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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Well, it's bad, but I like it!, 15 September 1999
Author: Scott-212 from Kansas City, MO

I rented this with a friend about 10 years ago. True, it is awful and cheesy, but in a strange way I kinda like it! Bobbie Bresee plays has-been actress Lynn Roman, who finds herself too old to be cast in the starlet roles of her past. In order to regain her youth, she begins taking injections given to her by Evelyn Avery, the mad assistant to the equally mad doctor played by John Carradine (Sad to see how bad he looks in this one.) Well, the injections restore Lynn's youthful appearance, but as an unfortunate side effect they also transform her into a giant rubbery insect which proceeds to suck the blood out of anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path! Before each transformation scene Lynn also spits out an enormous quantity of white fluid which kinda looks like... uh, anyway, you get the idea! The second half of the movie is basically devoted to Lynn, as the insect, taking revenge on every one who ever crossed her. About the worse thing any of these people did to Lynn was cast someone else in the roles she wanted, but that doesn't stop her from the low budget, and often quite funny, killing spree that follows. At one point she kills her shapely, youthful assistant for having long dark hair and the physique that Lynn is lacking. In the token gratuitous nudity scene, the assistant takes a nude swim that goes on for about five minutes before being killed. Funny how this giant rubbery thing, about twice as big as Lynn is, can come up behind someone and not be seen or heard until it is too late, despite the weird sounds it makes. In another scene, Lynn transforms and kills her agent. Moments later she is human again, and clothed, despite the fact that she ripped out of her clothes only seconds before. These are just a few of the many flaws that gives this film a warm place in my heart. Most of the gore is of the dimestore variety, indeed most of the budget appears to have gone into the monster effects. there is one very nasty scene in the beginning where a typical 80's yuppie has his arm torn out of the socket! Ugh! Still, if you like "so bad they're good" movies, you could do worse. This has become almost impossible to find, by the way. I had to do a great deal of searching before finally finding a website that had this for sale. Apparently there's another version of this called "The Alien Within", and I wouldn't mind seeing it either! Worth a look if you can ever find it. I'd love to see this on Joe Bob Briggs Monstervision show.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
THE ALIEN WITHIN, the rare version of EVIL SPAWN., 13 April 2003
5/10
Author: capkronos (capkronos00@hotmail.com) from Ohio, USA

How do you make a bad movie even worse? Apparently you hire Ted Newsom, give him a camcorder and put him under the not-so-watchful eye of producer Fred Olen Ray. Here we have the very fun Grade-Z classic EVIL SPAWN (1986) by director Kenneth J. Hall reedited and with new and pointless inserts shot on tape. The new scenes feature Jay Richardson and Suzanne Ager as cops sitting in a car talking, eating doughnuts and fighting an awful hand-puppet monster, Gordon Mitchell sitting at a desk on the phone and Richard Harrison turning into an pathetic rubbery monster and ripping Melissa Moore's top off. Scenes from the original film easily provide the most entertaining moments in this version, so you might as well seek it out. Forrest J. Ackerman is seen briefly in the old and the new footage.

EVIL SPAWN (original version): 5 out of 10

New footage contained on THE ALIEN WITHIN: 1 out of 10

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny and Sick!, 16 February 2002
Author: cameraman_mike_2000 from Bad Actors Route

EVIL SPAWN (1987) *1/2 (Out of 4*'s) Director: Kenneth J. Hall. Bobbie Bresee, Drew Godderis, John Terrence, Donna Shock, John Carradine.

An underground woman scientist offers a has-been actress a drug that promises to restore her youth. After second guessing the idea and finally taking it, she gets sick and turns into a beast at night and begins killing whoever is nearby!

Shamelessly makes you feel sorry for the lead character. The acting is shy and somewhat overdone. The neat special effects look much better on the back of the video box than they do during the movie.

Not oscar material, but all movies like these are great for parties!

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Defining moment..., 20 July 1999
Author: Mr Parker (spookyscribe@yahoo.com) from New York City

... is in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Some woman who's about to get chowed down on by some unseen evil opts to take the suicide route. She jams a gun into her mouth and get this... they cut to a shot of the wall behind her, brains and muck splatter the wall and a second later, you hear the gunshot. Give the sound editors a friggin' award! I rented this over ten years ago because my friend liked the nude woman on the cover so much that he had to see it. I haven't let him live it down since. Avoid at all costs and I do mean all.

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This was a real hoot., 25 February 2009
8/10
Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

In this rehash of Roger Corman's "The Wasp Woman", Bobbie Bresee plays Lynn Roman, an attractive but aging actress whose career is all but over. Desperate to recapture her youth and hopefully rejuvenate her career, she injects herself with a serum devised by mad scientist Emil Zeitman (a weak looking John Carradine). This has the unfortunate side effect of turning her into a murderous insect-like monster.

