Creature (1985) Reviews

• Much Better Than You Might Think

  Ultimex_Varptuner2008-08-29

  As a young lad I watched Creature or The Titan Find as it was boxed in the UK some time after my first exposure to the genius that is Alien. At the time I was unable to pick out the often blatant rip-offs from Ridley Scott's masterpiece. I was however, scared sh*tless. The Titan Find creeped me out in a way that Alien, as magnificent as it is, simply didn't. Years later my disgust at what has become of modern action and science-fiction films – rendered bloated by cost-cutting yet impotent CG effects has found me searching obscure websites for interesting films buried by the sands of time. Put simply: I would much rather sit through a sleazy 1980's b-movie with dodgy acting than the modern breed of bloated, egocentric, cash cow, star vehicles. Okay, so I shove the DVD of The Titan Find in the machine and discover that this film has obviously never had a proper DVD release and this is simply ripped from a VHS tape. Frankly, I don't mind, the grainy quality of the picture reminds me of the good old days of home video and stops some of the more shonky sets from looking too lame. My next observation is the sheer lengths the film makers went to to emulate Alien. Even the score in the first half hour of the film sounds like it and the scene where the ship has a rough touch down on the surface of Titan is basically a direct transcript of the Nostromo's landing on LV426. Yet, I still have feelings of nothing but love for this film. The reason for this is that underneath all the cheap emulation is a film that has it's own strong points. It is in fact a slice of lurid gore, loaded with cracking horror riffs all drenched in that delicious 1980's atmosphere. If I may just go back in time once more and explain why I bothered to search this film out: Like many of you out there I have seen thousands of films over the years. Over ninety percent of them are consigned to the waste disposal chute of my mind. Destined to never be thought of ever again. Not so with the Titan find. Though it has been somewhere around the two decade mark since I watched it there are certain images, events and characters that are forever etched in my consciousness. As I watched the filmd anew last night and saw them again I was amazed that they have lost almost nothing with time. The bizarre image from the bridge of the space ship seconds before it crashes into the base at the beginning of the film is a profoundly disturbing moment even now and one that I found myself rewinding twice over before I continued. Beyond that the first hour of the film (up until the monster's slightly disappointing reveal) is evenly peppered with wonderfully nasty stuff: Fennel being lured outside by his hot yet decaying girlfriend, the discovery of the German crew then Fennel's reappearance and gruesomely literal unmasking all still pack a punch and gorehounds will not be disappointed. Despite some slightly B-movie acting The Titan Find even manages to notch up a few good characters with Bryce and Sladen providing diverse hotness with icy, post-Ripley cool in the former and cuddly, girly lovability in the latter. Oh yeah, and some bloke called Klaus Kinski is in it too, busting loose a few raw acting chops! My only disappointment when comparing my memory to the modern reality was the final reel in which the creature itself is confronted. To be honest, the unpredictable, bloody atmosphere and creepy happenings leave the building completely as we see a ridiculous rubber model slug it out with the remaining survivors. Happily the film makers obviously realised the monster was a bit crap and so hold it back until the final ten minutes. Search this film out and get your mind past the Alien-isms.

• A low budget alien gore fest delivering some good sci fi value

  jbhitson-396-9122992012-09-02

  I give this film a "7" mainly based on sentimental value because it is one of the earliest sci fi movies that I remember distinctly from my younger years (this came out on video when I was about 10 years old). The main thing I remember was the opening scene where one of the astronauts gets eaten through the seat of his pants as he sits on the creature's pod or egg or whatever it is (not much of a spoiler, but there it is). This is another one of those movies hoping to capitalize on the success of Alien by Ridley Scott. It takes the formula from Alien then copies it almost directly at times (even the opening credit scene panning across a distant planet is almost identical though not as well done). What is produced in the end...well it's no Alien for sure, but I sort of like it. I have a fondness for low budget sci fi that tries to present a film way beyond its means. The costumes and sets are pretty good and really, overall, its a creepy story. Compared to other sci fi greats, it's not much, but taken on its own, it's a good late night weekend find that is at least more entertaining than what you might find on TV these days.

• Take your time why don't ya!

