This Skin-Crawling ’80s Body Horror Was Marketed as a Scary Version of ‘E.T.’

Every blockbuster movie begets a slew of copycats looking to capitalize on its success, and few such movies drew a more eclectic array of ripoffs than Steven Spielberg‘s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. But not every film counted in that number is fully deserving of secondhand discount bins. 1984’s Xtro is a British horror film that was cheekily marketed as a scary version of the heartwarming Spielberg classic and was subsequently maligned for its seeming cynicism and graphic content. Directed by Harry Bromley Davenport, Xtro even managed to score a place on the infamous “video nasties” list, which is likely responsible for whatever longevity it has experienced since its release. Despite it all, though, Xtro has maintained a cult status for its wild and genuinely impressive effects that are more than enough to grant it a spot on body horror aficionados’ shelves.

‘Xtro’ Become a Video Nasty and Capitalized on ‘E.T.’s Success

Harry Bromley Davenport brought his script for Xtro to producer Mark Forstater, who had previously produced Monty Pythonand the Holy Grail, and the film was originally slated for a late 1982 release. This would have seen the movie coming out the same year as E.T., which does call into question how long Davenport had been sitting on the story for Xtro, and if it truly was brazenly capitalizing on E.T.’s success. Regardless, the advertising for Xtro when it was eventually released in early 1983 was decidedly referencing Spielberg’s heartwarming classic; “Some extraterrestrials aren’t friendly” says the poster, and it is not kidding.

Xtro features some truly shocking scenes that would take even the most seasoned horror viewer off guard. Early on in the film, audiences are treated to a crab-walking, reverse-jointed alien that, shockingly, looks equal parts unsettling and tangibly real. In any other film of Xtro’s pedigree, one would likely expect cheap rubber suits and jerky, clumsy creature acting — but not here. The alien in the first part of Xtro is creepy and believable, as it assaults a hapless woman in her country home, impregnating her via the mouth with a dripping proboscis. What follows is perhaps one of the most impressive B-movie effects to come out of the practical effects era of the 1980s: The woman who was impregnated gives birth to a fully grown adult man, and yes, they show it. It is no cop-out to say the scene nearly defies literal description, but it should suffice to say it is impressively done and nauseating to watch, in that great body horror kind of way.

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There are plenty of other great effects in Xtro, but that one scene was more than enough to get the film prosecuted under Britain’s obscenity laws. However, it should be noted that it was never officially banned under such laws; it was slapped with an 18+ certificate and added to the famous “video nasties” list. And that was not the only negative attention it would get, with film critics like Roger Ebert utterly lambasting it and even going so far as to write about it “… It’s movies like this that give movies a bad name”. But is all of this hate deserved?

“Xtro’ Speaks to the Difficult of Divorce

Xtro follows the story of Sam and Rachel, played by Phillip Sayer and Bernice Stegers respectively, and their son Tony, played by Simon Nash. Tony witnesses his father disappear from their family cottage in a flash of light and a gust of wind, never to be seen for three years. Sam comes back, but not as the same man who was abducted. Rather, he has seemingly become an alien. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say his consciousness is transferred from an alien body into a humanoid host that is gestated inside his third victim. The film never explains what exactly the aliens are, or what they did to Sam that changed him. What is clear though, is that the new version of Sam is intent on doing the same to Tony. Standing in Sam’s way is Rachel (though, oddly, not for long) and her new boyfriend Joe (Danny Brainin). With its story of aliens and body horror, Xtro attempts to draw an allegory for divorce and children of divorce, with Sam’s mysterious return and the drama he causes. This drama is actually handled respectfully and with some level of depth imparted by the lead actors.

This sort of serious angle is one of the things that sets Xtro apart from similar fare; Davenport shows a believable setting for the grizzly horror that does not drive the viewer to distraction with poor acting. That may seem like a veiled insult, but that can be one of the most annoying parts of earnest B-movies, when a director’s vision is wrecked by dismal performances and tone-deaf setting. Xtro is not Shakespeare, and there is a bit of a slump in the action after the first half hour, but the effortful performances and impressive effects give it a serious leg up on its contemporaries.

‘Xtro’ Didn’t Deserve All the Hate

Even if the film did not bother to maintain any level of structural or story integrity, the absolute wealth of skin-crawling body horror effects would be enough to entice any uninitiated fan. In one scene, Tony’s live-in-nanny (Maryam d’Abo) is rendered unconscious by a telekinetically awakened clown toy (yes, seriously) and forced to carry alien eggs. She is cocooned in the flat’s bathtub, and the effects used are on par, if not even more creepy looking than something like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and when the eggs start being laid it gets even more disgusting. There are more sentient toys, including a murderous action figure that Tony uses to kill his meddlesome landlady, and even a decomposing Sam who starts to literally fall apart during a romantic scene. It is definitely not a perfect film, but Xtro is a truly unique horror movie with wild and inventive ideas realized to a level well above its weight class.

Though it will probably never be recognized as a timeless cinema classic, Xtro should fit extremely comfortably into any body horror fan’s collection. It is certainly more than just a cynical E.T. ripoff, and though it has gotten some more attention during the internet age, it is still criminally underappreciated. With stellar effects, decent acting, and a believable setting, Xtro is sure to entertain horror fans and is a quintessential piece of the “video nasties” mythology.

Currently, fans in the U.S. alike can pick up a Blu-ray region-free copy from UK-based Second Sight Films. It is a fabulous transfer with every ending and version conceived of by Davenport, along with a ton of Xtro extras.

Buy on Second Sight