Contamination

Rating:
Summary: Never pick up alien eggs
Review: "Contamination" is one of those low budget Italian science fiction potboilers that provide countless hours of fun. There's something deeply nostalgic about these films for me; I spent whole evenings watching this pap on cable television back in the mid 1980s. There was nothing like coming home in the summer, ordering a pizza, and spending all night with these delicacies. I guess things haven't changed too much since I am still watching them thanks to the DVD revolution. That these movies look and sound better now than they did when they first came out is one of those technological marvels that stagger the mind. Thanks go to Bill Lustig and the folks at Blue Underground for taking the time to release "Contamination" with a plethora of extras coupled with a great audio and video presentation. If you have never sampled the wonders of Italian schlock films, this is a great place to start. "Contamination," in case you haven't guessed, is a shameless rip off of Ridley Scott's classic science fiction gorefest "Alien." But don't expect to see Sigourney Weaver or John Hurt appear anywhere near this cheesy little number.

Eggs. "Contamination" deals primarily with eggs. An abandoned ship sails into New York harbor loaded with weird, pulsating pods the size of basketballs. When the authorities attempt to investigate this strange ship, a bunch of people die horribly when the eggs blow up and spray them with a viscous goo. The hapless souls coated with explosive yolk simply don't keel over and die in a nice, peaceful manner, though. Nope, they explode in ultra slow motion, with their chests and throats opening up with a bang. Obviously, the origins of these objects represent a significant threat to the human race, so the government quickly gets involved in the whole affair. Scientists quickly learn the pods are not of this world, a discovery that brings up a recollection of a disastrous trip to Mars some years before. In an effort to discover what the heck is going on, the government agents, headed up by sexy Colonel Stella Holmes (Louise Marleau), track down an astronaut who survived the ill-fated mission. With an annoying New York cop in tow, Holmes must work fast if she is to save humanity from a fate with decidedly alien implications. Yay!

The emotionally destroyed astronaut, Commander Ian Hubbard (Ian McCulloch of "Zombie" fame), just cannot bring himself to cast his mind back to that horrible time on the red planet. Eventually he does, of course, and in the process recalls a cave filled with millions of pulsating pods and a light as bright as the sun. What does it all mean? Not much at first. Then we discover that some lunk head Hubbard knows only too well managed to bring back the pods, and something else much more dangerous, to earth. The exploding eggs are the central linchpin in a plot to conquer the world. It is up to the psychologically unbalanced Hubbard, the mouthy cop, and Colonel Holmes to thwart this dastardly deed before people start blowing up on a regular basis. Their mission takes them around the world in search of a coffee magnate who smuggles the eggs in wooden boxes filled with beans. All the while, Hubbard's flashbacks about the mysterious cave on Mars reveal more and more clues about what is occurring here on planet earth. Can our heroes stop this nefarious plot before it gets underway? Can Hubbard overcome his difficulties and save the world? Will that cop ever shut up? These questions, and many more unimportant ones, will find resolution by the end of "Contamination."

The movie isn't a masterwork of cinema, even for an entry in the low budget Italian horror-science fiction genre, but it does have its moments. Ian McCulloch is always fun to watch in these types of movies, and he does a good job in the role of the horrified Hubbard. The rest of the cast, well, let's just say the word "forgettable" applies on more than one occasion. At least the gore keeps you on your toes; director Luigi Cozzi wisely spaces out the gruesome death scenes throughout the film, which greatly helps the pacing in an otherwise slow film. Moreover, the effects, from the grue to the pulsating eggs, are well done considering the ultra low budget. Throw in some scenic shots from different locales along with a pounding score from Goblin, and you have the makings of an entertaining little shocker. And let's face it; we all could use more exploding torsos and melting heads to help us get through the day. "Contamination" gives us all of that and not much more. Cozzi is no Sergio Leone, but he doesn't need to be when making a zero cost science fiction puker.

