Director – Richard Griffin (Exhumed, The Disco Exorcist)
Starring – Johnny Sederquist, Jamie Lyn Bagley, and Mat Clerrico
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 3.5/5
I really like the age I am now and living in the time I am currently living in. However, I really wish I could just visit the 60s and 70s. Not to stay forever but just to see so many classic films the way they were meant to be seen, in late night double features at the local drive-in. So many trends were going on in film at this time that eventually became inspiration for so many films now. During the late 50s and early 60s the alien menace was the equivalent to today’s zombie films. Back then a different alien invasion flick was being released almost weekly and people flocked to the drive-ins to see them. I can only imagine how amazing the drive-in experience was back then when these films were new.
We now fast forward to today and many directors make films that pay tribute to those films from yesteryear and no director does it better than Richard Griffin. In August Griffin revealed he will be directing a web-series called It Came From the VCR and each episode will be released monthly. Each episode will be dedicated to a specific sub-genre and filmed to resemble the same quality those that are fans of VHS will enjoy. He released his first episode that August and for some reason I forgot to write a review for it. Well, I’m not perfect just extremely good looking. Sadly, this is the only episode to be released due to Griffin’s busy schedule but he did tell me earlier tonight that he will have a new one out sometime in the Spring!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows three guys who took three girls out in the woods for a little fun and the hopes of playing a little hide the sausage. However, the odds of them getting some changes when they bring along the new guy who has green skin (because he is European). While they are in the woods an unidentifiable spacecraft crash lands nearby. A young couple walking through the woods witness this. The young girl is murdered and the young man is abducted.
We then jump back to the group as they wonder through the woods. They run upon the young man who was abducted and we discover that the green skinned European is actually a gay alien that lured them all there with plans to rape the men. His plans are then foiled when an intergalactic cop from Uranus arrives and stops him.**Spoiler Alert**
When I sit down to watch a Richard Griffin flick I never know what to expect. I know I will never be disappointed but I also never know where he is going to take me with his flick. I knew the film would be fun and be heavily influenced by the stereotypes or cliches of the sci-fi classics from the 50s and 60s. That is what makes his films so much fun. His films are filled with camp and smothered in cheese…and I love me some cheese.
The acting in this one is fairly decent. It was great seeing Griffin’s go-to man Michael Thurber in it. I really wish he had a bigger role because he is easily one of my favorite indie actors out there. The story is nothing that original. The film has the same plot as hundreds of other alien invasion flicks except this one has a gay/rape twist setting it out from the rest.
Finally, those looking for great on screen kills and amazing special effects will not find them here. Instead, you will find a campy sci-fi flick that pays tribute to the classics from the drive-in era of cinema. Overall, It Came from the VCR started out on the right foot with this episode. This is a worthy effort to satisfy those that love VHS and Richard Griffin’s films. I highly recommend it!
