Aliens

No. 1 Aliens

Plot: The planet from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, enough?

Tag line: This time there's more

Trivia: The Alien nest set was kept intact after filming. It was later used as the Axis Chemicals set for Batman (1989). When the crew of Batman (1989) first entered the set, they found most of the Alien nest still intact.

To bring the alien queen to life would take anything between 14 and 16 operators.

Except for a very small reference in Alien (1979), the special edition of this film is the first to reveal the name of "The Company": Weyland Yutani. The name is clearly written on several pieces of equipment and walls in the colony during the pre-alien portions of the special edition.

Quotes: Newt: We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly.

[after making a plan to weld the doors shut and put the sentry units] Hicks: Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards.

Ripley: These people are here to protect you. They're soldiers. Newt: It won't make any difference.

Outta here!

Going on vacation tomorrow so I will post the top scary movie on my list and wish you all a Happy Halloween!

Arachnophobia

No 2. Arachnophobia

Plot: South American killer spider hitches a lift to the US in a coffin and starts to breed and kill.

Tag Line: Eight legs, two fangs and an attitude.

Trivia: Mustard packs were used for effects for all the squashing of spiders underfoot.

The small spiders used in the film were Avondale spiders (Delena Cancerides), a harmless species from New Zealand that were provided by Landcare Research in Auckland. Despite their fierce appearance, this spider is docile member of the crab-spider family and are, in fact, harmless to humans. They were not allowed back in New Zealand for quarantine reasons. The giant "spider" used in the film was a species of a bird-eating tarantula, which attains an 8" legspan or more. Those types of tarantula are not easy to handle and can give a nasty bite. The spiders in the film were managed and handled by famed entomologist Steven R. Kutcher.

Quotes: Delbert McClintock: Would anyone object if I tore this floor out? Molly Jennings: I would. Delbert McClintock: False alarm then. Lead on.

Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: [introducing Delbert to Doctor Atherton] Excuse me. Professor? This is our town exterminator. Delbert McClintock: Delbert McClintock, infestation management. Always nice to meet a collegue. Sheriff Lloyd Parsons: Now, he believes he came across one of the offending spiders a couple of hours ago. Doctor James Atherton: Might you have brought it with you? Delbert McClintock: Actually, he's probably still at the bottom of my shoe. You really can't tell what it is anymore.

I hate spiders. I try not to use the word hate often but spiders are an object of intense loathing. You can imagine a movie about giant killer spiders would be on my list of things that make Bridget scream. The only thing in this movie that makes me smile is Julian Sands. He is a hottie.

Silent Hill

No 3 Silent Hill

Plot: A woman goes in search for her daughter, within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill. Based on the video game.

Tag Line: Enjoy your stay.

Trivia: Around 100 different copies of Rose's outfit were made. It started out with soft summery colors and as the movie progressed it became grayer and eventually blood red. The change in the outfits were so subtle that it was barely noticeable.

Radha Mitchell (Rose) got punched in the face by one of the "Dark Nurses" during filming the scene in the basement of the hospital.

In the witch burning picture in the church crew members for the movie were painted as spectators watching the burning.

When Dahlia asks why Alessa didn't take her along with the others Rose says "Because you're her mother, Mother is God in the eyes of a child" at the end of the movie. There is a similar line spoken in the movie The Crow (1994) where Eric Draven says "Mother is the name for God on the hearts and lips of children".

Quotes: Cybil Bennet: They used to say this place was haunted.
Rose: I think they were right.

Dark Alessa: Now is the end of day- and I am the Reaper!

Fans of the game will not be disappointed by this movie adaptation.

The Exorcist

No. 4 The Exorcist

Plot: Landmark of horror films, based on an enormously popular novel: A troubled cleric sees a means of redemption in helping a psychologically damaged teen.

Tag Line: Something beyond comprehension is happening to a little girl on this street, in this house. A man has been called for as a last resort to try and save her. That man is The Exorcist.

Trivia: Mercedes McCambridge had to sue Warner Brothers for credit as the voice of the demon.

The bedroom set had to be refrigerated to capture the authentic icy breath of the actors in the exorcizing scenes. Linda Blair, who was only in a flimsy nightgown, says to this day she cannot stand being cold.

Christian evangelist Billy Graham claimed an actual demon was living in the celluloid reels of this movie.

