In the movie (game) proper you play as Dick Starspeed, (played by actor Johnathan Digby), Scarlet Nova (played by actress Stacy Sharp), and "the Robot," as the group seeks to liberate planet Gravoria by climbing the titular Deadly Tower of Monsters.
Trailers are here
, here, here and here.
This film provides examples of:
- Artistic License – Paleontology: At one point the director says he got complaints about the inaccuracies of a meat eating sauropod, which he refers to as a stegosaurus. And then there were the fire-breathing pterodactyls...
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Apart from giant bugs all over the place, one of the bosses is a giant "Mega-Gorilla," while another is a tremendous octopus.
- Bad Boss: The director, Dan. He's very open about the fact that he mostly lazed about while the rest of the crew busted their asses.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The original script of the film had the Emperor defeating the heroes. Dick, Scarlet, and the robot attack Dan Smith himself to change the story's outcome.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The game ends when the characters from the movie literally attack the director and force him to rewrite the script so the movie has a happy ending.
- Distressed Dude: One early mission has Scarlet rescue Dick from the Mega-Gorilla.
- DVD Commentary: In-Universe. Since The Deadly Tower of Monsters is getting a DVD release they got the director to talk about all the production minutia involved in the making of the film. He will speak over the gameplay telling backstory for many of the effects and monsters.
- Free-Fall Fight: On two separate occasions you finish off a boss as the two of you fall from the tower to the ground below.
- Giant Squid: At one point Dr. Peculiar sends a giant mutant octopus after you.
- Human Resources: In an odd twist it turns out that Gravoria is so radioactive that people turn into gold when they die.
- Jet Pack: What kind of cheesy B-Movie from the early 70's WOULDN'T have jetpacks?
- Kick the Dog: Early in the game, you find a pair of monkeys who are tasked with running a dynamo until they die, supposedly because it keeps the tower from collapsing, never mind all the robots and power generators that could run this thing for them. The emperor made them rotate what is actually a cupcake display forty floors up just to torture the monkeys for his amusement.
- Latex Space Suit: Both Dick and Scarlet wear one, but they also have large, spherical, transparent, bubble helmets.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Peculiar, builder of the Mechameleon, the dinosaur army and a giant mutant octopus.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Scarlet is the daughter of the Emperor of Gravoria.
- MST: The audio engineer/co-commentator runs one after Dan disappears in the fourth act.
- Painting the Medium: At one point you acquire a pair of scissors and use them to cut the strings that monsters are suspended by.
- Pet the Dog: Apparently, Dan and the stop-motion crew decided to go for a world record of most dinosaurs in a single scene in a movie. When he found out that they were nowhere near the existing record, he proceeded to have fake plaques made and sent to the team.
- Rage Against the Director: The final boss is only winnable because the characters themselves force Dan to make it so.
- Ray Gun Gothic: Bubble helmets on top of latex spacesuits? Check. Rayguns? Check. Rocket ships? Check. A Robot Buddy that looks retro even by 1950's standards? Check.
- Retraux: Every element of the game is meant to evoke 1970s era B-Movies.
- Revealing Reflection: The final artifact of the native Gravorians is a mirror, which shows... the film crew, naturally.
- Robot Buddy: An unnamed robot aids Dick and Scarlet in their quest.
- Sequel Hook:
- In universe, the original script had it that the native Gravorians were pursued by the Emperor for more gold. Defied in-universe when the Gravorians realize that they're in a movie and contact the heroes to force a proper, happy ending.
- For the game itself, Dan Smith mysteriously disappeared after leaving to make some phone calls... and it's unclear how the Gravorians gained awareness in the first place.
- Shout-Out:
- The opening splash screen, a movie poster of The Robot holding Scarlet (and then The Robot holding Dick, and then Scarlet holding The Robot) even though no such scene is in the movie, is a clear reference to the similar poster for Forbidden Planet.
- Three of the scenes shown in the credits reference the ending of the original Star Wars trilogy, including the final shots of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, and two references to dancing ewoks in the final scene of Return of the Jedi.
- The Kick the Dog example listed above, where monkeys are tasked with running a dynamo by pushing a poll in a circle, only for it the elaborate mechanism to only actually rotate a cupcake display far above them, is identical to a gag in a 'classic-era' Simpsons episode.
- Stock Scream: Knock a mook off a high platform and they'll yell out the infamous Wilhelm Scream. You can actually do this at the very first playable part of the game if you're quick enough!
- Small Name, Big Ego: Downplayed. Dan Smith is well aware that he directed B-movies, but he seems to think that they were at least
cult hits, and believes that he's going to receive royalties for the various rereleases of his films. Neither of these are true. - Stupid Boss: Dan Smith, the director, is a complete idiot, as shown in both the commentary and his...odd choices in direction.
- Stylistic Suck: Often used to evoke Special Effects Failure.
- Tin-Can Robot: The third player character simply known as "The Robot." Out of date even by 1970s standards.
- Wheel of Pain: One of the friendly apes that inhabit the tower is pushing one, claiming that if he stops the tower will collapse. Another ape is standing by to take his place should he die. The wheel is powering a cupcake display in the Emperor's palace. He set it up to keep the apes occupied and easier to control.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: One which also acts as an in universe example, oddly enough. After the third act, everything seems to be wrapped up neatly, with both the Emperor and Dr. Peculiar defeated. But then the movie keeps going, and Dan is as surprised as anyone.