  ElijahCSkuggs2009-01-17

  My reaction to hearing about Creature, "Klaus Kinski in a creature feature? Count me in, baby!" My reaction after watching Creature, "Ehhh, sh!t." The story of Creature revolves around dueling spaceship companies (haha) who end up discovering on Saturn's moon, Titan, a creature who's been in slumber for over 2,000 centuries. That's alotta snoozin. So obviously when this creature wakes up it's gonna be hungry as hell. And low and behold it is. The crew discover that the German Spaceship Company has touched down before they have, and when they land they also learn that may have been a godsend. Because they're all dead. Well, besides Klaus. He managed to stay alive. Yay! Well, Kinksi, the romantic waitress from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and the rest of the American Spacemen are trying to figure out to get off this rock and survive the Creature's wrath while doing so. Didn't I just make that sound awesome? No? Oh. Well, like my summary the movie isn't very awesome either. But it's not totally worthless. Klaus in his minuscule screen-time plays his part in a pretty likable way. The gore though not a lot wasn't that bad, the sets were pretty good but too dark, and the cheesy writing and decision making were enough to make you smile. The ending especially was chock full of stupidity. Anyways, all these ingredients made a decently cheesy flick. Oh, it was a tad too long as well. I have to leave my biggest qualm (word of the day) for the end of his utterly pathetic review. The Creature was a total disappointment. By the looks of it on the cover it looks like a freak monster ant-eater type thing. And it's cool. But when it's on camera it didn't shine at all. To make matters worse here the creature may possibly be the slowest villain in history of capable villains. Jason does that slowass walk thing but he manages to keep up. This thing literally takes 2 second steps, but still it manages to keep right up. There was one scene where they had the Creature in the distance trudging forward while the guy's screaming "Hurry up!". The dude's freaking out for no reason because the creature probably made about 3 feet in all the time he was panicking. What a stupid review, huh? Anyways, if you like Alien ripoffs, Klaus Kinski, that chick from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, little bits of nudity and gore then check out Creature.

• Suspenseful Monster Attack Nightmare in Outer Space!

  FireFan2014-02-10

  This show gives the audience an honest attempt at a crisis-type movie like: Airport, Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, and others in outer space where it tries to imitate but only to a degree the Aliens theme. It has decent acting and convincing settings. There are harsh conditions successfully portrayed- ironically with the too dim photography and low lighting used in certain scenes (imagine how turbulent conditions would be on some planets) but this is a well-intended effect and not because, as some viewers claim, it might be a low-budget B movie. There is lots of edgy friction between the astronauts, and scary suspense. Several mishaps put together including a surprise appearance by Klaus Kinsky, which is set as another angle to the story, happen to the crew that seem impossible to cope with in this show and holds the audience in tension. There are disturbing occurrences going on, in part because of the volatile nature of the planet Titan where this all takes place. There is a scene which eerily, although graphically, emphasizes a female crew member's physique because of the bizarre occurrences happening in this unstable atmosphere of Saturn's moon. This scene is a realistic, yet important, attempt that the movie makes at demonstrating the possibly intoxicating effects on people of the poisonous atmosphere there on active but unknown Titan which the mission crew have to deal with--just as authentic and technically-minded as a science fiction story by Robert Heinlein might have been written. The enemy monster in this show is reminiscent of an alien villain monster from Gerry Andersen's: "Steve Zodiac's Fireball XL -5", a science fiction television puppet show in the 1960's. Same sinister approaching movements although these actions are blurred a bit, but this monster is made on a larger scale of course. Movies like this one often times succeed in making Outer Space appear as believable to viewers as a dystopia would make them shudder in dread. At the end of the film during the credits is some very good sound system music played which fits the mood of Creature well. Creature is probably an underrated, and maybe under appreciated, film for this science fiction genre. It is a show very much worthy of you trying out!

• A bit more genre than the usual Alien/Aliens rip off

  mstomaso2007-02-10

  This not-very-original sci-fi horror flick pits a mysterious alien with telepathic powers and very sharp teeth recovered from what appears to be an ancient intergalactic zoological collection by a corporate exploration expedition against the expedition's crew. The action takes place on Titan, one of Jupiter's larger moons. The film starts out relatively strong although the script and directing are more than just a little off throughout the entire experience. A surprisingly well fleshed-out backstory is provided in the first 10-15 minutes of the film. As the crew are, of course, picked off one by one (none of them seem to have much in the way of basic survival training or even instincts), and the audience gets closer to seeing and understanding the alien, things fall apart pretty quickly. Most of the acting is OK, but a little hamstrung by the weak script and generally poor direction, pacing and editing. Kinski makes the best of his cameo - a very strange role for him for since his enormous personality and screen presence do not fit comfortably into the quirky, somewhat perverse German engineer he plays. And Wendy Schaal does a nice job with her very poorly scripted character. For the most part, the special effects are good. But the creature itself, who thankfully does not appear until fairly late in the film, is neither freightening nor very aesthetically interesting. There is really no pay-off in the creature's appearance - it's obviously a poorly animated rubber puppet, and some of the melee scenes are actually laughable. More judicious editing and cinematography would have made this a better film, but even with these imrpovements, the derivative plot and poor script would have probably limited its potential to about a 5 in my rating system.