Xtro DVD Review

Young Tony (Simon Nash), witnesses his dad, Sam (Philip Sayer), being abducted from his garden by aliens. Some years later Sam’s wife, Rachel (Bernice Stegers), has started a new life with her boyfriend, Joe (Danny Brainin), and still traumatised Tony is having recurring nightmares and bleeding profusely. Meanwhile, there’s an alien crawling around in the woods, attacking passers by and craftily impregnating a young woman alone in a house, who promptly gives birth to a fully grown Sam. Tony is over the moon when his dad turns up out of the blue and moves into the family home, much to the annoyance of Joe. Since the return of his dad, Tony has developed all manner of psychic powers and acquired a cheeky homicidal midget clown and a 6 foot tall action man as playmates, who set about dealing with the irritating old lady downstairs and anyone else who happens to get in the way.

Ah, the memories. The 1980’s was a strange decade. Here in Britain we had a brief period where horror, gore and porn was not a big deal, but then the shit really hit the fan. Xtro has the honour of being one of the few British films to be designated a video nasty by the Director of public prosecutions, and looking back you have to wonder how the hysteria that swept the country could ever have happened. Anyway, 20 something years later I finally get round to replacing my long worn out VHS copy of Xtro with a shiny new DVD. It had been such a long time since I last watched this British horror/sci-fi gem, it was a real pleasure reacquainting myself with it. Although reviewers haven’t been too kind to Xtro over the years, I bet there’s still a fair few of us out there who love this eccentric, surreal epitome of English singularity. There’s so much to like about it; there’s sadistic violence galore, decent performances, killer clowns and a naked future bond girl. I just love the bizarre set pieces, the big action man chasing the old dear from Eastenders round her flat (well, she shouldn’t have mashed Tony's snake into a bloody pulp) and I so want one of those rocket firing model tanks to let loose on any visiting Jehovah's witnesses. And as for Sam, you’ve got to feel for the poor chap; he gets whisked off by aliens, dumped back on Earth, fights his way out of an unsuspecting wench and finds his wife shacked up with some photographer. You’d be pissed off too. Another 20 years from now I suspect I’ll be watching Xtro on my cranial-nano-video-implants, I’m a bit sad like that... but happy.

Xtro. 1982

Directed by Harry Bromley Davenport.