16 - Xtro (1982)
Explicit content warning
10/05/21 • 67 min
Xtro is a 1983 British science fiction horror film directed by Harry Bromley-Davenport.
Starring Bernice Stegers, Philip Sayer, and Simon Nash, the film focuses on a father who was abducted by, what could be seen as aliens, and returns to his family three years later, where he goes in search of his son.
Even though the plot involves extraterrestrials, the creatures in this film are at no point referred to as aliens. Some fans like thinking of them as Lovecraftian-type beings coming from another dimension.
The film had a six week shooting schedule and was completed in February 1982. Chris Hobbs, a sketch artist helped finalise the visual concepts for the production, which originally involved a faceless rubber suit for a creature. This was changed to man standing with his back to the ground on his arms and legs. A mime was hired to perform the strange scuttle of the walk.
When released on home video in 1983, the film was subject to a prosecution case in relation to British obscenity laws. Unlike many other "video nasties", as they were then called, Xtro had actually been passed uncut by the BBFC with an 18 certificate for theatrical release (with both the original and an alternate ending).
Bromley-Davenport made two sequels to the film, Xtro II: The Second Encounter and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies. Neither film had anything to do with the original film. In March 2011, Davenport confirmed that Xtro 4 (The Big One) was in the works.
Even though he has made many deviations from the exploitation field since Xtro, the stigma is still attached, as Bromley-Davenport himself admits that: "Getting a start in exploitation films, as I did, suddenly became unfashionable about 20 years ago, and such movies are now regarded as smut, despite the fact that they gave Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jim Cameron, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme and countless others their first opportunities to direct a professional movie."
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Xtro is a 1983 British science fiction horror film directed by Harry Bromley-Davenport.
Starring Bernice Stegers, Philip Sayer, and Simon Nash, the film focuses on a father who was abducted by, what could be seen as aliens, and returns to his family three years later, where he goes in search of his son.
Even though the plot involves extraterrestrials, the creatures in this film are at no point referred to as aliens. Some fans like thinking of them as Lovecraftian-type beings coming from another dimension.
The film had a six week shooting schedule and was completed in February 1982. Chris Hobbs, a sketch artist helped finalise the visual concepts for the production, which originally involved a faceless rubber suit for a creature. This was changed to man standing with his back to the ground on his arms and legs. A mime was hired to perform the strange scuttle of the walk.
When released on home video in 1983, the film was subject to a prosecution case in relation to British obscenity laws. Unlike many other "video nasties", as they were then called, Xtro had actually been passed uncut by the BBFC with an 18 certificate for theatrical release (with both the original and an alternate ending).
Bromley-Davenport made two sequels to the film, Xtro II: The Second Encounter and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies. Neither film had anything to do with the original film. In March 2011, Davenport confirmed that Xtro 4 (The Big One) was in the works.
Even though he has made many deviations from the exploitation field since Xtro, the stigma is still attached, as Bromley-Davenport himself admits that: "Getting a start in exploitation films, as I did, suddenly became unfashionable about 20 years ago, and such movies are now regarded as smut, despite the fact that they gave Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jim Cameron, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme and countless others their first opportunities to direct a professional movie."
$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$
Just in case anyone has too much money and wants to give a bit to us to help with our hosting n stuff. It would be amazing if you fancied sending us some pennies - thank you.
https://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders
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Previous Episode
Blast from the Past - Creeping With Armstrong
Because Jon is rushed off his feet with work, we haven’t been able to record a usual General Witchfinders, so to give you something to listen to, here is part of a podcast that Ross and James ran for about 10 years or so called Creeping With Armstrong.
This is from April 2010 (we think) just after the first episode of Matt Smith’s Doctor Who, The Eleventh Hour, when we drove to Wales to talk to Jon about it..
There is a bit of horror in here but its not indicative of our usual show, please check out another episode if it’s your first time here, hopefully we will get back to normal for next time.
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Next Episode
17 - Quatermass 2 (1957) aka The Enemy from Space
Quatermass 2 (a.k.a. Enemy From Space in the United States and Canada) is a 1957 black-and-white British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, directed by Val Guest, that stars Brian Donlevy, John Longden, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, Vera Day, and William Franklyn.
Quatermass 2 is a sequel to Hammer's earlier film The Quatermass Xperiment, Like its predecessor, it is based on the BBC Television serial Quatermass II written by Nigel Kneale.
Brian Donlevy reprises his role as the eponymous Professor Bernard Quatermass, making him the only actor to play the character twice in a film. It is considered as the first film sequel to use the ‘2’ / ‘II’ suffix within the title.
The film's storyline concerns Quatermass's investigation of reports of hundreds of meteorites landing only in the Winnerden Flats area of the UK. His inquiries lead him to a huge industrial complex, strikingly similar to his own plans for a Moon colony. This top-secret facility is in fact the centre of a conspiracy involving the alien infiltration of the highest echelons of the British Government. Quatermass and his allies must now do whatever is necessary to defeat the alien threat before it is too late.
The first Quatermass film had been a major success for Hammer and, eager for a sequel, they purchased the rights to Nigel Kneale's follow-up before the BBC had even begun transmission of the new serial. For this adaptation, Nigel Kneale himself was allowed to write the first draft of the screenplay, although subsequent drafts were worked on by director Val Gues who directed the first Hammer Quatrmass. Guest once again employed many cinema vérité techniques to present the fantastic elements of the plot with the greatest degree of realism. Nigel Kneale was critical of the final film, mainly on account of the return of Brian Donlevy in the lead role. Kneale was unhappy with Donlevy's interpretation of the character and also claimed the actor's performance was marred by his alcoholism.
Although Quatermass 2 was financially successful, its box office performance was eclipsed by the massive success of another Hammer film, The Curse of Frankenstein, which was to be the first of their many Gothic horror films. (and the subject of our 2nd ever podcast episode) As a result it would be ten years before Hammer adapted the next Quatermass serial for the cinema with Quatermass and the Pit in 1967. Supposedly Quatermass 2 was originally shot in AnsaColor, developed by Agfa, but released in Black and White and it is said the colour negative still exists in the archives - although this could be a weird online hoax.
Something Horrific:
Whisper Down the Lane
by Clay McLeod Chapman
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55671294-whisper-down-the-lane
Cornish Horrors: Tales from the Land's End
by Joan Passey (Editor)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58320855-cornish-horrors
Where Furnaces Burn
by Joel Lane
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16299282-where-furnaces-burn
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