Contamination

Director Luigi Cozzi's science fiction thriller, which borrows wholesale from Alien for its loopy plot, is a gleefully cheesy gorefest that should please horror fans with a fondness for the lowbrow. Long-suffering Eurocult Ian McCulloch (Zombie) stars as an astronaut who joins an investigation into the appearance of extraterrestrial eggs on a ghost ship in New York's harbor. Their search uncovers an Earth-based conspiracy to cultivate the eggs for world domination. Despite the abundant gore and lunk-headed script, Contamination has an endearingly naive tone that suggests '50s-era B science fiction (of which Cozzi is a fan); as such, one can't be too harsh on a film that displays its affections so openly. Amazingly, Contamination has been banned in England since being named in the "video nasty" debacle of the early '80s. Blue Underground's widescreen DVD is uncut (with 5.1 Dolby and DTS sound!), and should be a welcome addition to any cult collector's cache. --Paul Gaita