"TerrorVision" is an odd sci-fi/horror/comedy that seems to wear its "Poltergeist" influence on its sleeve. Either that or the filmmakers didn't care enough to hide the debt they owe to that movie.
The plot is about an otherworldly monster that comes - where else? - through the TV. Its arrival is even noticed by a cute little blond kid, a boy this time (Heather O'Rourke, R. I. P.).
The movie also doubles as a kind-of satire about middle class attitudes of the time as "Poltergeist" did, though that is barely noticeable. I liked the patriarch complaining about the punk/metal slacker his daughter brings home to meet the family, saying he looks ridiculous while putting metal chains around his neck to draw attention to his ample chest hair (they're preparing for a "'swingers' party", you see).
I admit I will watch anything with Diane Franklin in it. She's barely recognizable this time around, so heavily punked up you wonder why her parents are so shocked at the sight of her boyfriend - his own parents would probably be more shocked to see her.
I mentioned the movie was "odd" at the beginning of this review. I said that for a couple of reasons: one, despite the movie apparently being set in boring, staid 1980s suburbia, the house the characters live in looks like something out of "A Clockwork Orange". There are all kinds of weird art deco touches to the furnishing, like doors that belong on a submarine airlock. There's even semi-pornographic art work on the walls.
The other weird thing about this movie is that all the blood in it is green. Not just the monster blood (paging R. L. Stine) - I mean the human blood. I couldn't work out why humans in this movie have green blood. Was that simply to avoid a harder rating? Overall, it's an enjoyable movie for horror/b-movie fans which unsurprisingly died on a theatrical release. It's not "a truly wretched movie" (Janet Maslin) - if you're a fan of these types of movies, you know there are much worse out there. It's well enough made, well enough acted, funny at times, and has some cool gore effects.
The plot is about an otherworldly monster that comes - where else? - through the TV. Its arrival is even noticed by a cute little blond kid, a boy this time (Heather O'Rourke, R. I. P.).
The movie also doubles as a kind-of satire about middle class attitudes of the time as "Poltergeist" did, though that is barely noticeable. I liked the patriarch complaining about the punk/metal slacker his daughter brings home to meet the family, saying he looks ridiculous while putting metal chains around his neck to draw attention to his ample chest hair (they're preparing for a "'swingers' party", you see).
I admit I will watch anything with Diane Franklin in it. She's barely recognizable this time around, so heavily punked up you wonder why her parents are so shocked at the sight of her boyfriend - his own parents would probably be more shocked to see her.
I mentioned the movie was "odd" at the beginning of this review. I said that for a couple of reasons: one, despite the movie apparently being set in boring, staid 1980s suburbia, the house the characters live in looks like something out of "A Clockwork Orange". There are all kinds of weird art deco touches to the furnishing, like doors that belong on a submarine airlock. There's even semi-pornographic art work on the walls.
The other weird thing about this movie is that all the blood in it is green. Not just the monster blood (paging R. L. Stine) - I mean the human blood. I couldn't work out why humans in this movie have green blood. Was that simply to avoid a harder rating? Overall, it's an enjoyable movie for horror/b-movie fans which unsurprisingly died on a theatrical release. It's not "a truly wretched movie" (Janet Maslin) - if you're a fan of these types of movies, you know there are much worse out there. It's well enough made, well enough acted, funny at times, and has some cool gore effects.