The Being

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Being

DVD cover
Directed by Jackie Kong
Produced by Bill Osco
Written by Jackie Kong
Starring Martin Landau
José Ferrer
Dorothy Malone
Ruth Buzzi
Marianne Gordon
Bill Osco
Music by Don Preston
Cinematography Hanania Baer
Robert Ebinger
Editing by David H. Newhouse
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release dates
  • November 18, 1983 (1983-11-18) (US)
Running time 82 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Being is a 1983 horror film written and directed by Jackie Kong and starring Martin Landau, José Ferrer, Dorothy Malone, Ruth Buzzi, Marianne Gordon and exploitation film producer Bill Osco, who is billed as "Rexx Coltrane".[1] It focuses on a detective who is trying to solve a string of grisly murders and disappearances. It was first film directed by Kong, who went on to direct several other films of the same type, including Blood Diner, which has become a cult favorite.[1]

Plot

People have been disappearing un the town of Pottsville, Idaho. Detective Mortimer Lutz (Bill Osco) thinks it is connected to the toxic dump site near the town, but is impeded in his investigation by the Mayor (Jose Ferrer), who is concerned about the economic impact on the town's potato industry should it turn out to be true. In reality, the toxic waste has turned a mutant child into a cannibalistic monster, devouring anyone who comes across it. When the existence of the mutant is discovered, Lutz begins a run against time to stop it before it consumes the town's entire population.

Cast

Cast notes:

  • Bill Osco, who produced the film, was billed as "Rexx Coltrane" for his acting role.
  • Marianne Gordon was married to singer Kenny Rogers at the time, and is billed as "Marianne Gordon Rogers"[1]

Production

The Being is notable as the first film made by schlock horror film writer and director Jackie Kong. Filming began in 1980 under the title "Easter Sunday", before being put on the shelf for three years before finally being released on November 18, 1983 with the tagline "The Ultimate Terror has Taken Form".[2]

Reception

The film has been met with negative reviews. On the review website Rotten Tomatoes it has had few but mostly negative reviews.[3] Scott Weinberg from DVDTalk.com was among the film's detractors calling the film "Grungy, muddy-looking" he also called it a "blatant Alien ripoff".[4] J. Read from monstersatplay.com called it "cheap, rushed, and an incongruous mess" stating it as a perfect example of all the bad movies that came out in the 1980s.[5] Allmovie.com calls the film "abysmal",[1] with "clumsy, ham-fisted" direction, effects that are at times "goofy", and a "leaden, noncharismatic" performance from lead actor and producer Bill Osco.[6] Nevertheless, the reviewer calls it "worthy of note for cinematic trash-fiends", because of its cast, flashes of humor and "oddball qualities".[6]

Home video

The Being was released on DVD on September 13, 2005 by Shriek Studio in widescreen format with no special features. Shriek Studio released it again on July 31, 2007 as a part its Mutant Monsters Triple Feature which combined it with The Dark and Creatures from the Abyss.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Overview" on Allmovie.com
  2. ↑ Muir, John (2007). Horror films of the 1980s. McFarland and Company. p. 297. 
  3. ↑ "The Being". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 9/14/2013. 
  4. ↑ Weinberg, Scott. "The Being". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 9/14/2013. 
  5. ↑ Read, J. "The Being (1984)". Monstersatplay.com. Retrieved 10/7/2013. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Guarisco, Donald. "Review" on Allmovie.com

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.