On the first day of filming the exorcism sequence, Linda Blair's delivery of her foul-mouthed dialogue so disturbed the gentlemanly Max von Sydow he actually forgot his lines.

Quotes:
Pazuzu: I'm not Regan.

Father Damien Karras: Well, then let's introduce ourselves. I'm Damien Karras.

Pazuzu: And I'm the Devil. Now kindly undo these straps.

Father Damien Karras: If you're the Devil, why not make the straps disappear?

Pazuzu: That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras.

I had to leave out quite a few quotes as they are not safe for the faint of heart. This movie is disturbing no matter who you are. The idea of denomic possession is frightening and that a child would be the target makes it worse.

The House on South Trinity

In honor of the ghoulish season I thought I would share my haunted legacy that started with my Grandparents. In the summer of 1968 Burnice Ashbrook, his wife Claudie and their four daughters moved into a white two story house not far from the town square of Gilmer, TX. The house had been built in the 1800's and was eventually left to the builder's daughter upon his death. The daughter never married but did have a female roommate. Both women lived out their lives in the house.

Claudie Ashbrook has told of one occasion when she was doing laundry and heard a car door shut outside followed by feet ascending the stairs. She says the front door opened and the footsteps continued to come closer until they were behind her. She turned expecting to greet her husband and found no one was there. On a separate occasion she claims to have been visited in her bedroom while she rested one afternoon. The person told her to move her bedroom or she would die. Before Burnice got home that evening all the bedroom furniture had been switched with the far living room.

The Ashbrook daughters reported hearing sounds in the attic that were attributed to rats. They observed no other activity. One daughter even made the attic her room and never had any experiences.

Burnice was a man that loved to tinker with everything. He made several changes to the house while he lived there. Creating walls where there were none, boarding up doors. His departure from the house came in the early 1990's when he and his second wife moved to Arkansas. Burnice was convinced that staying in the house would ensure his death. Ironically the house is situated next door to a very prosperous funeral home.

The house stayed in the family with various relatives living in it at different times. There was very little activity other than just giving people the creeps in general until the summer of 1996. During her divorce Beverly Conroy, formerly Ashbr, moved into the house with her daughter. (who is me by the way) I experienced several disturbing events, some of which were witnessed by others.

First there were the music boxes. My mother collected carousel horses and several that played songs. These musical figures were lined up along furniture around the room. Being a teenager I spent a great deal of time on the phone with my friends. The only place to make a private call was in Mom's room. The music boxes had a bad habit of playing by themselves when i was alone with them. It was never one but more like five that would begin to play one at a time. They never interrupted each other. This became a common occurrence.

Another incident involved the remote control. I was sitting in the living room watching TV when the remote shot off the couch onto the floor where it continued to glide across to the front of the entertainment center. I left it there and fled to my room.

My room was on the side of the house the porch wraps around. It was a nice night so I had my windows opened. On the porch was an old rocking chair that had been a permanent fixture for as long as I could remember. I heard the creaking of the rocker first and then the humming began. Terrified I sat on my bed nest to that opened window and silently cried hugging my pillow. My mother came bursting in my room wanting to know why I had the radio up so loud. First of all my mother is considered deaf. She has a significant hearing loss in one ear and profound hearing loss in the other ear. Her TV was always turned up very loud and still she heard this music coming from my room. Now what I was hearing was very soft and feminine. Three times Mom went outside to investigate and all three times found nothing.

The last incident I had was scratching on the walls on the bathroom. I began to cry, again and pleaded for whatever it was to please go away. It did. We moved out less than four months later.

Believe me of don't but that is my story.

Jaws

No. 5 Jaws

Plot: When a gigantic great white begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.

Tag Line: Don't go in the water

Trivia: In addition to the well-known nickname of "Bruce", Steven Spielberg also called the shark "the great white turd" when he really got frustrated with the troublesome animatronic fish.

Author Peter Benchley was thrown off the set after objecting to the climax.

When Roy Scheider was trapped in the sinking Orca, it took 75 takes to get the shot right. Scheider did not trust the special effects team to rescue him in case of an emergency so he hid axes and hatchets around the cabin just in case.

Robert Shaw could not stand Richard Dreyfuss and they argued all the time, which resulted in some good tension between Hooper and Quint.

