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Biohazard (film)

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1985 film Not to be confused with films in the Resident Evil franchise.
Biohazard
Home video cover
Directed byFred Olen Ray
Written byFred Olen Ray
Produced byFred Olen Ray
StarringAldo Ray
Angelique Pettyjohn
CinematographyPaul Elliott
John McCoy
Edited byMiriam L. Preissel
Jack Tucker
Music byDrew Neumann
Eric Rasmussen
Production
company		Viking Films
Distributed by21st Century Film Corporation
Release date
  • 1985 (1985)
Running time84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$250,000

Biohazard is a 1985 science-fiction horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray and starring Aldo Ray and Angelique Pettyjohn.

It is a low-budget horror film that draws inspiration from the successful 1979 film Alien.

Synopsis

The story revolves around scientists conducting experiments on transferring matter from other dimensions in a remote desert research lab. However, things go awry when a container holding a creature from another dimension is opened, releasing a series of monsters that start rampaging and killing people.

The protagonist of the film is Mitchell Carter, an army officer tasked with tracking down and dealing with the monsters. He teams up with Lisa Martyn, a psychic who has been involved in the experiments conducted by Dr. Williams. As the story progresses, it is revealed that one of the leading characters is actually one of the monsters, adding a twist to the plot.

The midget alien creature (Christopher Ray, the director's eight-year-old son) is depicted as a black reptile-like being with large beetle shells attached to it. It goes on a killing spree, even attacking a poster of the iconic character E.T. from the film of the same name. Additionally, there is mention of a snake-like creature that emerges from the container but is eventually killed by the character played by William Fair.

Cast

  • Aldo Ray as General Randolph
  • Angelique Pettyjohn as Lisa Martyn
  • William Fair as Mitchell Carter
  • David O'Hara as Reiger (credited as David Pearson)
  • Frank McDonald as Mike Hodgson
  • Art Payton as Dr. Williams (credited as Arthur Payton)
  • Charles Roth as Jack Murphy
  • Carroll Borland as Rula Murphy
  • Richard Hench as Roger
  • Loren Crabtree as Jenny
  • George Randall as Dumpster Man
  • Brad Arrington as Chambers
  • Ray Lawrence as Mayfield
  • Robert King as Sheriff Miller

Production

The creature was played by director Fred Olen Ray's son Christopher Olen Ray. Ray chose to make the alien smaller as he wanted to play against audience expectations of a large monster being a threat and instead present something that come more easily hide and pop out of tight spaces. Initially financing was provided Kenneth Hartford's production company Eastern Hemisphere, but partly through production Eastern Hemisphere collapsed leaving the crew stranded as financial responsibilities fell to director Ray. Luckily, this happened as the MIFED Film Market was starting and Ray took the shot footage to showcase to potential investors and manage to secure a greater amount of funding than they'd previously had from European investors. The film was shot in the San Fernando Valley with Ray not enjoying shooting there as the area was often uncooperative to their shooting schedule and more than once the police tried to shut down production despite them having permits.

References

  1. ^ Scapperotti, Dan (May 1984). "Biohazard". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  2. "Biohazard (1985)", letterboxd.com, retrieved 2023-07-11
  3. "Biohazard - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 2003-11-11. Retrieved 2023-07-11.

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