...but if you like to mix a little H. P. Lovecraft with your science fiction you could do worse.
The source novel's author certainly tried that. I recommend you read Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires" and judge for yourself. (Today the British author Charles Stross comes to mind.) Lovecraft himself tried that precisely once. I recommend his novel "At the Mountains of Madness" for the same reason.
You can't fault the producers for trying. Realizing that hybridization on the big screen with (then) state-of-the-art FX had to appeal. It may not have been tried before though certainly tried since. The producers spent a lot to get there, and you see every penny on-screen. The production credits are impeccable.
Directing and acting through all this is another matter. Oddly, the mostly British cast and settings help prevent a total breakdown in believability when otherworldly creatures appear in the same shot and all must deal with the end of London as we knew it.
Even the most banal if not outright goofy dialogue adds resonance when uttered by the likes of Frank Finlay, Peter Firth, Aubrey Morris and Patrick Stewart with utmost seriousness. There's a bit of The Bard in all of it, and the exit of Finlay's character is one for the books.
If you expect Steve Railsback to portray a square-jawed "stretch limo" Space Shuttle commander you'll be disappointed, but if you expect him to portray someone driven to near-madness on just about every level by an alien vampire seductress you'll be at least kept curious as to what could possibly happen next...
And I agree with many users who observe that without Mathilda May's sheer physical presence the drive to find, capture and better understand the "Space Girl" would fall roundly upon its tokhes.
The musical score by Henry Mancini, himself no stranger to the horror-sci-fi mix, is just as driven, and if you think you've heard the main theme elsewhere you're probably correct.
Finally, after all these years I viewed the longer "international cut." I'd always thought the version I'd viewed on Stateside television a tad rushed even with relentless commercial interruptions, though also thought that reflected Tobe Hooper's drive to wrap things as coherently as allowed under budgetary and scheduling constraints.
Now I'm not so sure of that. The longer version is somewhat more erotic, carnal and visceral but not appreciably more coherent. Still, that doesn't appear for want of trying. So if you've not seen this give it a try...though if that's in front of the kids you've some explaining to do.
The source novel's author certainly tried that. I recommend you read Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires" and judge for yourself. (Today the British author Charles Stross comes to mind.) Lovecraft himself tried that precisely once. I recommend his novel "At the Mountains of Madness" for the same reason.
You can't fault the producers for trying. Realizing that hybridization on the big screen with (then) state-of-the-art FX had to appeal. It may not have been tried before though certainly tried since. The producers spent a lot to get there, and you see every penny on-screen. The production credits are impeccable.
Directing and acting through all this is another matter. Oddly, the mostly British cast and settings help prevent a total breakdown in believability when otherworldly creatures appear in the same shot and all must deal with the end of London as we knew it.
Even the most banal if not outright goofy dialogue adds resonance when uttered by the likes of Frank Finlay, Peter Firth, Aubrey Morris and Patrick Stewart with utmost seriousness. There's a bit of The Bard in all of it, and the exit of Finlay's character is one for the books.
If you expect Steve Railsback to portray a square-jawed "stretch limo" Space Shuttle commander you'll be disappointed, but if you expect him to portray someone driven to near-madness on just about every level by an alien vampire seductress you'll be at least kept curious as to what could possibly happen next...
And I agree with many users who observe that without Mathilda May's sheer physical presence the drive to find, capture and better understand the "Space Girl" would fall roundly upon its tokhes.
The musical score by Henry Mancini, himself no stranger to the horror-sci-fi mix, is just as driven, and if you think you've heard the main theme elsewhere you're probably correct.
Finally, after all these years I viewed the longer "international cut." I'd always thought the version I'd viewed on Stateside television a tad rushed even with relentless commercial interruptions, though also thought that reflected Tobe Hooper's drive to wrap things as coherently as allowed under budgetary and scheduling constraints.
Now I'm not so sure of that. The longer version is somewhat more erotic, carnal and visceral but not appreciably more coherent. Still, that doesn't appear for want of trying. So if you've not seen this give it a try...though if that's in front of the kids you've some explaining to do.