Quotes: Quint: Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him.

Hooper: Boys, oh boys... I think he's come back for his noon feeding.

Did you know that I have an intense fear of sharks and open water? Yep. This is the movie that made sure I would spend no time in lakes, rivers, oceans...

The Ring

No. 6 The Ring

Plot: A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it.

Tag Line: Before you die, you see the ring

Trivia: The tree with the fiery red leaves featured in the movie is a Japanese maple. The fruit of this tree is known as a "samara".

When Noah and Rachel return to the inn, at the end of the movie, there's a sign that reads "Closed until further notice", under the "Shelter Mountain Inn" sign. In an earlier cut of the film, the cabin manager dies from watching the tape (see "Alternate Versions"). Probably that's the reason for the inn being closed.

Quotes: Noah: I can't imagine being stuck down a well all alone like that. How long could you survive? Rachel Keller: Seven days.



Yikes. This movie was one of the very few that rattled me as an adult. Anymore it does not bother me but for a while there I was not sure I would ever stop dreaming about it.

Poltergeist

No. 7 Poltergeist

Plot: A family's home is haunted by a host of ghosts.

Tag Line: They're Here.

Trivia: Mrs. Freeling's line "Mmmm... smell that mimosa." is taken directly from The Uninvited (1944).

Heather O'Rourke, who played the little girl Carol-Anne, and Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter, are buried in the same cemetery: Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Dunne was strangled into brain-death by her boyfriend in 1982, the year of the film's release. Six years later, O'Rourke died of intestinal stenosis.

JoBeth Williams was hesitant about shooting the swimming pool scene because of the large amount of electrical equipment positioned over and around the pool. In order to comfort her, Steven Spielberg crawled in the pool with her to shoot the screen. Spielberg told her, "Now if a light falls in, we will both fry." The strategy worked and Williams got in the pool.

Quotes: Tangina: Y'all mind hanging back? You're jamming my frequency.

Tangina: It lies to her. It tells her things only a child can understand. It's been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply is another child. To us, it is The Beast.

Tangina: This house is clean.

I remember when I first saw this movie. I had nightmares for months. I do not think I was afraid of a closet monster until then. The little girl was frightening to me too. Who can forget the name Carol Anne? If I ever met someone with that name I think I would run away screaming.

Resident Evil

No. 8 Resident Evil

Plot: A special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.

Tag Line: Everyone died. The trouble is they didn't stay dead

Trivia: Like in the games, after something is switched on/off, something else happens elsewhere. When the Red Queen is deactivated for the first time, all doors elsewhere are opened.

Connections to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: - Main character's name is Alice. - Computer is named 'Red Queen'. - 'The Red Queen' needs to kill someone who is infected, so she tries to get someone else to chop off their head. (Off with her head!) - Alice in Wonderland paperweight. - A white rabbit was use to test the T-virus. - To enter the hive they go through a mirrored door (through the looking glass). - The Red Queen also succeeds in cutting off "her" head - the medic in the laser hallway. - Kaplan worries about time, as the White Rabbit does. (Mentioned in commentary) - Matt is sitting on the ledge when Rain and JD hear the first zombie. This is mentioned in the commentary as a reference to the Caterpillar.

Quotes: Red Queen: You're all going to die down here.

Rain: All the people that were working here are dead. Spence: Well, that isn't stopping them from walking around.

Not too many video game to movies work out. This one is the exception. A great Zombie action movie that has enough of the game to keep with tradition but still does its own thing. Highly recommended.

Se7en (1995)

No. 9 Se7en

Plot: Police drama about two cops, one new and one about to retire, after a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his MO.

Tag Line: Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

Trivia: The victim tied to the bed for a year was not an animatronic model, but a very skinny actor made up to look even more corpse-like. Rob Bottin used a set of exaggerated teeth to make the head look smaller and more shrunken from malnutrition.

While filming the scene where Mills chases John Doe in the rain, Brad Pitt fell and his arm went through a car windscreen, requiring surgery. This accident was worked into the script of the film.

Quotes:David Mills: Yeah, a landlord's dream: a paralyzed tenant with no tongue. William Somerset: Who pays the rent on time.

William Somerset: This isn't going to have a happy ending.

