The Suckling

Last updated
The Suckling
Suckling, The (1990) poster.jpg
Promotional release poster
Directed byFrancis Teri
Written byFrancis Teri
Produced byMichael Helman
StarringLisa Petruno
Tim Martin Crouse
Michael Gingold
Frank Rivera
Janet Sovery
Gerald Preger
Susan Brodsky
Antoinette Greene
Brian Muirhill
CinematographyHarry Eisenstein
Music byJoseph Teri
Distributed byHypercube
Release date
  • 24 September 1990 (1990-09-24)(Worldwide)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Suckling (also known as Sewage Baby) is a 1990 American horror film directed by Francis Teri and starring Frank Rivera (under the pseudonym Frank Reeves), Marie Michaels, and Michael Gingold.

Contents

Plot

On April 1, 1973 in Brooklyn, a college student named Bill takes his pregnant girlfriend Rebecca to get an abortion at a seedy back-alley abortion clinic which also doubles as a brothel. Rebecca is reluctant to go through with the process, but before she can back out of it, she is rendered unconscious after drinking a drugged liquid given to her by Big Mama, the woman running the establishment.After removing the fetus, Big Mama gets her assistant Bertha to dispose of it by flushing it down the toilet. The fetus winds up in the sewer and comes into contact with toxic waste being leaked from a nearby barrel, which gradually mutates it into a large, humanoid monster.

After Rebecca regains consciousness, Bertha starts hearing noises coming from the toilet. When she goes to investigate, the fetus's tentacle bursts out and rips her head off. Candy, a prostitute, witnesses the murder, and hysterically runs off to inform the rest of the staff. They then discover that all the doors and windows have been blocked up with a strange, fleshy substance, and the phone lines are dead.

After the survivors witness the monster killing another hooker in the building, they try to formulate a plan to escape. Sherman, the man in charge of the bordello, is later attacked by the monster, and Axel, Big Mama's son and a former prisoner with anger issues, inadvertedly shoots Sherman to death whilst trying to kill the creature. Axel then elects himself as the leader and shoots Candy in the head when she tries to talk back, before telling the remaining survivors that he wants them to kill the monster before they try and escape.

On Bill's suggestion, he, Axel and a few other survivors head into the basement, believing the creature may be hiding in the boiler room. Their theory proves correct, but when Axel tries to kill the creature, he accidentally stabs a fuse box, which electrocutes him until his head explodes. Later, Bill and Rebecca manage to break a hole in the front door by tying a rope to a heavy suitcase and using it as a battering ram. When a survivor tries using it to escape, however, he finds himself in a strange, fleshy environment where the monster attacks and kills him.

Eventually, Bill, Rebecca and Big Mama are left as the only remaining survivors. Big Mama goes into the basement to see her son's corpse, and the creature appears and kills her before bursting into the lobby and killing Bill. With Rebecca as the only one still alive, the monster reverts to the size of a regular fetus before forcing its way inside of her through her vagina. When the police are brought to investigate the building, they find Rebecca alive, but in a coma. About a week later, Rebecca, still catatonic, has been taken to a psych ward in a hospital. The doctors and police officers are skeptical of her claims, but when a hospital attendant tries to rape her, the creature bursts out of Rebecca and kills him.

Cast

Reception

John Squires of Bloody Disgusting referred to the film as an example of a "best worst movie", and wrote that it is "home to all the terrible acting and weird storytelling choices that make bad movies so much fun to watch. This movie has it all, and it’s highlighted by surprisingly good creature effects that outshine absolutely everything else on display in it." [1] Matt Hudson of HorrorNews.net gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's low budget, acting, and script. [2]

Home media

The Suckling was released for on DVD by Elite on May 10, 2005. It was later released by Films Around World on August 28, 2018. The film was first released on Blu-ray on March 26, 2019, by Vinegar Syndrome. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Soul Food</i> (film) 1997 American comedy-drama film by George Tillman Jr

Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film written and directed by George Tillman Jr. in his major studio debut. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera and Brandon Hammond. The story centers on the trials of an extended Black-American family, held together by longstanding family traditions which begin to fade as serious problems take center stage.

<i>Boxcar Bertha</i> 1972 film directed by Martin Scorsese

Boxcar Bertha is a 1972 American romantic crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Roger Corman, from a screenplay by Joyce H. Corrington and John William Corrington. Made on a low budget, the film is a loose adaptation of Sister of the Road, a pseudo-autobiographical account of the fictional character Bertha Thompson. It was Scorsese's second feature film.

<i>TerrorVision</i> 1986 film by Ted Nicolaou

TerrorVision is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features in 1989. TerrorVision was made by Empire International Pictures, the production company owned by Charles Band prior to Full Moon, and was released in February 1986.

<i>Feast</i> (2005 film) 2005 American horror comedy film

Feast is a 2005 American action horror comedy film directed by John Gulager, produced by Michael Leahy, Joel Soisson, Larry Tanz and Andrew Jameson. It was written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat, Judah Friedlander, Jenny Wade, Gulager's father Clu Gulager, Josh Zuckerman and Jason Mewes. The story revolves around a group of people gathered inside a local bar in Nevada, where they are suddenly attacked by a horde of monstrous creatures.

