‘TerrorVision’ is Still Turn-Off-Your-Brain Fun 35 Years Later

February 16, 2021

In the 1980’s, horror fans were blessed with a plethora of films that didn’t take themselves too seriously. These films gave us an opportunity to turn our brains off after Hellraiser (1987) and Videodrome (1983) blew our minds through the roof. We just got to shut down, eat pizza, and have fun with the likes of Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), Puppet Master (1989), and the film that turns 35 today, TerrorVision (1986).

Director Ted Nicolaou’s TerrorVision follows the Putterman family, who has just installed a brand-new state-of-the-art satellite dish in their yard. The dish is hit by a bolt of lightning, opening an intergalactic transportation system for a ravenous alien beast that can replicate other lifeforms. While the Putterman parents are preparing for their swinger endeavors, the Putterman children (Chad Allen as Sherman, Diane Franklin as Suzy) must keep the beast fed to stop it from going into hunger rages and eating everything in sight.

Nicolaou was no stranger to working on silly horror films. For years before making TerrorVision, he’d worked with Full Moon Features founder Charles Band, the writer of this film. Band is responsible for many other staples in the same brainless fun horror category, like the Evil Bong or The Gingerdead Man series. At this point in his career though, Band had formed the small-scale Empire International Pictures, which was responsible for the distribution of beloved horror films, like Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and of course, Terrorvision.

The cast was made up of mostly unknown actors at the time, which was fine, because we could focus much more on the important stuff, like giant slimy meatball-looking monsters and singing along with the catchy theme song from The Fibonaccis. Even without a notable cast, the characters were all memorable in their own ways, my favorites being the W.A.S.P. tee-donning punk boyfriend of the Putterman daughter, O.D. (Jon Gries), who thinks classical music rots your brain, and the obvious Elvira knock-off, Medusa (Jennifer Richards). Even the monster was endearing, whose series of roars and grunts were performed by Frank Welker, famous for a ton of voice-acting roles in cartoons throughout his career, including playing Megatron for 30 years.

Although kind of a brutal film, TerrorVision was able to make its way in front of a variety of audience age groups because of the decision to replace the typical blood and gore with green slime, as there couldn’t really be any restrictions on goop levels (see: Society, 1989 ). The premise of the film is still silly, but as I’ve gotten older, the uniqueness of the alien intrigues me more.

The way the alien can replicate humans (at least their heads) is very reminiscent of films like John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) or Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). The difference between this creature and those, is those aliens tend to use that ability to blend in with humans, whereas the TerrorVision alien uses this ability to lure in his next meal, much like an anglerfish. The film kind of feels like its own thing here, and that rocks.

My biggest takeaway from TerrorVision after all these years is that it completely embodies everything that the ’80s offered in horror and sci-fi. “Futuristic” doodads, cheesy practical monster effects, tons of goopy deaths, a rockin’ theme song, it’s all there, and gives us exactly the kind of movie we expected.

So, kick your feet up, make some nachos, turn off your brain, and prepare to have the song stuck in your head for the next 35 years.