"Evil Spawn" is basically for those of us who aren't too demanding, or are able to derive enjoyment out of very low budget and low quality genre entertainment. If you can stick it out, the film will reward you with gratuitous nudity (Pamela Gilbert looks very good sans clothes), an overbearing electronic score, a very silly rubber monster, and crude but amusing makeup effects. The acting is exactly as uninspired as you could imagine, although Dawn Wildsmith as Zeitman's evil assistant and Fox Harris as Lynn's agent are a reasonable amount of fun.

Overall, I found it quite agreeable. At least it doesn't waste time in delivering all manner of cheap 'n' cheesy goods. It's over pretty quickly and has a conclusion that's downright hilarious in its ridiculous and clichéd way. It even comes complete with a not exactly subtle message about the dangers of vanity, and is blatantly self-referential, to boot.

Be sure to watch for the fleeting Forrest J. Ackerman cameo as a pool guy.

8/10

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
rather typical 80's low budget horror schlock, 1 December 2006
6/10
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

This is a pretty typical low budget horror schlock film made in 1986, and while his name isn't on it to speak of, you can see the Fred Olen Ray influence. Like a supposedly legitimate movie producer that has posters on his walls of Fred Olen Ray movies? Anyway, Bobby Bressee plays a fading starlet, who isn't getting roles because she's "too old", and when she is presented with a solution to that problem by way of some evil female scientist (Dawn Wildsmith looking rather uh, butch?) she reluctantly tries it only to find it makes her look rather radiant but with one nasty side effect: she turns into some hideous rubber monster. That, of course, kills folks. The things women do to preserve their good looks. Anyway, of course things escalate because there's an author working on her biography and he has grown rather close to her, so he of course, tries to put an end to all this mayhem. Cheesy as all get out, but I thought it had an element of cheesy fun to it too. By no means is this great cinema, but fans of cheese and sleaze might find something to enjoy here. 6 out of 10.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Evil Spawn, 3 March 2009
4/10
Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

An aging actress, Lynn Roman(Bobbie Bresee;who, at 37, had one knock out of a body), desperately desires to retain her past glory by nabbing a major part designed for a 20 year old lead, decides to inject an experimental formula given to her by a mysterious scientist. This scientist, Evelyn Avery(Dawn Wildsmith),an obsessive fan of Roman's, caused the deaths of her boss, Dr. Zeitman(John Carradine; whose role was actually lifted from stock footage of another proposed Fred Olen Ray project, Frankenstein's Brain)and fellow colleague using a formula designed from alien DNA. It is designed to make Lynn look younger, but has a nasty side-effect, when angered, she transforms into a hideous insect monster! Yes, Bresee turns into yet another monster. Anyway, Lynn's biographer, Ross Anderson(Drew Godderis, in a dreadful performance with equally appalling voice over narration that seems to attempt a homage of sorts to Sunset Boulevard)investigates the drug she's been injecting and discovers some disturbing truths. Meanwhile, Lynn's alter-ego, the insect monster, emerges killing her maid, Elaine(Pamela Gilbert), back-stabbing agent, Harry(Fox Harris), and cheating boyfriend, Mark(Mark Anthony).

I believe there's an alternate version out there with extra footage shot by Fred Olen Ray, but the version I viewed gives Kenneth J Hall full credit as director. On this page, several cast members represent characters that aren't in the film I just finished, which was released by Fred's distribution label for DVD. Anyway, the quality for this movie is below par and the camera-work is exceptionally flat and unimaginative. Bobbie Bresee, however, is well cast and gets a chance to flaunt her magnificent naked figure in a gratuitous shower sequence. Unfortunately, the close-ups of her false monster teeth are laughable, although her creepy eye contacts and furious facial expressions work a bit better. The monster costume comes right out of those bad creature features in the 50's which I felt was intentional..a beloved spoof of those films, placed within an 80's modern setting. The film's theme is the longing to remain a vital figure in Hollywood despite the expiration date looming(..again, right out of Sunset Boulevard)and Bresee, despite how yummy her figure is, seems to tap into the rage that befalls older actresses trying to keep up with the much younger gals entering the industry. The sub-plot with Wildsmith, as the diabolical, deranged scientist, really off-sets the tone of the rest of the film, particularly her scenes in her apartment, taping collective photos and clippings of Lynn on the walls. The monster mayhem is(intentionally?)goofy and rather poorly executed because the costume isn't the least bit scary..more likely, seeing it will give you the giggles. Pamela Gilbert(..a tall, athletic figure, with long brown hair), as Lynn's maid, disrobes for the horny male(..and female?)viewers during a swim while her employer is away, eventually falling prey to the monster..told she was too old for the desired lead role she so covets, Lynn's rage causes the beast to rear it's ugly head. The scene with an elderly Carradine, attempting to speak his lines(..and obviously reading from cue cards), looks to be on death's door..it's kind of hard to watch knowing that he wouldn't be with us very much longer and seeing him struggle with his lines, barely being able to breathe, kind of brought about sadness because I'm such a fan of his. The opening of the film, concerning the alien monster who attacks Evelyn's colleague, leads to the film's standout gore scene..the scientist interrupts a couple in a jeep searching for their pooch, ripping the arm off of the man attempting to see if he's okay.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Revenge of the 80's: The remakes. A Cheaply made knock-off of Wasp Woman., 29 June 2004
2/10
Author: Captain_Couth (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