<i>Big Bad Mama</i> 1974 film by Steve Carver

Big Bad Mama is a 1974 American action-crime-sexploitation comedy movie produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. This movie is about a mother, Wilma, and her two daughters, Polly and Billie Jean, who go on a crime spree. After the mother unexpectedly falls in love with a bank robber it all ends, with tragic consequences. Big Bad Mama became a cult hit and was followed by a sequel, Big Bad Mama II, in 1987.

<i>Castle Freak</i> 1995 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon

Castle Freak is a 1995 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Stuart Gordon. The film stars Jeffrey Combs as John Reilly, an American recovering alcoholic who inherits an Italian castle when a distant relative passes away. John stays at the castle with his estranged wife Susan and blind daughter Rebecca, but a freakish monster locked away in the basement escapes and commits a series of murders.

<i>Intermedio</i> (film) 2005 film by Andrew Lauer

Intermedio is a 2005 American horror film directed by Andrew Lauer.

<i>The Mist</i> (film) 2007 film by Frank Darabont

The Mist is a 2007 American science fiction horror film based on the 1980 novella The Mist by Stephen King. The film was written, directed and co-produced by Frank Darabont. Darabont had been interested in adapting The Mist for the big screen since the 1980s. The film features an ensemble cast, including Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Nathan Gamble, Andre Braugher, Sam Witwer, Toby Jones, Frances Sternhagen, Buck Taylor, Robert Treveiler, William Sadler, Alexa Davalos, David Jensen, Chris Owen, Andy Stahl and future The Walking Dead stars Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Melissa McBride and Juan Gabriel Pareja.

Michael Gingold is an American journalist, screenwriter, and former editor-in-chief of Fangoria magazine.

<i>The Terror Within</i> 1989 American science fiction/horror film

The Terror Within is a 1989 American science fiction horror film directed by Thierry Notz and starring George Kennedy, Andrew Stevens, Starr Andreeff and Terri Treas. It was followed by a sequel in 1991, The Terror Within II, with Stevens reprising his starring role while also handling the film's writing and directing duties.

<i>Terror Is a Man</i> 1959 Filipino/American horror film directed by Gerardo de León

Terror Is a Man is a 1959 black-and-white Filipino/American horror film directed by Gerardo de Leon.

<i>The Mad Doctor of Blood Island</i> 1969 Filipino film

The Mad Doctor of Blood Island is a 1969 Filipino horror film, co-directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, and starring John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Eddie Garcia and Ronald Remy.

<i>The Frankenstein Theory</i> 2013 American film

The Frankenstein Theory is a 2013 American horror film directed by Andrew Weiner and stars Kris Lemche, Joe Egender, Timothy V. Murphy, and Eric Zuckerman. The film is distributed by Image Entertainment. It is presented as "found footage", pieced together from a film crew's footage. The film relates the story of a documentary film crew that follows a professor who journeys to the Arctic Circle in order to prove that Mary Shelley's classic 1818 novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, was based on fact.

<i>Sweetheart</i> (2019 film) 2019 American survival horror film directed by J.D. Dillard

Sweetheart is a 2019 American survival horror film directed by J. D. Dillard, written by Dillard, Alex Theurer and Alex Hyner, and starring Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence and Andrew Crawford. It was produced by Jason Blum, Dillard, Theurer, Hyner and Bill Karesh. The movie tells the story of a castaway who washes up on an island and must survive there while being stalked by a humanoid sea monster.

<i>Satanic Panic</i> (film) 2019 comedy horror film

Satanic Panic is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Chelsea Stardust, based on a screenplay written by novelist Grady Hendrix and adapted from a story created by Hendrix and Ted Geoghegan. It is a Fangoria production.

<i>Malignant</i> (2021 film) American supernatural horror film

Malignant is a 2021 American horror film directed by James Wan from a screenplay by Akela Cooper, based on a story by Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and Cooper. The film stars Annabelle Wallis as a woman who begins to have visions of people being murdered, only to realize the events are happening in real life. Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, and Jacqueline McKenzie also star.

<i>Tremors: Shrieker Island</i> 2020 film by Don Michael Paul

Tremors: Shrieker Island is a 2020 American direct-to-video horror monster film directed by Don Michael Paul and co-written with Brian Brightly. It is the seventh film in the Tremors franchise. The film stars Michael Gross and Jon Heder.

<i>Psycho from Texas</i> 1975 American horror film

Psycho from Texas is a 1975 American low-budget horror film directed by Jack Collins and Jim Feazell. The plot concerns a hitman being hired to kill an oil baron, who escapes and runs for his life. The movie was filmed in El Dorado, Arkansas.

Crabs! is a 2021 American comedy horror film directed by Pierce Berolzheimer, starring Dylan Riley Snyder, Bryce Durfee, Allie Jennings, Jessica Morris, Chase Padgett and Robert Craighead. It is the directorial debut of Berolzheimer.

<i>The Mean One</i> 2022 film by Steven LaMorte

The Mean One is a 2022 American Christmas horror film directed by Steven LaMorte from a screenplay written by Flip and Finn Kobler. It is a horror retelling of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and stars Krystle Martin, Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher, with David Howard Thornton as the eponymous character. It follows a young woman as she attempts to defend her childhood town from a green-skinned creature who goes on a murderous rampage during the holiday season.

References

  1. ↑ Squires, John (January 16, 2018). "'The Suckling': The Best Worst Horror Movie You Need to Stream". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  2. ↑ Hudson, Matt (25 May 2018). "Film Review: The Suckling (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. ↑ "The Suckling (1990) - Francis Teri". AllMovie . Retrieved April 9, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.