Nightbeast

Last updated
Nightbeast
Nightbeast.jpg
Directed by Don Dohler
Written byDon Dohler
Produced by Ted A. Bohus
Starring
CinematographyRichard Geiwitz
Edited byDon Dohler
Music by
Distributed by Troma Entertainment
Release date
  • November 1982 (1982-11)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$14,000[ citation needed ]

Nightbeast is an American 1982 science fiction horror film directed by cult director Don Dohler. The story concerns a small town sheriff who must stop a rampaging alien from killing the residents of Perry Hall, Maryland.

Contents

Plot

A small alien spaceship is cruising around the Solar System. When it reaches the vicinity of Earth, it is struck by an asteroid and crashes at night in the small town of Perry Hall. Some hunters hear the impact and alert the county sheriff, Cinder. When they go investigating on their own, however, the pilot emerges and kills them with a disintegrator ray. The beast also attacks a couple in their home, and a family out for a drive.

Cinder confronts the beast with his men and some armed residents including a man named Jamie. However, the beast appears invulnerable to bullets and they lose many men to the disintegrator. The next morning, they enlist the help of an expert marksman who shoots off the disintegrator, disarming the beast. However, the marksman's son and another officer perish during the shootout.

The police department begin evacuating the town. However, they are unable to convince mayor Bert Wicker to cancel his party for governor Embry. Meanwhile, a delinquent named Drago abuses his girlfriend, who has been sleeping with Jamie. The police then arrive to give her the evacuation order, and after they leave, Drago returns and strangles the girl. When Cinder's police find out that Wicker's party is in progress, Jamie bluffs that poison gas is escaping from a nearby mine and the partygoers flee in panic. Wicker and his secretary Mary Jane, dispirited by this turn of events, stay home and begin drinking heavily.

At the office of doctor Steven Price, the beast appears and kills a few men. Price and nurse Ruth hide in the basement, and devise a trap to electrocute the beast with some frayed electrical cord. It works, and the beast flees the building. The body of Drago's girl gets discovered and taken to Price; Jamie, suspecting Drago, goes out on his dirt bike and beats him. Soon after, Cinder and his deputy Lisa discover a mutilated corpse, and the beast shows up. Lisa and Cinder make their escape, and the sheriff injures his leg in the process. Lisa takes him to her house to heal, and they have sex.

Meanwhile, Wicker and Mary Jane have gotten very drunk. Price is sent to watch over them until they can be evacuated. However, the beast gets past Price and kills Mary Jane in the basement. Her screams wake Wicker, and the beast rips his head off when he investigates. Cinder arrives afterwards, and Jamie suggests electrocuting the beast with a high-voltage coil from the local power plant. Price, thinking back to his success with the electrical trap, supports this course of action, and the sheriff drives out to the power plant with his men. There, Drago assaults Ruth and Cinder, but is stopped when Jamie shoots him with a shotgun.

Cinder and his crew return to Wicker's house and begin setting up their trap, laying metal wire between the trees and connecting it to the coil, which will discharge when they throw the circuit breakers. The beast takes them by surprise, and Jamie must hold onto the wire to keep it inside the trap. They throw the breakers, and the surge makes the beast explode, and takes Jamie with it as well. The camera pans up to the stars overhead and the film ends.

Cast

Production

Nightbeast features opening credit effects by Ernest D. Farino [1] and the creature was created by John Dods. [2]

J. J. Abrams worked on the film as a 16-year-old. Abrams became aware of Dohler from the latter's articles in a local film magazine, Cinemagic. After Dohler and Abrams exchanged correspondence, Dohler asked Abrams if he would be interested in scoring the film. [3] While the film was shot in Baltimore, Maryland, Abrams, who lived in Los Angeles, mailed the tapes to Dohler. [4]

Most of the cast of The Alien Factor reprise their roles in Nightbeast.[ citation needed ]

Release

Nightbeast was first released on DVD on September 28, 2004, by Troma, [5] and was later reissued on DVD on February 24, 2009, along with Blood, Boobs & Beast, a documentary about Don Dohler's life and career. [6] since then, the film was released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome.

Reception

TV Guide panned the film, awarding it one out of four stars, stating, "Although the special effects (including some startling uses of gore makeup) are noteworthy, the actors aren't given much to do other than stand around and talk. The final result is disappointing". [7] Bill Gibron of DVD Talk rated it 2.5/5 stars and called it "an angry middle aged man's cry for attention". [8] Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News wrote, "All in all, Nightbeast is drive-in, beer-swilling, audience-heckling fun." [9]

Nightbeast was featured in the 2013 Halloween episode of Red Letter Media's Best of the Worst. Among other things, the group discussed the film's similarity to Dohler's other work, hokey acting, and improved special effects. Mike Stoklasa called Nightbeast, "just a terrible film." [10]

In August 2016, Nightbeast was featured on Rooster Teeth's Theater Mode web show. [11] [12]

Legacy

Nightbeast has become a cult film. [13] It is briefly seen playing on a television in Panos Cosmatos' 2018 film Mandy . [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. J. Abrams</span> American filmmaker (born 1966)

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as Regarding Henry (1991), Forever Young (1992), Armageddon (1998), Cloverfield (2008), Star Trek (2009), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

<i>Super 8</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and co-produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and tells the story of a group of young teenagers in 1979 who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town. The film was shot in Weirton, West Virginia, and surrounding areas, portraying the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio.

<i>Krull</i> (film) 1983 British-American science fantasy swashbuckler film by Peter Yates

Krull is a 1983 science fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Peter Yates and written by Stanford Sherman. It follows Prince Colwyn and a fellowship of companions who set out to rescue his bride, Princess Lyssa, from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.