[William Somerset looks at an object in the road] David Mills: What do you got? William Somerset: Dead dog. John Doe: I didn't do that.

Seven paved the way for such movies as Saw and Hostel. The savagery and intensity that John Doe employed to commit his crimes were worse than any movie goers had ever seen in American film.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

No. 10 The Sixth Sense

Plot: A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

Tag Line: Not every gift is a blessing.

Trivia: Is one of only four horror films to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

When Cole and his mother are sitting in the kitchen, there is a glass on the table that you can only get in Philadelphia. It originally comes filled with Penn Maid sour cream which is not readily available anywhere else.

According to M. Night Shyamalan, Donnie Wahlberg lost 43 pounds for the role.

Quotes: Vincent Gray: Do you know why you're afraid when you're alone? I do. I do.

Cole Sear: You ever feel the prickly things on the back of your neck? \Malcolm Crowe: Yes. Cole Sear: And the tiny hairs on your arm, you know when they stand up? That's them. When they get mad... it gets cold.

This was M. Night Shyamalan's break out film. Everyone talked about it and was impressed. I will be surprised if any of you have not seen it.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

No. 11 Dawn of the Dead

Plot outline: A nurse, a policeman, a street gang member, his wife, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Tagline: When the undead rise, civilizationwill fall.

Trivia: According to director Zack Snyder, Starbucks Coffee refused to be featured in the film.

For the scene where Ana stitches Kenneth's wounds, the director hired a real nurse for the close-ups. She misunderstood the director's directions to go deeper and inadvertently punctured Ving Rhames' skin and stitched the prosthesis to his arm. He didn't say anything until after the scene was done filming and the director thought the blood was merely "a really good effect".

Quotes: Michael: Look, there's no point in arguing about this, all right? We need a solution. We need... we need to get some food over there. Steve: Yeah, OK, I have an idea. We draw straws and the loser runs across the lot with a ham sandwich.

I am not a huge fan of the zombie genre but this one always makes me feel nervous when I watch it. The thought of being out numbered and stranded with thousands of people waiting to eat me is just not pleasant.

Stir of Echoes (1999)

No.12 Stir of Echoes

Plot Outline: After being hypnotized by his sister in law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around her.

Tag Line: In every mind there is a door that has never been opened.

Trivia: The hypnosis sequence in which Tom (Kevin Bacon) is hypnotized for the first time follows actual hypnosis techniques used by professional hypnotists. In order to ensure that the audience hasn't been put to sleep (and some susceptible people have been), there's a musical accent at the close of the sequence to wake everyone up.

During the hypnosis session, Kevin Bacon is told to imagine a movie theatre where everything is painted black (walls, chairs, everything but the screen). Later, during the rape scene, a stereo plays "Paint it black" by The Rolling Stones.

quotes: Lisa: It doesn't surprise me that there's another woman. Of course, the fact that she's dead gives one pause.

Jake Witzky: Don't be afraid of it, Daddy.

Kevin Bacon does a great job as the freaked out non spiritual believer haunted by the ghost of a dead girl. The ghost coaxes our hero none too gently to solve her murder and bring the killers to justice.

Sleppy Hollow (1999)

No. 13 Sleepy Hollow

Plot Outline: Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman.

Tag Line: Watch your head!

Trivia: Christopher Walken's character has no speaking lines, aside from a couple of "HAA"s to his horse and "shhhh."

The dress worn by Katrina Anne Van Tassel (Christina Ricci) in the last shot of the movie has the same pattern as Michael Keaton's outfit in the climactic scene of Beetle Juice (1988) also directed by Tim Burton.

Star Johnny Depp adopted Goldeneye, the horse that played Gunpowder, Ichabod Crane's horse in the film, when he heard it was going to be put down.

Ichabod Crane faints six times in the movie.

Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel were, reportedly, real people

Quotes: Ichabod Crane: We have murders in New York without benefit of ghouls and goblins. Baltus Van Tassel: You are a long way from New York, constable.

Young Masbath: Is he dead?

Ichabod Crane: That's the problem. He was dead to begin with.

Ichabod Crane: It was a headless horseman.

Baltus Van Tassel: You must not excite yourself.

Ichabod Crane: But it was a headless horseman.

Baltus Van Tassel: Of course it was. That's why you're here.

Ichabod Crane: No, you must believe me. It was a horseman, a dead one. Headless.

