TerrorVision (1986): Alien Monster via Satellite Dish and the Worst Family in Cinema
By Johnny Rewind | Nostalgia Navigator
TerrorVision is a 1986 Empire Pictures film about a suburban family who accidentally receive an alien monster through their satellite dish. The monster arrives via transmission, materialises in the television, and starts eating family members. The family is a collection of 1980s suburban archetypes taken to their extreme limits: a swinger couple redoing their home in the worst taste imaginable, a grandfather who has built a nuclear bunker in the basement, a teenage daughter with a punk rock boyfriend, and a small boy who watches monster movies all day. All of them are terrible people. The alien is the most sympathetic character.
The Aesthetic
TerrorVision is one of the most visually distinctive films of the 1980s. Every set is maximalist neon excess — the family home looks like a fever dream designed by someone who had only seen pictures of Las Vegas. The alien creature is slimy, tentacled, and oddly charming. Director Ted Nicolaou was aiming for satirical suburban horror comedy and hit it precisely. The film was not a success on release but has developed a passionate cult following among people who recognise it as a minor masterpiece of bad taste.
Be kind. Rewind. Don't point the satellite dish at space.
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