High Desert Kill (1989)

Thanks for the memories!

hyped garbage

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Blistering performances.

This was excellent particularly for a made for TV film and it was quite well written and with an interesting plot about an alien doing experiments on humans which are mostly psychological experiments also one of the main characters Dr. Jim Cole, a scientist who does behavioural experiments on animals I thought was a very interesting touch.Also there was some pretty good acting from the four lead actors Anthony Geary, Marc Singer, Chuck Connors and Micah Grant.I also found it interesting scenes where the Alien manipulates them for the experiments to be very interesting and believable.All in all this is a very entertaining Science Fiction horror with an interesting and some pretty good ideas.

Possibly the finest film I have ever seen. After receiving this movie from my brother for my birthday along with "Air Disasters 2" from a dollar bin at a 49er video, my expectations were low. However, the movie started off with a bang and engulfed me into its majesty.In the first scene it punches you in the mouth with the classic, "What can I say? Men bond; women network." Followed up by a man receiving a gun in a gym and pointing it at pedestrians walking outside on the street. "All right. Good deal!" Just when you think the hits have stopped coming you get kicked in the ca-hones with, "Good god, if I wanted to hear old women bicker, I'd go visit my great aunt --- AT THE NURSING HOME!" Which promptly led to possibly the greatest cinematic sequence of all time, which we will simply refer to as 'campfire madness'.If you have not seen this movie yet, do as the immortal actor Chuck Conner, who plays Stan the Mountain Man says --- "Go on. Take a look. RARRRRRRR, rip you open like a sack of manure!"

This is one wild movie. It just goes to prove that there is still a lot of overlooked great sci-fi yet to been seen. The less you know of the plot, the better. Unfortunately, the video box art and synopsis give away the shock ending. Shame on the marketing department! I could've also done without the opening Indian scene. The acting runs the range from top notch to over-the-top ridiculous, which in my book, works for me. Chuck Conners delivers all the great one-liners in the movie. Marc Singer steals just about every scene with his whacked-out performance. And Anthony Geary holds the whole thing together. There are some unintentional laughs to be had to be sure, which again, in my book works. The story is cool and the symbolism is excellent- especially the very ending. This one definitely falls under the "psychotronic" category. I'd recommend this with a double feature of Project Nightmare, which is also in a similar vein and worth seeing.

This is one film you don't want to miss! This could become a cult classic, if enough people would view it with the right attitude.Here are some of my random thoughts:The Cover: The cover has a cool looking design, even though it really has no resemblance with anything in the film.The dialogue: Probably improvised by the actors as they went along. "What's driving all the animals away, is it the drought?" (As Chuck Connors and Anthony Geary are walking past a large flowing river, in a lush, green forested area)Cinematography, editing: In one scene, where the guys are scattering Pauls ashes, the scenes alternates many times between overcast skies, with dim illumination to bright sunny skies, casting long shadows on the actors faces and surrounding scenery.Chuck Connors, playing Stan, the "Professional Hunter": What was he thinking, taking on this role? The poor guy must have really needed the cash. He does all that he can with the material, however. His voice inflections and facial expressions are top notch.The drunken party with the "Hippie Girls" is a classic. Many memorable moments.Micah Grant, playing Ray Bettencamp: Why did they even bring Ray along on their hunting trip? He's not their friend, he's not a hunter, he's half their ages... But hey, he delivers some of the worst lines in the film, (and he had access to his dead uncle's 4wd vehicle) so its ok.