Parasite is a 1982 science fiction horror film produced and directed by Charles Band and starring Demi Moore in her first major film role. Irwin Yablans (Halloween) was the executive producer.
In the near future, an atomic disaster has reduced the world to poverty. Instead of a government, America is run by an organization called the Merchants, who exploit the degenerate remains of society. In order to keep control of the populace, the Merchants force Dr. Paul Dean (Robert Glaudini) to create a new life form, a parasite that feeds on its host. Realizing the deadly potential of such a being, Dean escapes the Merchants with the parasite, infecting himself in the process. Now on the run, he travels from town to town, studying the parasite so that he can find a way to destroy it, all the while keeping one step ahead of a Merchant named Wolf (James Davidson) who is hunting for him. While resting in a desert town, he is attacked by a gang of hooligans (Cherie Currie, Freddy Moore, Natalie May, Joanelle Romero, Tom Villard) led by Ricus (Luca Bercovici), a former slave of the Merchants. The gang steals silver canister containing the parasite, not realizing what it is, and it escapes and infects one of the members….
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“This will surely have appeal for those who have fond memories of parasites jumping out at you from the silver screen, but thirty years on and on the TV, it doesn’t translate quite so well. In fact, it translates terribly. This is a charmless rip-off, almost totally devoid of merit. Explore the many better examples of the sub-genre out there.” Digital Retribution
“The absolute stand out feature of Parasite is the FX. Stan Winston did all the work, which will definitely bring a smile to a genre fan’s face. The parasite itself resembles “the deadly spawn” which is definitely not a bad thing, and looks freaking awesome. The gore, while not plentiful, is enough to keep gore-hounds content, and comes often enough. It’s really crazy to see what they were able to do with the practical FX in 1982 and on a fairly low budget.” Cinema Slasher
“Look, I really like cheeseball horror movies. But the golden rule of “dummy movies” is quite simply this: Don’t bore me! (Actually, that’s the ONLY rule!) If you added up all the potentially entertaining ‘horror bits’ from the first 73 minutes of this movie, you’d have the cinematic equivalent of a postage stamp. (The three-cent kind.) I’ll never knock a movie for being stupid or derivative or unoriginal as long as it’s simply fun to sit through. Nothing in Parasite even comes close. The brief gore splatters occur way too late in the game for anyone to care, and the creature (early work by FX genius Stan Winston nonetheless) is about as horrifying as Miss Piggy covered in barbecue sauce.” eFilmCritc
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