The extras included on the disc are as good as they are surprising for such an obscure film. You get trailers, of course, but you also get so much more. Blue Underground got Cozzi to do an interview about the film, an interview that sheds light on many aspects of the film. With all of the framed 1950's movie posters on the wall behind the director during the interview, it is obvious he likes classic science fiction films. Indeed, Cozzi emphasizes his love for old science fiction and how the genre inspired him to lens "Contamination." Add in a grainy looking featurette made during the filming of the movie and some poster stills, and you have yourself a very nice DVD worth purchasing. Give Cozzi's film a shot if you like your sci-fi gooey and cheap. If not, you can always rent "Alien" again.

Rating:
Summary: Blue Underground, I adore you!
Review: 1979 was a very important year for the Italian film industry. Why? Because two American genre films -- DAWN OF THE DEAD and ALIEN -- spurred a slew of imitators from the land of Folcelli pasta. Although DAWN's rip-offs were countless and have gained cult status (some of them have become minor classics), most Italian ALIEN clones have been discarded like yesterday's trash. Directed by Luigi Cozzi, a sort of poor man's Lucio Fulci, CONTAMINATION was made immediately after the success of the Ridley Scott classic. Cozzi also blessed us with the silly STAR WARS-inspired STARCRASH in 1979.

Like many Italian exploitation films of the early 80s, CONTAMINATION begins on location in New York City. A ship enters a harbor with seemingly everyone dead on board. A group of scientists and police garbed in protective gear discover a bloody mess, as well as a bunch of mysterious eggs that look like lime jello footballs. Getting to close to these eggs could prove deadly, as they spew some goo at you and make your body combust from the chest outwards.

A stereotypical Italian NYC cop (Marino Masé) survives the ordeal and teams up with a female military scientist (Louise Marleau). She calls on a now reclusive, alcoholic former astronaut (Ian McCulloch) who returned from Mars without his companion and with unbelievable stories about deadly alien eggs. Proof has now given his tales some clout, so the three trace the strange cargo back to a coffee company in South America! After more victims explode like overcooked meatballs in a microwave oven, a 50s-style Cyclops alien appears and is basically the force behind this mad plot to take over the earth.

CONTAMINATION was released in the U.S. as "Alien Contamination" and when it came out on video, it was pretty much was ignored in favor of rentals of DR. BUTCHER M.D. and ZOMBIE (both also with Scottish thesp McCulloch). It's basically low-grade, cheap thrills with some nice gore effects (nobody did it better than the Italians, Savini included) and homages to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and other sci-films. It starts with a bang, ends with a semi-bang, but there's lots of rubbish in the middle. McCulloch is always a hoot to watch and lifts the film above its otherwise mediocre level.

Blue Underground has done a stellar job releasing CONTAMINATION on DVD. The film has dull color schemes and bad lighting to begin with, but this transfer is still excellent. Letterboxed at 1.78:1 with Anamorphic enhancement, it almost looks as though it was made yesterday. The audio is equally impressive, with four separate audio tracks: Mono, Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1 EX, and DTS 6.1, so Goblin's pounding score never sounded better.

A few nice extras are included here. "The Alien Arrives on Earth" is a solid video interview with director/co-writer Luigi Cozzi. Say what you will about his talent, but he's an obvious fan of science fiction, and the 50s classics in particular. Cozzi tells us everything you need to know about CONTAMINATION, including little tidbits like how he originally wanted Caroline Munro to play the scientist, but the producer didn't want to cast a beauty queen. "Luigi Cozzi on the Set of Contamination" is an original production short film from 1980 (probably shot in 16mm) that takes us from Cozzi's fantasy-art filled office to the set of the film. Both of these are in Italian with English subtitles. Rounding out the extras are the European theatrical trailer, a photo/still/poster gallery and a graphic novel based on Cozzi's original storyboards. This feature can be opened up on your PC using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Rating:
Summary: Very exciting Italian Shocker!
Review: A boat arrives in New York Harbor, explorers look around the deserted ship to find out that the crew has died and has a cargo of green alien eggs that squirt a liquid that can make people explode. However, it's up to a research woman and a former Astronaut ( Ian McCulloch) to find out the mystery of the deadly Eggs and it's carrier which happens to be a cycloptic monster.
A somewhat farfetched but very exciting Italian Science Fiction horror shocker with some decent perfomances, but the dubbing was ok and there is some great make-up and gore effects such as the exploding chest scenes. The DVD by Blue Underground is terrific in picture and sound quality, the extras are very good but this is definitely good for a gore-hound or Sci-fi lover.
Also recommended: The Thing ( 1982), Scanners, Total Recall, Phenomena ( a.k.a. Creepers), Day of the Dead, Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn, Tenebre, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Critters, Night of the Creeps, Bad Taste, Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, Predator, The Toxic Avenger, Pitch Black, Starship Troopers, and The Beyond.