Baltus Van Tassel: I know, I know.

Ichabod Crane: You don't know because you were not there. It's all true.

Baltus Van Tassel: Of course it is. I told you. Everyone told you.

Ichabod Crane: I... saw him. [faints]

Tim Burton's vision is flawless. There really is not a lot more to say other than watch it, love it.

The Messengers (2007)

No. 14 The Messengers

Plot Outline: An ominous darkness invades a seemingly serene sunflower farm in North Dakota, and the Solomon family is torn apart by suspicion, mayhem and murder.

Tag Line: There is evidence to suggest that children are highly susceptible to paranormal phenomena. They see what adults cannot. They believe what adults deny. And they are trying to warn us.

Trivia: None worth repeating.

Quotes: Jess: [to her brother] You see them too... don't you?

The thing I liked best about this movie was that it had thrills and scares in all the right places but in the end you felt resolution without comprising the story. The whole who really is the bad guy element to the plot was brilliant.

Ginger Snaps Back

No. 15 Ginger Snaps Back

Plot Outline: Set in 19th Century Canada, Brigette and her sister Ginger take refuge in a Traders' Fort which later becomes under siege by some savage werewolves.

Tag Line: The Beginning

Trivia: Shot back-to-back with second movie in trilogy Ginger Snaps: Unleashed (2004).

Quotes: Ginger: You are all I have, I will not kill you.

Ginger: I've come for my sister.

James: I'm sorry to tell you, but the Reverend has taken a real fancy to saving her from Hellfire. So I guess that leaves me and you, more or less, to ourselves.

[he smacks her in the face]

Ginger: [wipes the blood off her mouth] Right then.

Third in the Ginger Snaps franchise and my personal favorite. It does not have as much humor and hipness that made the original so great. This one is more true to the horror genre. A great story of the bonds of sisterhood and family above all others. IF you decide to watch the Ginger Snaps movies please for your sake skip the middle movie Ginger Snaps: Unleashed. It really was trash.

Species (1995)

No. 16 Species

Plot Outline: A message from outer space contains instructions on how to modify human DNA.

Tag Line: For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever

Trivia: During the production, MGM opted not to shoot the "nightmare train" sequence to keep costs down. H.R. Giger was not willing to accept that, however, so he spent $100,000 of his own money to finance the sequence.

An early draft of the script had the young Sil calmly killing a friendly cab driver. In an effort to keep the audiences sympathy for her character (and to make the murder of the porter more shocking) the scene was changed to Sil killing a tramp in self defense after he attempts to attack her.

Quotes: Xavier Fitch: I'm sorry. Young Sil: [mouthing] I'm sorry.

Xavier Fitch: We decided to make it female so it would be more docile and controllable. Preston Lennox: More docile and controllable, eh? You guys don't get out much.

A bunch of scientists receive genetic blueprints from space telling them how to combine human and alien DNA together to create a hybrid. Maybe this is not a good idea but hey why not go for it right? So the experiment named Sil works a bit too well and now we want to destroy "her". She of course has that pesky survival instinct and does not want to die, fancy that. She escapes and creates havoc across L.A. in her attempts to silence that biological clock that is ticking. Special team follows and a show down between man and alienish creature ensues.

Thirteen Ghosts ( 2001)

No. 17 Thir13en Ghosts Plot Outline: A very rich collector of unique things dies, he leaves it all to his nephew and his family. All including his house, his fortune, and his malicious collection of ghosts!

Tag Line: There are ghosts around us all the time. Most of them don't want to hurt us. But, there are exceptions...

Trivia: The special effects and sound mixing were so elaborate in this film, that many people claimed that the movie was physically painful to sit through

Of all the creature makeup created for the film, "The Angry Princess" required the longest time to apply at five hours.

Quotes: Maggie: Can I rely on you not to get me killed?

Dennis Rafkin: I guarantee nothing.

Rafkin: There are ghosts in the basement!

Maggie: This basement?

Dennis Rafkin: Of course this basement! What is it with you people? If it was the basement next door I wouldn't give a s**t, would I?

Wow this movie was painful for me. I think I might have shredded the arm of the couch the first time I watched it. Instead of having one or two bad things that want to hurt you there are 13 + a few extra surprises. Dark Castle had a real winner with this remade classic.

