Xtro (1982)

Xtro is a low-budget British science fiction horror cult movie made in 1982 and directed by Harry Bromley Davenport and co-produced by Bob Shaye. It is the first installment of the Xtro franchise.

Plot
Tony's father Sam, abducted by aliens three years earlier, returns to earth and seeks out his wife and son, but Rachel has since been living with Joe and the reunion is awkward. Joe doesn't trust Sam, and Rachel can't quite decide what her feelings are for her two men. Sam is not the same as when he left, and he begins affecting Tony in frightening ways.

Cast

 * Philip Sayer as Sam Phillips
 * Bernice Stegers as Rachel Phillips
 * Danny Brainin as Joe Daniels
 * Maryam d'Abo as Analise Mercier
 * Simon Nash as Tony Phillips
 * Peter Mandell as Clown
 * David Cardy as Michael
 * Anna Wing as Mrs. Goodman
 * Robert Fyfe as Doctor
 * Katherine Best as Jane
 * Robert Pereno as Ben
 * Sean Crawford as Commando
 * Tim Dry as Monster
 * Susie Silvey as Woman In Cottage
 * Arthur Whybrow as Mr. Knight

Reception
The film currently holds a rating of 20% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It has a rating of 5,4/10 on IMDb.

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States by New Line Cinema in 1983.

The film was released on DVD three times in the United States by Image Entertainment. The first DVD of the film was released in 2005 as a double feature with sequel Xtro II: The Second Encounter. The second DVD was released in 2006 as a standalone release. The third DVD was released in 2007 and was a triple feature alongside Xtro II: The Second Encounter and Skeeter.

In Britain the entire Xtro trilogy was released in box-set, remastered anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 for Xtro II and an interview with director Harry Bromley Davenport covering the production of all three films. It has since then been out of print.

== Alternate Ending == Director Harry Bromley Davenport originally intended the film to end with Rachel coming home to find the apartment filled with clones of Tony, having apparently come from the alien eggs which the real Tony had left in the refrigerator. Rachel is shown to be pregnant with Sam’s second child and the clones of Tony come at her and rub her belly which she smiles.

But executive producer Robert Shaye, not thinking the scenes special effects were convincing enough, edited it out and released it for its New York debut with the film ending when Rachel sits down in the field after Sam and Tony have left. Davenport, however, not wanting to have it end on such an abrupt note, created another one which had Rachel going back to the apartment, picking up one of the eggs and being attacked by a face-grabbing creature similar to the one that attacked the woman in the cottage, and ultimately the film was released with this ending.

Sequels
Director Harry Bromley Davenport made two sequels to the film, Xtro II: The Second Encounter and Xtro 3: Watch the Skies. Neither films had anything to do with the original film. In March 2011, Davenport confirmed that Xtro 4 was in the works. Speaking to Fangoria.com, he stated:

“I am going to be starting XTRO 4 this summer; you are the first to receive this shattering news,” Davenport tells us. “A script by Daryl Haney is in the works, and my sales guys are salivating. It’s going to be a very odd movie indeed. Sort of back to the roots of the first one, but much stranger and, hopefully, more uncomfortable.”

Taglines

 * A brutal excursion in terror
 * When Tony grows up, he's going to be just like Daddy!
 * This Alien is Pure Evil.
 * Some extra-terrestrials aren't friendly.

Trivia

 * Director Harry Bromley Davenport stated in an interview on the DVD release that the bizarre atmosphere of the film was completely unintentional.
 * The creature that attacks the woman in the cottage was played by a mime they hired to crawl on his back.
 * The film was often incorrectly listed as a UK video nasty though it was never officially listed among the original 72 titles.
 * Director Harry Bromley Davenport humorously described his score for the film in an interview as "screaming synthesizers."
 * Director Harry Bromley Davenport originally intended the film to end with Rachel coming home to find the apartment filled with clones of Tony, having apparently come from the alien eggs which the real Tony had been left in the refrigerator. But executive producer Robert Shaye, not thinking the scenes special effects were convincing enough, edited it out and released it for its New York debut with the film ending when Rachel sits down in the field after Sam and Tony have left. Davenport, however, not wanting to have it end on such an abrupt note, created another one which had Rachel going back to the apartment, picking up one of the eggs and being attacked by a face-grabbing creature similar to the one that attacked the woman in the cottage, and ultimately the film was released with this ending.