Rating:
Summary: Alien arrives on Earth, indeed.
Review: A search of a supposedly deserted ship uncovers a gruesome mystery. The crew is dead, literlly torn apart by some unknown force, and the ship's cargo is not coffee, but groaning, glowing eggs that make people explode whenever contact with the slimy green filling is made. Writer/director 'Lewis Coates' (aka Luigi Cozzi) crafts an incomprehensible story of alien invasion (or simple destruction, the exact goal is never made clear) in this most famous (or infamous) Italian cash-in on Alien. In the to be expected excellent supplements (the disc is from Blue Underground, so special things are almost a matter of routine) Cozzi comes across as a real classic sci-fi geek. Too bad that love didn't infuse his script or direction. While the movie is entertaining, it is mostly for the wrong reasons, and Cozzi fumbles chances for suspense during key moments in the film (i.e. having the female lead trapped in a bathroom with an alien egg) by dragging the scenes out until they become ludicrous. Nonetheless, fans of this long gone era of movie making (late seventies/early eighties low budget schlock cinema) will find something to enjoy in the movie. I did.

Rating:
Summary: Alien arrives on Earth, indeed.
Review: A search of a supposedly deserted ship uncovers a gruesome mystery. The crew is dead, literlly torn apart by some unknown force, and the ship's cargo is not coffee, but groaning, glowing eggs that make people explode whenever contact with the slimy green filling is made. Writer/director 'Lewis Coates' (aka Luigi Cozzi) crafts an incomprehensible story of alien invasion (or simple destruction, the exact goal is never made clear) in this most famous (or infamous) Italian cash-in on Alien. In the to be expected excellent supplements (the disc is from Blue Underground, so special things are almost a matter of routine) Cozzi comes across as a real classic sci-fi geek. Too bad that love didn't infuse his script or direction. While the movie is entertaining, it is mostly for the wrong reasons, and Cozzi fumbles chances for suspense during key moments in the film (i.e. having the female lead trapped in a bathroom with an alien egg) by dragging the scenes out until they become ludicrous. Nonetheless, fans of this long gone era of movie making (late seventies/early eighties low budget schlock cinema) will find something to enjoy in the movie. I did.

Rating:
Summary: A lemon given the four star treatment
Review: As funny as this movie is CONTAMINATION really only deserves one star. But the disc looks and sound so good, I can hardly believe it! So five for the DVD and one for the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Charming Low Budget SF
Review: Finally this long neglected SF film appears on DVD: withdrawn some 20 years ago in Britain during the 'Video Nasty' witchhunt and unavailable in any form since, 'Contamination' is a film full of charm despite its highly derivative nature. The most obvious comparison is with 'Alien' of course but as the director himself points out in a lovely interview that is the best of the extras on this disc, his aim with the film was to pay homage to 50s American SF pictures. What a nice chap Luigi Cozzi clearly is - ready to admit his debts to other SF, clearly in love with the genre and unashamedly open about his derivative approach
References to 'Invaders From Mars' and 'Quatermass 2' abound: the Martian Cyclops monster is a corker, refreshingly unrealistic and like the director charmingly unsophisticated and direct.
The gore effects remain quite shocking but are relatively few and far between - most descriptions of this movie indicate that someone's chest bursts apart every ten minutes or so, but all such descriptions are overexaggerated. Why this film remains banned in the UK after so long is a mystery to me...
The main problem with the film is its pacing - the middle of the film does lack suspense and imagination, some scenes crawling along when the injection of original ideas (unfortunately the lovely Cozzi doesn't have many of his own, apart from the blatant blood and guts) would have upped the adrenalin.
The picture on the DVD is very good indeed and the music by Goblin is of course excellent, despite the absence of Claudio Simonetti: only one gripe here, Cozzi under-uses the score which is apparent when one owns the superbly remastered cinevox CD.
If you love cheap pulp SF, you have to get yourself this unoriginal but fun film that will take you back to your childhood experiences of lurid science fiction at its most potent.

