R-rated episode of Scooby Doo, which is exactly what I said about Don Dohlers previous movie "the Alien Factor" last year. In my review of that I only wished for more gore and I got it with this. Not too much but enough for long me to give this the highest recommendation that is humanly possible.
- adamclark-01767
- Jul 19, 2021
- Permalink
I finally got around to watching Nightbeast just hours ago and let me tell you now, the flick is amazing! Terrible acting, gratuitous MILF boobies, Cheap FX, and a "hero" that looks like a guy I knew from high school. He's skinny, pale, has a gray afro (Note : The guy I knew in high school didn't have gray hair), a weak chin and HUGE mustache (Note : The guy I knew in high school did have a HUGE mustache). You know, your typical hero type.
Cheap jack spaceship crashes on Earth and rubbery, toothy alien begins a rampage of terror. Skinny gray afro hero and MILF (There's a few other people around, I don't refer to them so much as characters. Let's just call them...expendable folk.) have to figure out how to stop him on their own because the mayor can't be bothered with no alien, because he's having a party the governor will be at.
If you are the type of person that LOVES bad movies. Then you will certainly dig Nightbeast because it is gloriously bad. Luckily for us, it's bad in the best of ways. This movie packs more entertainment than any of the movies being pooped out of Hollywood these days. I say give the beast a chance and you may have the same opinion!
Cheap jack spaceship crashes on Earth and rubbery, toothy alien begins a rampage of terror. Skinny gray afro hero and MILF (There's a few other people around, I don't refer to them so much as characters. Let's just call them...expendable folk.) have to figure out how to stop him on their own because the mayor can't be bothered with no alien, because he's having a party the governor will be at.
If you are the type of person that LOVES bad movies. Then you will certainly dig Nightbeast because it is gloriously bad. Luckily for us, it's bad in the best of ways. This movie packs more entertainment than any of the movies being pooped out of Hollywood these days. I say give the beast a chance and you may have the same opinion!
Viewers can check off all the boxes: a.). All manly men wear plaid shirts. B.)A young girl trips and falls while running. The young boy doesn't. C.) Female sheriff's deputy doesn't wear a regulation t-shirt with her uniform, showing a lot of cleavage. It's okay to forgo a bra while on duty, too. D.) No one thinks it's a good idea to call in militia or notify authorities immediately. E.) There's the usual gratuitous nudity f.) Continuity errors. Guy in fight scene shifts from blue plaid to green plaid to blue plaid shirt a few times. G.) Actors learned their craft at the local convenience store.
- bangorkiddo
- Jul 10, 2023
- Permalink