''The Being'' is a 1983 American
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
written and directed by
Jackie Kong
Jackie Kong is an American screenwriter, film producer, and film director known for the cult horror film ''Blood Diner''.
Biography
Jackie Kong began her foray in Horror Comics 2022, adding Comic Book Creator to her list of accomplishment ...
in her directorial debut, starring
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...
,
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
,
Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress.
Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...
, comedian
Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 ...
,
Marianne Gordon
Marianne Gordon (born 23 July 1946) is an American actress. Her filmography includes supporting roles in ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' (1965), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Little Darlings'' (1980), '' The Being'' (1983) and '' The Giant of Th ...
, and
exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
producer
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film '' Blue Mov ...
, who is billed as "Rexx Coltrane" in the opening credits and "Johnny Commander" in the closing credits.
It focuses on a detective who is trying to solve a string of grisly murders and disappearances. Kong, a recent college graduate, was given a $4.5 million budget from her then-husband
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film '' Blue Mov ...
to write and direct a film.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in 1980 under the title ''Easter Sunday''.
Plot
In the town of Pottsville,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, citizens begin disappearing. Young Michael Smith, son of Marge Smith (
Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress.
Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...
) is the first to vanish. A young man is decapitated while fleeing from an unseen assailant, and patrons at a drive-in theater are brutally murdered. At each scene, green slime is found. Wanting to get to the bottom of the disappearances but afraid that the publicity might damage the town's potato business, Mayor Gordon Lane (
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
) hires
chemical safety engineer Garcon Jones (
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...
) to investigate. Also investigating the disappearances is Detective Mortimer Lutz (
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film '' Blue Mov ...
), who senses that something terrible has befallen the town.
Meanwhile, more and more people disappear, with a puddle of green slime found at each site. With this new string of disappearances Lutz begins to suspect that Jones knows more than he is willing to tell. His suspicions grow when he is attacked by something monstrous while at home, with Lutz barely managing to escape from his attacker. Lutz confronts Jones about the incident but is told that there is nothing wrong in the area.
The following night while Lutz takes his waitress girlfriend Laurie (
Marianne Gordon
Marianne Gordon (born 23 July 1946) is an American actress. Her filmography includes supporting roles in ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' (1965), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Little Darlings'' (1980), '' The Being'' (1983) and '' The Giant of Th ...
) home, they are suddenly attacked by a hideous creature. After holing themselves inside a diner they manage to lock it inside a freezer. The couple then contacts Mayor Lane, however when he arrives they discover that the creature has vanished, leaving behind a puddle of green slime. In light of this recent attack, Lutz confronts Jones again who then admits that a highly radioactive creature is responsible. It's revealed that the town is home to one of 2,000
nuclear dump sites in the U.S. and the creature (who is implied to be young Michael Smith) is the resulting mutation due to repeated exposure to the site's radioactive materials. The
mutant
In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
, while intelligent, is completely
psychotic
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
and sensitive to light and is inactive during the day.
Arming themselves with shotguns, Jones and Lutz eventually manage to track the creature down to an abandoned warehouse where they are stalked by the hungry mutant. Jones is soon attacked and
disemboweled
Disembowelment or evisceration is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract (the bowels, or viscera), usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident ...
by the creature, leaving Lutz alone to fend off the creature. Donning a gas mask, Lutz attempts to kill the creature with
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
but it seems unfazed by the poisonous fumes and tosses Lutz around like a ragdoll. As the creature advances Lutz manages to toss a beaker of
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
into the creature's face momentarily stunning it. Taking advantage of the creature's distraction, Lutz grabs a nearby axe and hacks the creature to death, ending the creature's reign of terror.
A new mutation is seen bursting from the ground.
Cast
*
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...
as Garson Jones
*
Marianne Gordon
Marianne Gordon (born 23 July 1946) is an American actress. Her filmography includes supporting roles in ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' (1965), '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Little Darlings'' (1980), '' The Being'' (1983) and '' The Giant of Th ...
as Laurie
*
Bill Osco
Bill Osco (born William Osco in 1947) is an American film producer and director.
Career
Osco's first production job (in an uncredited capacity) was the 1970 film '' Mona'', one of the first adult films, after Andy Warhol's 1969 film '' Blue Mov ...
as Detective Mortimer Lutz
*
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
as Mayor Gordon Lane
*
Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress.
Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...
as Marge Smith
*
Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 ...
as Virginia Lane
Cast notes:
*Marianne Gordon was married to singer
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
at the time, and is billed as "Marianne Gordon Rogers"
*
Robin Stille
Robin Rochelle Stille (November 24, 1961 – February 9, 1996) was an American actress known for her role in the 1982 slasher film ''The Slumber Party Massacre'' as Valerie "Val" Bates. She was sometimes credited as Robin Rochelle.
