This scrappy, gory 1982 sci-fi cult classic, locally made on a low budget but with phenomenal special effects, is about a meteorite that crashes to earth carrying toothy little alien horrors which take up residence in the watery basement of a suburban home only to multiple and frighteningly grow in size. I so agree with Michael Weldon in his seminal Psychotronic Video Guide, “Watching this movie (made in New Jersey) on 42nd Street was a high point of my Manhattan moviegoing days.” A remarkable 4K UHD Blu-ray limited edition box set has been released by Synapse. A long-awaited treat, a two-disc set filled with extras, audio commentaries, a two-sided poster and six collector cards, plus a colorful booklet of essays and incredible behind-the-scenes photos from the making of this wildly enjoyable chiller.
The trio that brought this furiously fun monster movie to life include director Douglas McKeown, producer Ted Bohus and special effects wiz John Dods. McKeown, raised in Metuchun, New Jersey began teaching high school English courses before immersing himself in theater- acting, directing, stage designer. He got a call from an old high school buddy John Dods (who he’d worked with on theatrical projects). Dods said he’s met another horror buff at a convention- Ted Bohus– and suggested they all join forces to make a horror film. McKeown began writing scenes for the film. All three became equal partners in the trajectory of the story.
Two young campers are violently woken by a meteorite crashing down in the woods one night. They leave their tent and go to investigate and plan to photograph it when they are suddenly attacked and devoured by shadowy creatures. These alien invaders slip into the basement of a large house and reproduce at an alarming rate, quickly dispatching the husband and wife in a gruesome fashion. The others in the house are unaware of this, assuming the couple left early for the day. Besides a visiting aunt and uncle lives young monster movie fan Charlie (George Hildebrandt), his bedroom filled with horror posters and monster masks. Also in the house is his his older, astronomy-loving, brother Pete (Tom DeFranco). Pete’s high school friend show up for a study marathon but end up fighting an army of hideous creatures of all sizes that have infested the house and are chomping their way through.
McKeown, in later years, ran a storytelling workshop at New York’s Gay & Lesbian Center, which resulted in a collection of published stories called “Queer Stories for Boys.” The stories included by Douglas McKeown seem rather autobiographical, about a young horror-movie-obsessed boy who uses putty, latex and even mortician’s wax to transform himself into a Werewolf, the Frankenstein monster, the Phantom of the Opera and the Mummy and then sneaking around through the woods, popping up and scaring neighbors. Definitely an inspiration for young Charlie in The Deadly Spawn, who uses his knowledge of special effects to battle the voracious creatures.
John Dods’ “Spawn” are things of hideous beauty. From giant, razor-teeth, three-headed beasts to tadpole-like creatures slithering in the water in the cellar. They chew through walls, slide up bannisters in the house, or bite through doors, hungry for more prey. There is a fabulous sequence at a nearby house where older female friends get together for a vegetarian feast only to be attacked by scores of these cannibalistic horrors.
What’s great about the movie is that it mostly focuses on the battle between the kids and the “Spawn,” and the final sequence is so cleverly shocking and surprising it really glues the film together. I vividly remember seeing this on Times Square when it opened and went back with friends again and again. We all just loved it, and while it wasn’t the smash hit it should have been, it’s release on video and DVD made it a true cult favorite.
In author Stephen Thrower’s sensational book Nightmare USA, which charted “American Independent Exploitation Films,” he devotes a whole chapter to The Deadly Spawn including an interview with Douglas McKeown. Thrower calls the film, “One of the most enjoyable and exciting low-budget horror films of its day.” McKeown describes the shooting of the film. Most of the action was filmed at the actual house of the young film’s star George Hildebrandt. He also is full of admiration for the special effects of John Dods, ‘The monsters are marvelous.” Unfortunately, tensions mounted between Dods and McKeown during the film. Near the end of the shoot, Dods called McKeown and announced he was going to take over directing the film. Producer Ted Bohus, who had acted as mediator throughout, suddenly took Dods side. “I was no longer communicated with after the early summer of 1981,” McKeown ruefully admits, “and only learned of the finished film’s release in April of 1983, when I saw the advert in the New York Times!” As angry and disappointed McKeown was with the whole experience, he acknowledged the work of his colleagues, “John Dods came up with some amazing effects on practically no budget at all and Ted (Bohus) held the whole thing together and dealt with logistics that would be daunting for everyone.”
McKeown went on to work in theater and writing workshops and sadly died in 2022 at age 75. Stephen Thrower puts it best, “Films don’t direct themselves…of course John Dods’s creations are a knockout, but The Deadly Spawn is an exciting, compelling fiction, not just an effects movie, and that’s thanks to Douglas McKeown.”