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Nightbeast

  • 1982
  • R
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
4.2/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Nightbeast (1982)
A creature from outer space crash lands in a small town and starts killing people.
Play trailer1:21
1 Video
39 Photos
B-HorrorHorrorSci-Fi

A creature from outer space crash lands in a small town and starts killing people.A creature from outer space crash lands in a small town and starts killing people.A creature from outer space crash lands in a small town and starts killing people.

  • Directors
    • Don Dohler
    • Dave Geatty
  • Writer
    • Don Dohler
  • Stars
    • Tom Griffith
    • Jamie Zemarel
    • Karin Kardian
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.2/10
    2.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Don Dohler
      • Dave Geatty
    • Writer
      • Don Dohler
    • Stars
      • Tom Griffith
      • Jamie Zemarel
      • Karin Kardian
    • 40User reviews
    • 50Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:21
    Trailer

    Photos39

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    Top cast49

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    Tom Griffith
    • Sheriff Cinder
    Jamie Zemarel
    • Jamie Lambert
    Karin Kardian
    • Lisa Kent
    George Stover
    George Stover
    • Steven Price
    Don Leifert
    Don Leifert
    • Drago
    Anne Frith
    • Ruth Sherman
    Eleanor Herman
    • Mary Jane
    Richard Dyszel
    Richard Dyszel
    • Mayor Bert Wicker
    Greg Dohler
    • Greg
    Kim Pfeiffer
    • Kim
    • (as Kim Dohler)
    Monica Neff
    • Suzie
    Glenn Barnes
    • Glenn
    Rose Wolfe
    • Glenn's Girl
    Jerry Schuerholz
    • Hunter
    Hank Stuhmer
    • Hunter
    Fred Gibmeyer
    • Hunter
    Richard Ruxton
    • Governor Embry
    Bumb Roberts
    • Bill Perkins
    • (as Bump Roberts)
    • Directors
      • Don Dohler
      • Dave Geatty
    • Writer
      • Don Dohler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews40

    4.22.6K
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    Featured reviews

    5HumanoidOfFlesh

    Cheesy and gory.

    Don Dohler's "Nightbeast" tells us the story about an alien-like beast which is killing people in a small American town.It is a poorly made film with cheap special effects,but still it is enjoyable enough to keep most of the horror fans entertained.The acting is awful,the script is not better,but there's plenty of cheesy gore(like entrails ripping,decapitation etc.)to satisfy undemanding gore hounds.The sex scene between the sheriff and his deputy is a laugh riot!5 out of 10-check it out if you like low budget horror movies.
    MADMANMARZ

    A good time waster !!

    Night Beast is actually quite an entertaining little alien movie. If you can actually find this one on home video rent it. It will entertain you for it's short running time of 80 minutes. If you enjoy low budget and obscure horror. Night Beast is perfect for you. I know I love 80's horror , and this film is just another 80's winner !!
    4Aaron1375

    This film really starts with a bang!

    I first looked at this page and saw that it had a four rating before I had watched it, so when I started watching it, I am like this is so cool, why is the score so low? Well, unfortunately, the film slows down immensely and becomes standard low budget monster on the loose with plot points and characters that add absolutely nothing to the movie except padding. Which is a shame, because it is great when it first begins as it is nonstop action and killing which distracts one from the bad acting. When this great opening slows, you notice it way too much as you just wish the monster would hurry up and kill someone else!

    So, the story has a ship in space hitting a meteor which causes it to plummet to Earth. An alien gets out and its ship explodes leaving it stranded on Earth. Instead of doing the E.T. thing of trying to phone home, this one decides, hell, I'm going to kill everyone I see! Yes, he uses a blaster to start disintegrating everyone, even children! If you get in close to him, he kills you with his hands! A sheriff tries to stop him and manages to get a person capable of shooting the monster's laser gun out of the monster's hand. It is at this point the movie goes downhill as we have to watch a character named Drago challenge the sheriff's authority and strangle a woman and the mayor of the town worrying about the governor of the state coming for a visit. The monster just appears to infrequently after the super great start so you notice that the film has horrible actors and just is not as fun anymore as that whole Drago thing went nowhere as far as having anything to do with the plot.