Life and car ...
is featured in the drive-in movie.
Production
Kong, a recent college graduate, was given a $4.5 million budget from then-husband Bill Osco to write and direct a film, despite the fact that she had no professional film-making experience. She stated that she impressed Osco with storyboards and shot breakdowns. Kong wooed Martin Landau by pretending to be an actor interested in his theater workshop, and using the opportunity to give him her script. Impressed with her straightforwardness, he accepted the role. It would mark producer and occasional actor Osco's departure from his previous sexually explicit films such as the 1974
sexploitation
A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...
film ''
Flesh Gordon
''Flesh Gordon'' is a 1974 American sex comedy feature film serving as a spoof of Universal Pictures first (of three) ''Flash Gordon'' serial films from the 1930s. The film was produced by Walter R. Cichy, Bill Osco, and Howard Ziehm. It was co ...
''.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in 1980 under the title ''Easter Sunday''.
Release
Theatrical release
During the film's production it was intended that the film would be released on Easter in 1981.
However, the film could not find a distributor for three years, and was finally released on November 18, 1983 under its new title.
''The Being'' was a commercial failure, performing poorly at the box office.
Home media
''The Being'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on September 13, 2005 by Shriek Studio in widescreen format with no special features. Shriek Studio released it again on July 31, 2007 as a part its ''Mutant Monsters Triple Feature'' which combined it with ''The Dark'' and ''
Creatures from the Abyss
''Creatures from the Abyss'' (original title ''Plankton'') is a 1994 Italian b-movie directed by Al Passeri and written by Richard Bauman. The film starred Clay Rogers, Michael Bon, Sharon Twomey, Laura di Palma, Ann Wolf, and movie director and ...
''. It was last released by Code Red as a
double feature
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
alongside ''Cop Killers''.
Critical response
Critical response for ''The Being'' has been mostly negative, with many criticizing the film's acting, script, editing, and poor lighting.
Scott Weinberg from
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
was among the film's detractors calling the film "Grungy, muddy-looking" he also called it a "blatant
Alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
ripoff". J. Read from ''Monstersatplay.com'' called it "cheap, rushed, and an incongruous mess" stating it as a perfect example of all the bad movies that came out in the 1980s.
Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
called the film "abysmal", with "clumsy, ham-fisted" direction,"lack of focus", "goofy" effects, and a "leaden, noncharismatic" performance from lead actor and producer Bill Osco. Nevertheless, the reviewer calls it "worthy of note for cinematic trash-fiends", because of its cast, flashes of humor and "oddball qualities".
[Guarisco, Donald]
"Review"
on Allmovie.com
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
gave the film a negative review awarding it a score of 1
1/2 out of 4, stating, "The biggest mystery about this mystery-horror film is how the producer ever managed to persuade two Oscar winners (Dorothy Malone and Jose Ferrer) to appear in such cinematic Valium".
Robert Firsching from ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' panned the film, calling it, "abysmal".
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
awarded the film 1 stars out of 4 stating that humor was the film's only saving grace, stating that "it wasn't enough to overcome its Z-grade script and production". Jack Sommersby from eFilmCritic.com gave the film a negative review, writing, " it's not the worst of its type but not quite good enough to warrant a recommendation".
Brett Gallman from ''Oh, the Horror!'' wrote, "''The Being'' manages an odd, offbeat quality despite its familiarity. It’s a film that features an amorphous killer alien but also takes the time to consider Pottsville’s other plights, such as the impending arrival of a massage parlor that has the moral majority in a tizzy. Osco’s voiceover narration and interior monologues abruptly stop midway through the film, and even the Easter setting is entirely incidental".
Legacy
In spite of the film's critical and commercial failure, ''The Being'' would gain a small
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
over the years since its release.
Kong would go on to direct ''
Night Patrol
Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
'' (1984) and the 1987 cult horror film ''
Blood Diner
''Blood Diner'' is a 1987 American horror comedy directed by Jackie Kong and starring Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer, LaNette LaFrance, and Lisa Guggenheim. It was written by Michael Sonye. The plot follows two brothers setting up a resta ...
''.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Being
1983 films
1980s exploitation films
1983 horror films
1980s monster movies
1980s science fiction horror films
American exploitation films
American science fiction horror films
American monster movies
1980s English-language films
Films about missing people
Films set in Idaho
Films shot in Idaho
1983 directorial debut films
Films directed by Jackie Kong
1980s American films