Line #39 Film/TheDeadlySpawn


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/92045cd47bd89505db5b0499f89a21ce.jpg]]
2	->''They're here and they're hungry.''
3
4	A low-budget horror film from 1983, and part of the post-''[[Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1978 Body Snatchers]]'' remake wave of sci-fi horror. It's a lot of fun.
5
6	Eyeless [[HungryMenace hungry]] man-eating aliens with lots of teeth find their way on our little Earth, and start munching locals. A bunch of old ladies, four college kids, and a boy obsessed with horror movies must now find a way to save themselves.
7	----
8	!!This film has the examples of:
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10	* ActionSurvivor: Everyone who makes it to the end of the movie alive. Particularly [[spoiler: Charles and, surprisingly, Aunt Millie.]]
11	* AgentScully: Pete's entry-level understanding of the scientific method makes him into this, a bit irrationally skeptical when it comes to the unexplained. He has a really hard time accepting that the weird tadpole-like creature that Frankie and Ellen found is an alien -- which, of course, it is.
12	* AgonyOfTheFeet: When two tadpole aliens attack Aunt Millie, one takes a hold on her foot.
13	* AlienBlood: The aliens have magenta blood.
14	* AllInTheEyes: As Charles stands still and quiet in order to not to get the aliens' attention, he looks behind at basement's window on the ground level, with his eyes framed by the light.
15	* BioweaponBeast: According to WordOfGod, the worm-like aliens [[spoiler:were created as bio-weapons for another alien race]].
16	* CameFromTheSky: The very first shot of the the movie is a meteorite falling out of the sky. When it lands, it turns out to be crawling with nasty little monsters.
17	* CoolHouse: Very much averted with Bunny's house, which is the epitome of that '70s-early '80s kitschy decorating style that we associate with grandmas. Millie looks physically pained to see that her mother has bought yet another porcelain animal statue.
18	* CreepyBasement: Where the aliens take refuge, and where their first three victims come across them.
19	* DestinationDefenestration: The main alien [[spoiler: bites off [[OffWithHisHead Ellen's head]]]], and the headless corpse is thrown out of the window.
20	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: There's a lot of scenes of the characters discussing the scientific method, horror movies, vegetarian food, and other stuff.
21	* EatTheBomb: [[spoiler: Charles [[MacGyvering constructs a makeshift bomb]], and tricks the main alien into eating it.]]
22	* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Pete's and Charles's uncle Herb, who falls asleep in an armchair, is found dead later with aliens crawling in his empty eye sockets.]]
23	* FacialHorror: The lead alien monster tears the skin off of the face of Charles' and Pete's mother in a fairly gruesome scene.
24	* FinalGirl: Subverted. The level-headed Ellen looks most likely to be the Final Girl, but [[spoiler:dies in the last 20 minutes and is replaced by another girl who arrived shortly before two-thirds of the way through the film, and whom we only knew from references by the other characters]].
25	* GenreThrowback: The movie is very much an ode to the SciFiHorror of the 1950s (the sort of movies Charles is obsessed with; see below under UnabashedBMovieFan), though the level of gore shown is more in line with the contemporary '80s horror scene.
26	* GentleGorilla: Briefly discussed by Bunny, who points to gorillas as an example of how vegetarian food can make you very big and strong.
27	* HeroicBSOD: After [[spoiler: realizing his parents and Ellen are all dead, Peter has a breakdown, going LaughingMad and actively trying to get himself killed.]]
28	* IAteWhat: One of the aliens crawls into the blender of the vegetarian luncheon and gets mixed into the salad. From the ladies' shocked expression, it tastes absolutely foul.
29	* KidHero: Ultimately, [[spoiler: it's young Charles who saves the day.]]
30	* KidsShouldntWatchHorrorFilms: Discussed by Uncle Herb, a child psychiatrist who is studying the impact of scary movies on children, using his horror-obsessed nephew Charles as a case study. He seems fairly open-minded about the whole thing, and [[spoiler: while he never gets to finish his research because the aliens eat him]], the implication we get from their conversation is that Charles is a perfectly healthy, well-adjusted kid, and probably the bravest and most resourceful character in the movie.
31	* LivingMotionDetector: The aliens hunt by sound. After learning this, Charles uses this fact to trick them on several occasions.
32	* MonstrousCannibalism: The big alien eats one of the little ones at the climax of the movie as part of a fake-out: for a second, it looks like it ate Charles.
33	* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: The aliens have rows and rows of teeth.
34	* MouthCam: Two shots are from behind the main alien's teeth.
35	* OffWithHisHead: The aliens bite off [[spoiler:Ellen]]'s head.
36	* {{Phlegmings}}: Drool drips from the main alien's teeth as it gets dangerously close to Charles.
37	* ScaryFlashlightFace: Charles tries to give Aunt Millie a scare by wearing a mask, and using a flashlight to highlight its features. She isn't scared, but is impressed by the effort.
38	* SenseImpairedMonster: The alien spawn have no [[EyelessFace eyes on their face]], only [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily rows upon rows of fangs]], and hunt prey by sound. Charles is able to avoid being eaten by the aliens in the basement by standing completely still, and later tricks one into attacking a radio, causing an electrical fire that burns it.
39	* ShadowDiscretionShot: This happens to the second of the two men who first found the alien's meteorite; and when Sam is eaten in the basement, it is shown by the shadows on the tent and wall, respectively.
40	* ShoutOut: Charles is naturally full of references to old monster movies. He names ''Film/Frankenstein1931'' and ''Film/ItTheTerrorFromBeyondSpace'' as two of his favourites, and he also mentions ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' in conversation. His PosterGalleryBedroom also proclaims his love of ''Frankenstein'', ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'', ''Film/KingKong1933'', ''Film/EarthVsTheSpider'', ''Film/TalesFromTheCrypt'', ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'', ''Film/TwentyMillionMilesToEarth'', ''Film/TheSheCreature'', ''Film/TheGreenSlime'', and ''Film/MonsterOnTheCampus''. He also has an action figure of Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.
41	* TheEndOrIsIt: When the threat seems to be over, [[spoiler:an alien [[{{Kaiju}} the size of a small mountain]] bursts out [[ThatsNoMoon from a hollowed hill]]]].
42	* ToServeMan: The aliens' entire goal is to eat humans.
43	* UnabashedBMovieFan: Charles is utterly nuts about '50s SciFiHorror movies, as well as the even older Franchise/UniversalHorror stuff. It's clear that the filmmakers are too.

Context Film / TheDeadlySpawn