Underworld (2003)

No. 18 Underworld

Plot Outline: Selene (Beckinsale), a beautiful vampire warrior, is entrenched in a war between the vampire and werewolf races. Although she is aligned with the vampires, she falls in love with Michael (Speedman), a werewolf who longs for the war to end.

Tag Line: An immortal battle for supremacyTrivia: The movie was initially pitched as "Romeo and Juliet for vampires and werewolves".

At the start of the movie when Selene encounters a werewolf in the train tunnel, you hear a wolf howl - the sound effect is taken directly from An American Werewolf in London (1981).

There were no special effects used to alter Kevin Grevioux's (Raze's) voice. It actually gets that deep naturally.

The dress above is Amelia's from the train scene. I adore this dress but would want it sans the blood stains. Underworld is in my mind the best Vampire story since Dracula.

Underworld: Evolution (2005)

No. 19 Underworld: Evolution

Plot Summary: This movie continues the saga of war between vampires and werewolves (Lycans). The film traces the beginnings of the ancient feud between the two tribes as Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman), the lycan hybrid, try to discover the secrets of their bloodlines. All of this takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must finally face their retribution.

Tag Line: N/A

Trivia: The name Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) was originally the intended name for the main character in The Crow: City of Angels (1996), which was changed to the name Ashe Corven.

According to actor Tony Curran himself, he stipulated in his contract that he wanted to be able to keep his Vampire fangs in at all times, even when he wasn't filming.

Quotes: Tanis: You don't scare me, Selene.
Selene: Well, we'll have to work on that

Selene: [picks up the abandoned bra of one of Tanis's girlfriends] Your exile seems a bit more comfortable than I remember.

Marcus: Viktor fashioned two keys. What do you know of them?

Tanis: Keys? I don't know of any keys.

[Marcus spears Tanis in the shoulders and pulls him across the table]

Tanis: Oh... yes. Yes, those keys.

Sequel to Underworld following the continuing saga of the Lycans Vs. Vampires. While I think it is not as good as the original it is so close that its barely noticible. One of the few follow ups that was actually worth the film it was shot on.

Tremors (1990)

No. 20 Tremors

Plot Outline: Natives of a small isolated town, defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.

Tag Line: The monster movie that breaks new ground.

Trivia: The "graboids" are very reminiscent of the giant worms in Dune (1984). Both are giant worms, live underground, live in the desert, have large mouths on the end, and respond to vibrations on the surface. Also, both films have the characters escaping the worms by retreating to rocks where they can't get attacked.

The original ending of the film was much different. Val and Earl head out to Bixbie and Val doesn't hook up with Rhonda. But it is implied. The two are looking for their lighter and realize that Rhonda still has it, they turn around and head back. This ending was shot, and tested for one audience, and was not well received. It is available in the documentary on the DVD.

S.S. Wilson said that he got the idea for the film while he was working for the US Navy in the California desert. While resting on a rock, he imagined what it might be like if something underground kept him from getting off the rock.

Quotes: Earl Bassett: Is this a job for an intelligent man? Valentine McKee: Well, show me one and I'll ask him.

Earl Bassett: No way those things can outrun these horses! Valentine McKee: Yeah, well, for all you know, they can fly.

Earl Bassett: Hey, Rhonda you ever seen anything like this before? Valentine McKee: Oh, sure Earl. Everyone knows about them we just didn't tell you.

trapped on top of a boulder by a Graboid, Val, Earl, and Rhonda are thinking of explanations for where the creatures came from] Valentine McKee: [joking] They're mutations caused by radiation. No, wait; the government made 'em. *Big* surprise for the Russians. Rhonda LeBeck: Well, there's nothing like them in the fossil record... Okay, so they predate the fossil record. [not buying it herself] Rhonda LeBeck: That'd make them a couple of billion years old... and we've just never seen one until now. Right. Earl Bassett: I vote for outer space. No way these are local boys.

IF you like the old 50's monster movies then this one is for you. Kevin Bacon makes his debut on my countdown proving that even in obscure blog land you can still play six degrees of Kevin Bacon. I think they had serious in mind when they started this film but somewhere it kind of went off into spoofiness. I love it though. It did make me a bit leery of the ground when I saw it. Then again I was in first grade when this came out.