| The Being | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jackie Kong |
| Written by | Jackie Kong |
| Produced by | Bill Osco |
| Starring | Martin Landau José Ferrer Dorothy Malone Ruth Buzzi Marianne Gordon Bill Osco |
| Cinematography | Hanania Baer Robert Ebinger |
| Edited by | David H. Newhouse |
| Music by | Don Preston |
Production company | Cybelle Productions[1] |
| Distributed by | Best Film & Video Corp. New World Pictures Aquarius Films Crest Films[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Being is a 1983 Americanhorror film written and directed byJackie Kong in her directorial debut, starringMartin Landau,José Ferrer,Dorothy Malone, comedianRuth Buzzi,Marianne Gordon, andexploitation film producerBill Osco, who is billed as "Rexx Coltrane" in the opening credits and "Johnny Commander" in the closing credits.
It focuses on a detective who is trying to solve a string of grisly murders and disappearances. Kong, a recent college graduate, was given a $4.5 million budget from her then-husbandBill Osco to write and direct a film.Principal photography began in 1980 under the titleEaster Sunday.
In the town of Pottsville,Idaho, citizens begin disappearing. Young Michael Smith, son of Marge Smith (Dorothy Malone), is the first to vanish. A young man is decapitated while fleeing from an unseen assailant, and three patrons at a drive-in theater are brutally murdered. At each scene, green slime is found. Wanting to get to the bottom of the disappearances but afraid that the publicity might damage the town's potato business, Mayor Gordon Lane (José Ferrer) hireschemical safety engineer Garcon Jones (Martin Landau) to investigate. Also investigating the disappearances is Detective Mortimer Lutz (Bill Osco), who suspects that something terrible has befallen the town.
Meanwhile, more people disappear, and a puddle of green slime is found at each site. With this new string of disappearances, Lutz suspects that Jones knows more than he will admit. His suspicions grow when he's attacked by something monstrous at home, and he barely manages to escape. Lutz confronts Jones about the incident but is told there's nothing wrong in the area.
The following night, while Lutz takes his waitress girlfriend Laurie (Marianne Gordon) home, they're suddenly attacked by a hideous creature. After holing themselves inside a diner, they lock it inside a freezer. The couple then contact Mayor Lane, however, when he arrives, they discover that the creature has vanished, leaving behind a puddle of green slime. In light of this recent attack, Lutz confronts Jones again, who then admits that a highly radioactive creature is responsible. It's revealed that the town is home to one of 2,000nuclear dump sites in the U.S., and the creature (who's implied to be Michael Smith) is the resulting mutation due to repeated exposure to the site's radioactive materials. Themutant, while intelligent, is completelypsychotic but sensitive to light and is inactive during the day.
Arming themselves with shotguns, Jones and Lutz eventually track the creature down to an abandoned warehouse, where the hungry mutant stalks them. Jones is soon attacked anddisemboweled by the creature, leaving Lutz alone to fend off the creature. Donning a gas mask, Lutz attempts to kill the creature withpoison gas, but it seems unfazed by the poisonous fumes and tosses Lutz around like a ragdoll. As the creature advances, Lutz manages to toss a beaker ofacid into the creature's face, momentarily stunning it. Taking advantage of the creature's distraction, Lutz grabs a nearby axe and hacks the creature to death, ending the reign of terror.
A new mutation is seen bursting from the ground.
Cast notes:
Kong, a recent college graduate, was given a $4.5 million budget from then-husband Bill Osco to write and direct a film, despite the fact that she had no professional film-making experience. She stated that she impressed Osco with storyboards and shot breakdowns. Kong wooed Martin Landau by pretending to be an actor interested in his theater workshop, and using the opportunity to give him her script. Impressed with her straightforwardness, he accepted the role.[3] It would mark producer and occasional actor Osco's departure from his previous sexually explicit films such as the 1974sexploitation filmFlesh Gordon.[4]Principal photography began in 1980 under the titleEaster Sunday.
During the film's production it was intended that the film would be released on Easter in 1981.[1] However, the film could not find a distributor for three years, and was finally released on November 18, 1983 under its new title.[5][6][7]The Being was a commercial failure, performing poorly at the box office.[8][9]
The Being was released onDVD 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 itsMutant Monsters Triple Feature which combined it withThe Dark andCreatures from the Abyss. It was last released by Code Red as adouble feature alongsideCop Killers.[10]
Critical response forThe Being has been mostly negative, with many criticizing the film's acting, script, editing, and poor lighting.Scott Weinberg fromDVD Talk was among the film's detractors calling the film "Grungy, muddy-looking" he also called it a "blatantAlien ripoff".[11] J. Read fromMonstersatplay.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.[12]Allmovie called the film "abysmal", with "clumsy, ham-fisted" direction,"lack of focus", "goofy" effects, and a "leaden, noncharismatic" performance from lead actor and producer Bill Osco. Nevertheless, the reviewer calls it "worthy of note for cinematic trash-fiends", because of its cast, flashes of humor and "oddball qualities".[13]TV Guide gave the film a negative review awarding it a score of 11/2 out of 4, stating, "The biggest mystery about this mystery-horror film is how the producer ever managed to persuade two Oscar winners (Dorothy Malone and Jose Ferrer) to appear in such cinematic Valium".[14]
Robert Firsching fromNew York Times panned the film, calling it, "abysmal".[5]Leonard Maltin awarded the film 11⁄2 stars out of 4 stating that humor was the film's only saving grace, stating that "it wasn't enough to overcome its Z-grade script and production".[15] Jack Sommersby from eFilmCritic.com gave the film a negative review, writing, " it's not the worst of its type but not quite good enough to warrant a recommendation".[16] Brett Gallman fromOh, the Horror! wrote, "The Being manages an odd, offbeat quality despite its familiarity. It’s a film that features an amorphous killer alien but also takes the time to consider Pottsville’s other plights, such as the impending arrival of a massage parlor that has the moral majority in a tizzy. Osco’s voiceover narration and interior monologues abruptly stop midway through the film, and even the Easter setting is entirely incidental".[17]
In spite of the film's critical and commercial failure,The Being would gain a smallcult following over the years since its release.[18] Kong would go on to directNight Patrol (1984) and the 1987 cult horror filmBlood Diner.[19]
Notes