Rating:
Summary: Another Italian "Alien" [imitation]
Review: From DVD Drive-In:

1979 was a very important year for the Italian film industry. Why? Because two American genre films -- DAWN OF THE DEAD and ALIEN -- spurred a slew of imitators from the land of Folcelli pasta. Although DAWN's [imitations] were countless and have gained cult status (some of them have become minor classics), most Italian ALIEN [movies] have been discarded ... Directed by Luigi Cozzi, a sort of poor man's Lucio Fulci, CONTAMINATION was made immediately after the success of the Ridley Scott classic. Cozzi also blessed us with the silly STAR WARS-inspired STARCRASH in 1979.

Like many Italian exploitation films of the early 80s, CONTAMINATION begins on location in New York City. A ship enters a harbor with seemingly everyone dead on board. A group of scientists and police garbed in protective gear discover a bloody mess, as well as a bunch of mysterious eggs that look like lime jello footballs. Getting to close to these eggs could prove deadly, as they spew some goo at you and make your body combust from the chest outwards.

A [traditional] Italian NYC cop (Marino Masé) survives the ordeal and teams up with a female military scientist (Louise Marleau). She calls on a now reclusive, alcoholic former astronaut (Ian McCulloch) who returned from Mars without his companion and with unbelievable stories about deadly alien eggs. Proof has now given his tales some clout, so the three trace the strange cargo back to a coffee company in South America! After more victims explode like overcooked meatballs in a microwave oven, a 50s-style Cyclops alien appears and is basically the force behind this mad plot to take over the earth.

CONTAMINATION was released in the U.S. as "Alien Contamination" and when it came out on video, it was pretty much was ignored in favor of rentals of DR. BUTCHER M.D. and ZOMBIE (both also with Scottish thesp McCulloch). It's basically low-grade, [inexpensive] thrills with some nice gore effects (nobody did it better than the Italians, Savini included) and homages to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and other sci-films. It starts with a bang, ends with a semi-bang, but there's lots of [nothing] in the middle. McCulloch is always a hoot to watch and lifts the film above its otherwise mediocre level.

Blue Underground has done a stellar job releasing CONTAMINATION on DVD. The film has dull color schemes and bad lighting to begin with, but this transfer is still excellent. Letterboxed at 1.78:1 with Anamorphic enhancement, it almost looks as though it was made yesterday. The audio is equally impressive, with four separate audio tracks: Mono, Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1 EX, and DTS 6.1, so Goblin's pounding score never sounded better.

A few nice extras are included here. "The Alien Arrives on Earth" is a solid video interview with director/co-writer Luigi Cozzi. Say what you will about his talent, but he's an obvious fan of science fiction, and the 50s classics in particular. Cozzi tells us everything you need to know about CONTAMINATION, including little tidbits like how he originally wanted Caroline Munro to play the scientist, but the producer didn't want to cast a beauty queen. "Luigi Cozzi on the Set of Contamination" is an original production short film from 1980 (probably [filmed] in 16mm) that takes us from Cozzi's fantasy-art filled office to the set of the film. Both of these are in Italian with English subtitles. Rounding out the extras are the European theatrical trailer, a photo/still/poster gallery and a graphic novel based on Cozzi's original storyboards. This feature can be opened up on your PC using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. (George R. Reis)

Rating:
Summary: Blue Underground, I adore you!
Review: From start to finish, Contamination is a good sci-fi movie that some people claim is an Alien rip-off. In a way it is with stomachs exploding on screen that is closely familiar with the scene in Alien when an alien popped out of John Hurt's stomach. Along with an excellent Goblin score, Contamination is very suspensful. Here is the plot.

A crew spots a ship on the shore of NY that seems deserted (very similar to Zombie which was filmed in NY also). A local lieutenant along with a scientist and associates search through the ship that seems empty until they spot corpses of the people on board. What seems weird is that all the men have been found dead, but with their bodies torn apart. Then, they spot a couple of green eggs and one that is heated up. One of the men picks up the egg and it suddenly explodes with debris hitting all of the men except the lieutenant. All of a sudden, they are all torn apart.

