INSEMINOID (1981) Review
If ever there was a film crying out for the modern remake treatment, it’s so-called British Horror ‘New Wave’ director Norman J. Warren’s 1981 schlocky sci-fi, Inseminoid. Delightfully gruesome and gory, and with an admittedly intriguing premise, the film undeniably suffers not only from a lack of resources and budgetary restraints, but from a rather nasty misogynistic edge that runs throughout. It’s the kinda thing that desperately needs to be filtered through a new, contemporary mindset and given a fun feminist twist that takes the more problematic elements of the story and turns them on their head. There’s a lot of fun to be had here wading through the cheesy acting and inventive, albeit restricted, practical effects, but the horrible fact remains that as a movie, it kinda just treats its female characters like shit, and at several points sees its male stars literally kicking a pregnant woman in the stomach… so, yeah. That’s a thing!
By all accounts, the film received a lot of flak upon release, and it’s really not hard to see why. It takes a rather one-note, very male-centered approach to what could potentially be an interesting and complex exploration of pregnancy, femininity, and parenthood, and as such suffers greatly on deeper terms. The problem here is that despite so obviously being an Alien knock-off, the filmmakers lack the skill or depth to deliver on the potential their premise offers up. Instead, Inseminoid opts to go down the schlock route, gleefully basking in some inventive — especially considering the low-budgetness of it all — practical effects and some legitimately gory sequences. There are also moments that are genuinely unpleasant, including a rape sequence that had me looking away because it made me so damned uncomfortable.
Usually I like this kinda shit, and to a certain degree I enjoyed aspects of the film for its trashiness and silliness. Still, it’s hard to ignore the overtly difficult elements, and the fact that the movie not only fails to tackle any of these things in a thoughtful way, but seemingly doesn’t even bother to try, only furthers the problem. It means the film sort of lacks the charm it needs to coast along on its own ingenuity; it’s hard to deny that the movie is impressive in terms of its set-design and practical effects (at least in the context of this kind of late 70s/early 80s B-movie schlock), but when the line its all hung on is so fucking grim anyway, it sorta becomes impossible to move beyond that. Anytime I found myself smiling at some wildly silly or fun sequence, the joy I usually find in this sort of thing would be immediately undercut by some grotesque reminder that, actually, the sexual politics on display here fucking suck, and that fucking sucks.
I’m sure there are some out there that would say I’m ‘thinking too much’ about it all, but I never bought into that argument. Analyzing texts and considering context is, for me at least, all part of the fun, and I’ve little doubt Inseminoid would actually be a fascinating one to dig into a little deeper, if I had the energy or the stomach for it. As it stands, I just sorta wanna have a shower; like I feel gross for finding enjoyment in the fun bits, as though doing so has somehow made me complicit in the problematic bits. I know logically that this is silly, but that’s how the movie’s left me feeling. So, yeah. There we go. Not a great one, really. I wish I’d just got into bed and watched Bob’s Burgers instead.
That’s not to say that everything about the film should be tarred as negative. There are some genuinely clever uses of budget here, and what the filmmakers were able to accomplish is pretty damned impressive. Moreover, some of the nastier sequences — such as the aforementioned rape scene — have a genuinely surreal, horrific quality to them, not just in terms of the subject matter, but in their delivery as well. There is a world where Inseminoid was placed in the hands of far more skilled people, and came out as something far more interesting and complex. Ultimately, I think to brush it aside as nothing more than a simple Alien knock-off is also a little unfair, as there is potential here beyond Scott’s 1979 masterpiece. It may very well be, as film critic Alan Jones put it, “Alien taken to its sleaziest extreme”, but the fact remains that in doing so Warren and co. may have inadvertently discovered a unique and intriguing concept that’s worthy of more than they could’ve ever delivered. Very much a product of its time, and very much problematic, there’s still just enough here to make it worth a look, just be prepared for the uncomfortableness to set in quick. As I said, if anyone out there is looking for something to rejuvenate through a modern lens, Inseminoid is begging for it. 2/5.