    The first portion of the film is a highlight, and I understand that you cannot go at that fast pace for a super extended time; especially, when you have such a low budget, but save it till the end! It was so cool watching the monster just blast everyone that it is such a drastic tempo change after the monster looses his gun, I kept hoping he'd fix it and maybe blast up the party the mayor was having, but no, the monster does not show up making for a long line of scenes having nothing to do with the alien. Drago was the worst, here was one guy you want to see get ripped to shreds, and he gets killed in a normal manner.

    So, this movie does start out on fire and I do find the makers did a good job with the monster on the very small budget. There are also some nice shots of the monster in the shadows looking ominous. The film slows down to a snail's pace once the monster no longer has his weapon which is a shame. Still a couple of nice kills to be seen, but nothing like the craziness that is the first 15 or so minutes. Also a warning to anyone who watches this film as it contains a sex scene that most of you will not want to see! I saw it coming and was like "NOOOO!"
    5ethylester

    cool lasers

    This movie was really awesome at the beginning, then eventually got to be pretty boring. The lasers and the alien are really cool. The alien has such a good face and his laser gun looks like a dollar store kid gun. The music and sound effects are the best, I would like to drive around in my car and just listen to them all day! I didn't like how a lot of it was filmed in the dark, the people were gritty enough already. Is the sherrif wearing an afro wig? Why does the biker's girlfriend not button her shirts? Why is the little boy wearing a Montreal ringer shirt? Why is the biker such a dork? Why can about 5 local police officers die and no one cares, but then some local boy dies and everyone is very sad and upset? Why do the laser shots disintergrate humans and cars but not stone walls, trees or anything else they hit? What kind of a name is Wilton? It's a fun movie to make fun of.
    bob wolf

    Mayberry vs The Predator?

    Nightbeast, although never able to rise above it's limited budget, still manages to leave a sweet taste in your mouth.

    Reeling from a collision with a meteor, a spaceship crashes in the forest of a small town. The alien (which strangely resembles the 'Predator') comes stumbling out, angry and lost. He goes on a killing spree which includes some campers. The sheriff decides to ask the locals to help him go after the creature. The towns-people, mostly farmers, hunters and loggers, reluctantly agree. A violent, gory battle quickly ensues.

    As I was watching Nightbeast I kept thinking to myself 'this is Mayberry vs The Predator'. Even the sheriff, reminded of Andy Griffith. I hated to admit it but I kind of enjoyed this film. There are some great moments, for example, there is a scene where an elderly hunter, who manages to shoot a weapon out of the creatures hand, falls to his knees and begins to weep. Plus, the creature is often shown fleetingly, like an apparition, and it is apparent that Dohler was hinting at something here but I couldn't figure it out.

    Sadly, Nightbeast suffers from it's all too small budget. The special effects appear amateurish and the gore scenes look fake. The film also has problems with the plot, there are too many sub-plots. There is like three separate stories going on all at once and you are constantly jumping back and forth amongst them. Also, there is a rather weird sex scene between the sheriff and his deputy, that seems totally out of place here, as if it was inserted afterwards.

    Outside of all these minuses, there is something I liked about Nightbeast. Maybe it is because of all the minuses that I keep coming back for more, the same reason I keep coming back for Plan Nine From Outer Space.

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    Related interests

    Bridget Hoffman in The Evil Dead (1981)
    B-Horror
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      First screen credit of J.J. Abrams. He was 16. Abrams became aware of Don Dohler from the latter's articles in a local film magazine, Cinemagic. After Dohler and Abrams exchanged correspondence, Dohler asked Abrams if he would be interested in scoring the film. While the film was shot in Baltimore, Maryland, Abrams, who lived in Los Angeles, mailed the tapes to Dohler.
    • Goofs
      Suzie's shirt goes from being unbuttoned to buttoned up as she's attempting to leave her house.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Hunter: What the hell was that?

    • Connections
      Featured in Blood, Boobs & Beast (2007)

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    FAQ15

    • How long is Nightbeast?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1982 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Troma
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Night Beast
    • Filming locations
      • Perry Hall, Maryland, USA
    • Production company
      • Amazing Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $42,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 21m(81 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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