A female military scientist then gets in the act, along with the lieutenant that survived on the ship. They discover, after facing off with guardsmen who protect another group of eggs and sacrificing their lives in front of the crowd, two things: these eggs must be from outer space, and why do they come in boxes labeled coffee?

While figuring the mess out, the scientist remembers an astronaut who returned from an expedition claming that there were green eggs and some bright light. She goes to visit the poor geezer who is now an alcoholic living in pity. She discusses the discovery of green eggs he discovered during the expedition. He explains that he and his partner traveled to mars and saw eggs. Then, a ball of light just gets bigger with his partner, Hamilton, just staring. From there, the astronaut, scientist and the lieutenant head to South America to explore the connection with these eggs and coffee with some tragic results.

As stated earlier, this is a good movie, but it has its faults. First of all, the plot is confusing, but it is not a surprise that it's from an Italian movie which is notorious for having lots of gore, but a plot that doesn't make any sense. The reason for the eggs being on Earth doesn't make sense. Second of all is the lieutenant. At first when we get to know him, he is serious and takes his work seriously. When the movie moves along, he becomes a horrible-like gigolo who tries to make a move on the female lead. It makes him look awful and unfortunately, his embarrassment ends with him getting killed. Third and final is the alien. It looks like an alien you would see in a 50's sci-fi bomb. It isn't really scary but it makes you pay attention to it.

Other than the faults, it is a good movie with a pounding Goblin score enhanced by Dolby Digital 5.1 and a good performance by Ian McCulloch. It is a good movie for anybody interested in sci-fi and Italian horror.

Rating:
Summary: Good Sci-Fi Shocker
Review: From start to finish, Contamination is a good sci-fi movie that some people claim is an Alien rip-off. In a way it is with stomachs exploding on screen that is closely familiar with the scene in Alien when an alien popped out of John Hurt's stomach. Along with an excellent Goblin score, Contamination is very suspensful. Here is the plot.

A crew spots a ship on the shore of NY that seems deserted (very similar to Zombie which was filmed in NY also). A local lieutenant along with a scientist and associates search through the ship that seems empty until they spot corpses of the people on board. What seems weird is that all the men have been found dead, but with their bodies torn apart. Then, they spot a couple of green eggs and one that is heated up. One of the men picks up the egg and it suddenly explodes with debris hitting all of the men except the lieutenant. All of a sudden, they are all torn apart.

A female military scientist then gets in the act, along with the lieutenant that survived on the ship. They discover, after facing off with guardsmen who protect another group of eggs and sacrificing their lives in front of the crowd, two things: these eggs must be from outer space, and why do they come in boxes labeled coffee?

While figuring the mess out, the scientist remembers an astronaut who returned from an expedition claming that there were green eggs and some bright light. She goes to visit the poor geezer who is now an alcoholic living in pity. She discusses the discovery of green eggs he discovered during the expedition. He explains that he and his partner traveled to mars and saw eggs. Then, a ball of light just gets bigger with his partner, Hamilton, just staring. From there, the astronaut, scientist and the lieutenant head to South America to explore the connection with these eggs and coffee with some tragic results.

As stated earlier, this is a good movie, but it has its faults. First of all, the plot is confusing, but it is not a surprise that it's from an Italian movie which is notorious for having lots of gore, but a plot that doesn't make any sense. The reason for the eggs being on Earth doesn't make sense. Second of all is the lieutenant. At first when we get to know him, he is serious and takes his work seriously. When the movie moves along, he becomes a horrible-like gigolo who tries to make a move on the female lead. It makes him look awful and unfortunately, his embarrassment ends with him getting killed. Third and final is the alien. It looks like an alien you would see in a 50's sci-fi bomb. It isn't really scary but it makes you pay attention to it.

Other than the faults, it is a good movie with a pounding Goblin score enhanced by Dolby Digital 5.1 and a good performance by Ian McCulloch. It is a good movie for anybody interested in sci-fi and Italian horror.