Evil Spawn (1987) was a cheaply produced film that reeks of poverty. You have a good premise but it's faulty execution has no real pay off. A couple of good scenes does not a movie make. Too bad, because the actresses were good looking (especially the brunette) and the idea was solid. Maybe they should have a better story writer and a little more imagination. I saw this movie a few years ago at a Mr. Video store (rest in peace). Back then the cheesy video cover screamed cheap-cheap. I should have listened to my head instead of my eyes. Oh well. Perhaps a film-maker with more on the ball would make a better production.

An aging actress will do anything to look young again (my advice is to stay out of the sun lady). So she comes across a crazy old scientist and his shady associate. He's working on an experimental formula that'll reduce the signs of aging (the good doctor should have used a little dab himself me thinks). But before he can work out all of the "bugs", tragedy occurs but that doesn't stop the old B-Queen from using it.

The story might sound interesting but please stay away unless YOU REALLY like bad movies. Because there is really no need for someone (or anyone) to watch this "movie". Maybe next time they should concentrate more on the adult aspect of the storyline.

Best to avoid.

If it wasn't for the hot brunette this one would get a zero or a negative rating.

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2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A true work of cinematic art ... NOT!!!, 28 June 2006
10/10
Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Boy, does this astonishingly awful direct-to-video late 80's low budget horror abomination commit all the so-utterly-wretched-that-they're-weirdly-wonderful trash movie vices. For starters, the central premise is basically an ungodly blend of "Sunset Boulevard" and your typically tacky Grade Z 50's type deadly monster picture done with 80's style gore, nudity and profanity to make it seem more "modern": Faded over-the-hill former big film star Lynn Roman (atrociously played by buxom blonde babe Bobbie Bresee of "Mausoleam" fame) takes a special experimental anti-aging serum to make herself look young again. Naturally, there's a nasty side effect: the serum causes Lynn to mutate into a lethal giant humanoid insect beast which predictably bumps off a few folks. Kenneth J. Hall's pathetic (mis)direction, Hall's equally dismal script (Hall is the same genius dreck feature scribe who penned the brilliant screenplay for "Nightmare Sisters"), Christopher Condon's endearingly crude'n'clunky cinematography, the dreadful dialogue ("Aren't they the ones who do those schlocky low budget films in Italy?"), the cheesy gore, nil suspense, sluggish pacing, terrible acting, a laughably hokey some-poor-guy-in-an-obvious-rubber-suit monster, Paul Natzke's annoyingly droning synthesizer score, and even a heavy-handed morale about the perils of vanity ensure that this hilariously horrendous honey is an absolute campy hoot from start to finish. Better still, Bresee takes a steamy shower and the exquisitely ample brunette knockout Pamela Gilbert goes skinny-dipping prior to being killed by the creature. An extremely feeble John Carradine has a very sad cameo as a doddering old fuddy dud of a mad scientist and Forrest J. Ackerman makes a fleeting appearance as a pool cleaner. As Lynn so aptly puts it early on in the movie: "This sounds like something out of a bad science fiction film." And indeed that's exactly what this sublimely shoddy stinker is.

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2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Evil Rubber, 31 August 2001
2/10
Author: (kennywest1@email.msn.com)

Like all Nite Owl Theater DVDs, this Fred Olan Ray film is a mess of tired special effects, poor acting, and nudity. There's a weak plot about a beautiful aging actress who turns into a six and a half foot tall rubber monster that rips people up here and there. There's a detective or something and a scientist or something..that doesn't really matter if you're just waiting to see a bare body in a following scene because that's all there is here. A cheap soap opera with pathetic monsters. There's alot of entertaining alien films out there..this isn't one of them.

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