High Desert Kill (1989 film)
High Desert Kill (1989), AKA Desert Alien, Death in the Desert
Summary
"In the badlands of New Mexico it waits for them..." An old cowboy and hunters in New Mexico are tricked and tested by an alien in human form.
Details
- Release Date: 1989
- Country/Language: US, English
- Genres/Technical: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, made-for-TV
- Setting: 1980s New Mexico
- Runtime: 1 hr 29 min
- Starring: Chuck Connors, Marc Singer, Anthony Geary, Micah Grant
- Director: Harry Falk
- Writer: Mike Marvin and Darnell Fry (story), T.S. Cook (teleplay)
- Producer/Production Co: Lehigh Entertainment, MCA Television Entertainment (MTE), MCA Television
- View Trailer: (link)
- IMDB Page: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: PG-13 (mild made-for-1980s-TV Violence and Adult Content)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- Ss___ (One and a Half Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
The characters find themselves in a strange and mysterious "Eldritch Location" where things just aren't quite right, at the mercy of psychological experiments conducted by a shape-shifting Tentacle Monster, leading up to a showdown in some creepy Pueblo Indian ruins....
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Review at TV Week (3/5 stars) (Link) - "...High Desert Kill is a taut, no-frills shocker that is potent enough to enable the audience to suspend its disbelief."
- Review by Ken Begg at Jabootu's Bad Movie Dimension (Link) - "...the film manages to go in unexpected directions frequently. That’s to the film’s credit, as is the fact that the story remains intriguing and never seems to be spinning it’s wheels. ... It’s cheap, but thankfully it’s effective!"
- Review by Ty Burr at Entertainment Weekly (C+) (Link) - The plot suggests Deliverance and Predator poured into a blender, but as long as it keeps you wondering what on earth is going on, it’s perversely intriguing."
- Review by Agustin Cordes at Slightly Deranged (Link) - "Anyway, the movie has a good start — the premise works and keeps you guessing as weird events develop in the forest."
- Review by Amanda Reyes at Made for TV Mayhem (Link) - "High Desert Kill is absolutely one of the weirdest films I have ever seen. It’s got some mind-boggling moments ... , but it’s also fascinating and, at some points, quite effective."
- (Plot summary in the book "Cyborgs, Santa Claus and Satan: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Made for Television" by Fraser A. Sherman) - "High Desert features some interesting ideas in a totally dull film."
Synopsis (SPOILERS)
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- TO DO
- Tentacle Monster
Keeper Notes
