SHADOWZONE (1990)
If you haven't noticed, I'm becoming a bit of a nerd for anything involving Charles Band. This was one of the few non-franchise films from Full Moon's vaunted Paramount era. There will be reviews of other quality motion pictures made during this fruitful period, but one b-movie at a time. While the term "b-movie" could definitely be used to codify Shadowzone, it was actually made with a relatively healthy budget. How healthy? I mean, we're not talking rosy cheeks, but there is an exploding head in the first thirty minutes of action. Unfortunately, that's where Shadowzone peaks. The plot focuses on a research base that dovetails sleep study with aeronautic exploration. A NASA captain is sent to formulate a progress report on the outpost, and what he finds is rather troubling. The scientists are losing their patients (human guinea pigs, essentially). At this point, I was beginning to lose my patience. I'm too clever for my own good, y'know.
Um, it's a thing from another dimension. It can mimic your DNA and replicate your inner fears and blah, blah, blah. For half of the running time, Shadowzone is intriguing, and you watch in the hopes of seeing some kind of payoff. But far too often, a character will be dispatched off-screen. By a menace that is...off-screen. Okay, we do get a zany monster at the very tail end, but take it from someone who has spent his entire adult life examining tail; it's not worth your while. If it's any consolation, I enjoyed Louise Fletcher (yep, Nurse Ratched herself) as the token mad scientist. She reminded me of Diane Ladd in Carnosaur. Boy, that's a reference I wasn't expecting to make. I sat through Shadowzone with a friend sitting next to me. He threatened me with candy violence if I didn't write this review. I hope you're happy, pal.
Recommended to fans of cryostasis chambers and Miguel Nunez. Yeah, he's in this.
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