<i>Eaten Alive</i> 1976 film by Tobe Hooper

Eaten Alive is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written by Kim Henkel, Alvin L. Fast, and Mardi Rustam.

<i>Beware! The Blob</i> 1972 film by Larry Hagman

Beware! The Blob is a 1972 American independent science fiction comedy horror film directed by Larry Hagman. It is a sequel to The Blob (1958). The screenplay was penned by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III, based on a story by Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair. The film originally earned a PG rating from the MPAA, though it is now unrated. It is the second film in The Blob film series.

<i>The Alien Factor</i> 1978 film

The Alien Factor is a 1978 science fiction horror film written, edited, produced, and directed by Don Dohler. The film centers on a small town that is besieged by three aliens that have crash-landed in the nearby forest.

<i>Galaxy Invader</i> 1985 film directed by Don Dohler

Galaxy Invader is a 1985 American direct-to-video science fiction film directed and co-written by Baltimore filmmaker Don Dohler. The film's plot centers on an alien who is pursued by hillbillies after his spaceship crash-lands on Earth. The cast is made of entirely non-professional actors, mainly friends and family of Dohler.

Donald Michael Dohler was an American film director known for making low-budget science fiction and horror films, as well as his work in underground comix and publishing.

<i>The Nest</i> (1988 film) 1988 American film

The Nest is an 1988 American science-fiction horror film directed by Terence H. Winkless in his directorial debut. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Eli Cantor, the film's screenplay was written by Robert King. The film was produced by Julie Corman and stars Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz, and Terri Treas.

<i>Missionary Man</i> (film) 2007 American film

Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.

<i>Wrong Turn at Tahoe</i> 2009 American film

Wrong Turn at Tahoe is a 2009 American action film directed by Franck Khalfoun and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Miguel Ferrer, and Harvey Keitel.

Pariah is a 1998 American dramatic film written and directed by Randolph Kret and starring Damon Jones, Dave Oren Ward, and Angela Jones.

Donald L. Leifert Jr. was an American sci fi/horror film actor, writer, teacher, and film historian.

<i>11.22.63</i> 2016 American thriller miniseries

11.22.63 is an American science fiction thriller television miniseries based on the 2011 novel 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and consisting of eight episodes, in which a time traveler attempts to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The series is executive-produced by J. J. Abrams, King, Bridget Carpenter, and Bryan Burk, and produced by James Franco, who also starred in the main role. It premiered on Hulu on February 15, 2016, and was received positively by critics.

<i>Bigfoot</i> (2012 film) 2012 American TV series or program

Bigfoot is a 2012 American made-for-television film co-produced by Asylum/Syfy.

<i>Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse</i> 2012 film by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone

Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse is a 2012 American animated direct-to-video action-adventure musical comedy film starring the seven-time Academy Award-winning cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry as well as the historical and heroic outlaw Robin Hood. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 28, 2012.

Jack the Giant Killer is a 2013 American fantasy film produced by The Asylum and directed by Mark Atkins. A modern take of the fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk", the film stars Ben Cross and Jane March. It is a mockbuster of Jack the Giant Slayer. It was released on DVD in the UK as The Giant Killer.

<i>Criminally Insane</i> (film) 1975 American film

Criminally Insane,, is a 1975 horror film written and directed by Nick Millard. Shot on location in San Francisco, it was followed by a 1987 sequel titled Criminally Insane 2. A remake, Crazy Fat Ethel, was released in 2016.

<i>Fiend</i> (film) 1980 American film

Fiend is a 1980 American B movie science fiction horror film directed and written by low-budget filmmaker Don Dohler, shot in Perry Hall, Maryland and starring Don Leifert, Elaine White, Richard Nelson, and George Stover. The film had U.S. theatrical release in September 1980.

<i>You Might Be the Killer</i> 2018 film

You Might Be the Killer is a 2018 American supernatural slasher film directed by Brett Simmons and written by Covis Berzoyne, Thomas P. Vitale, and Simmons, based on an idea by Chuck Wendig and Sam Sykes. The film stars Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan, and features Brittany S. Hall, Patrick Reginald Walker, Keith David, and Bryan Price in supporting roles.

References

  1. ↑ "Nightbeast (1983)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  2. ↑ Albright, Brian (2012). Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. McFarland & Company. p. 240. ISBN   9781476600420.
  3. ↑ Chaney, Jen (2011-06-07). "J.J. Abrams, director of Super 8, on how he got his first film gig, courtesy of Nightbeast". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  4. ↑ Chaney, Jen (2011-06-03). "J.J. Abrams: The modern master of mainstream sci-fi". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  5. ↑ "Nightbeast (1983) - Don Dohler | Releases | AllMovie". Allmovie.com. AllMovie. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Raker, Bill; King, David B. (2009-02-18). "Video TapeWorm". Louisville Eccentric Observer . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  7. ↑ "Nightbeast Review | TVGuide.com". TV Guide . Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Gibron, Bill (2009-01-02). "Blood, Boobs & Beast". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  9. ↑ Miller, Mark L. (2011-07-15). "NIGHTBEAST (1982)". Ain't It Cool News . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  10. ↑ "Best of the Worst: Night Beast, Trick or Treat, and Skull Forest". Red Letter Media. November 5, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Episode #11 Trailer". Rooster Teeth. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ Rooster Teeth (August 19, 2016). "Episode #11" . Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ Hoare, James (2013-01-29). "Star Wars fans have Nightbeast to thank for JJ Abrams". SciFiNow . Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  14. ↑ Dutta, Debopriyaa (October 20, 2020). "Mandy: Every '80s Movie Reference in Nic Cage's Revenge Horror". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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.