The Spawning, Xtro Lives

Oh the images that are implanted on a young teenager's brain. In the 1980's I witnessed those awful things the toothy alien did to Maryam d'Abo in Xtro . Yep...turned her into...well, never mind, it pains me to even write about it. Decades have passed and like all of our torment from the past...it returns. Hence 2017's "The Spawning." Simon Riley has created a most uncomfortable and slimy horror film that you folks will love. Warning, this is hardly a date movie, and perhaps a fitting homage to that sweet young French dame, played by Ms. d'Abo in 1982.

Amy (Zoe Karpeta) is pregnant. Unfortunately her husband John (Liam Millard) can't keep his tallywhacker out of any warm place that flaunts its panties. Meanwhile an alien space vessel lands in the woods ejecting a weird alien (Reid Anderson). This weird thing climbs out of a cocoon type thing and kills a motorist. It won't take long for these two plot lines to merge. After catching John banging a skank in their marital bed, Amy throws him out. Her buddy Karen (Faye Sewell) consoles her at a pub, but during her walk home a fiend (human) tries to rape her. Lucky for her (...or maybe not) she is saved when this weird alien repels her attacker. Life's Bad Move #42, invite your white knight home...Amy does this. Speaking through an electronic device the thing tells Amy his name is Aldan. What happens next is quite disgusting and disturbing.

Aldan has staked claim to the pregnant human and begins a process to...to what? You'll see. Realizing the enormity of her error in hospitality, Amy will endure a horrific night. Whatever Aldan does to Amy is quite otherworldly. When Aldan has departed (...or has he?), John returns and Amy endures an emergency room and police questioning. Whatever Aldan did to her shows no signs at the ER, and the cops don't believe her account of a second sexual assault. Bad news continues...Aldan has a master plan and hasn't left Amy's home. Amy's return will subject her to more horrific probing and eerie alien sexual assault that will leave all of you squirming. Amy's fate? We are pulling for her but this intergalactic fornicator will stop at nothing to protect his earthly possession. This alien attitude won't bode well for those seeking to help our helpless and pregnant damsel.

Without giving too many spoilers, what happens to Amy at the hands of the one we know as Aldan will be hard to watch. Exactly what does Aldan have planned for Amy, that is, the pregnant Amy? Is Aldan's visit to earth in preparation for conquest...or something more horrible?  Is "The Spawning" a thinly veiled metaphor for the danger women face in an increasing misogynistic United Kingdom? Simon Riley has given us a horrific film that packs in much that is uncomfortable. The cast is fantastic and Ms. Karpeta excels in a role that many actresses would have eschewed...except for Taaffe O'Connell and Maryan d'Abo (we'll see if anyone picks up on those references). For an intense horror flick packed with shocking scenes, see "The Spawning."