'80s Trash?: The Terror Within (1989)

 1989 was a pretty weird year for Horror based on this small sample size.  This is The Terror Within, a Sci-Fi Horror Film produced by Roger Corman's Studio.  I often wonder how much input he had on the individual Films.  Was he just signing the checks for most of them or was he an 'on-set visit' kind of guy.  With that out of the way, let's ask the obvious question- So this is just Alien right?  Kind of, yeah.  This has less of the usual aspects that the Alien-wannabes have though, to be fair.  It is not in Space.  It is not *technically* an Alien Invader.  It also not the far future either.  So why is this an Alien-wannabe?  Let's go through the list, shall we?  People are trapped in a space with a creature.  Said creature's birth is *slightly* familiar.  There's also the whole impregnation thing, but I'll get into the issues involved with that later.  Like many Films from this time, they talked George Kennedy into an easy pay-day.  Aw.  In the near future (or an alternate present), a virus has wiped out humanity and made 'Gargoyles' that kill people.  Can the people in the Bunker find safety after all of this time?  What happens when they get company?  To find out, read on...

Deep in the Desert, people hide out in Bunkers trying to survive until a cure for the issues with the outside World are dealt with.

They keep in contact with other Bunkers, but also look for Survivors.  Are they the key to a return to normalcy?

Two of them go out and die off-camera.  We have to save the monster reveal for later.

They find one survivor- a woman- and she runs away.  Why does she not want to go with them?

As it turns out, she's pregnant.  She's not happy.  Why?

Well, the Gargoyle did it...at some point before the gang went outside, I guess.

She gives birth and...it's Alien.

To double-down on the unoriginality, it runs off in a manner more like It's Alive (which Alien copied a bit, to be fair).

They try to find a way to catch and/or contain the creature, but much of their stuff is smashed/torn up.

They are stuck there.

To make things worse, the creature grows to full-size very quickly and...it's freaky.

All of the money they didn't spend on locations went to this, so kudos.

Did The Suckling rip this design off or is skull-faced, flesh fiend generic?

The Film also has this weird obsession with odd perspective shots as they do dialog.  They aren't bad, but they are...odd, no?

Anyhow, they make up some weapons to stop the creature.

As you can see, it does not go well.

RIP Not Dave Coulier.

Things get worse when the first of only two Female Members of the Crew is *ahem* violated by the creature.  She gets pregnant, but there's a question of whether or not it is the Monster's or our Lead's.

It was the Monster's.  She kills herself.

Fun!

Time to play with those dials and work up an elaborate Third Act battle with the creature now.

Said finale involves a flamethrower, some hiding, man-sized air vents and a fan that slap-chops the creature away.

In the aftermath, the Survivors blow up the Bunker- good-bye years of research!- and leave...for the Sequel.

It's a fun, if unoriginal adventure.  The obvious Alien stuff aside, they make good use of what they have here.  They have a good-to-decent looking Bunker Set(s) to run around in.  They have a good-looking Monster Suit.  They have some good-to-decent Actors here to lend weight to everything.  It has just the right amount of self-seriousness to be good fun to laugh at.  It has enough good stuff that you might enjoy it on its own.  The Terror Within is not the kind of Film that was made to win Awards or be shown in Arthouse Theaters.  Like most of the New Concorde stuff, it was designed to play strongly, linger for a few weeks in Theaters and then never matter again.  Those aren't even my words- Corman himself has said it!  My big issue is one that comes up alot with Corman Films from this Era- the misogyny.  I don't mean to keep bringing that up so often, but you can't ignore it here.  The 'shocking terror' of Alien was that the Creature would put its eggs inside of MEN and it would, by all definitions of the word, impregnate them.  That ties into a deep-seated fear that *I think* most of us have.  So to reverse it like they do here takes away the 'shocking terror' of it and just makes the Monster a normal, well, rapist.  This is a common thing in Corman-funded/Produced Films of this Era such as Humanoids from the Deep (made first before this one and then remade later) and also Galaxy of Terror.  At this point, I'm not judging- I'm just also not acting like I don't see it.  Regardless, Within is a fun bit of Sci-Fi Horror that at least some people had fun on...

Next time, I might as well cover the Sequel.  As a bonus, the Lead is now the Director- yea?  Stay tuned...