After Empire Pictures went bankrupt following the release of 1989’s Arena, filmmaker Peter Manoogian had trouble finding work. Once Charles Band started Full Moon Features, Manoogian ran into him and made a deal with him. For $15,000, Manoogian would get to direct for four weeks, which turned into three to four months. While he was initially supposed to helm one film, Manoogian shot two back-to-back, the first being 1992’s Demonic Toys. That project went over so well that Charles Band had another in line for Peter Manoogian to direct. Originally intended as a “psychological thriller” by Band, the film became a riff on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Manoogian tried to make it more of an action movie, but unlike his killer doll movie, this didn’t get sequels. Just weeks after his film about evil toys, Peter Manoogian’s Seedpeople hit video store shelves in May 1992.
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Synopsis
In the small town of Comet Valley, geologist Tom Baines (Sam Hennings) is visiting to lecture on meteorites. The townsfolk have become enamored with meteorites after several of them landed recently, much to the chagrin of local farmers. While visiting, Tom runs into his old flame Heidi Tucker (Andrea Roth), who’s dating the local sheriff Brad (Dane Witherspoon). Tom soon notices the other townsfolk are acting strange, Heidi’s niece Kim (Holly Fields) believing him and wanting to investigate. Meanwhile, strange plants have sprouted up all over town, sending local nutcase Doc Roller (Bernard Kates) into a panic. Tom and Kim soon find evidence suggesting a connection between the plants and the townsfolks’ strange behavior. Heidi initially doesn’t believe them, but after seeing video proof, she joins them in fighting the alien seed pods. Who will survive, the uncontaminated humans or the Seedpeople?
Review
Seedpeople isn’t as good compared to Demonic Toys, but it’s still an enjoyably silly creature feature. Sure, it’s a low-budget version of Don Siegel’s 1956 classic, but plenty of similar movies have been made. The acting is above average, but none of the performances would earn any awards recognition. Sam Hennings makes for a decent lead and has good chemistry with Andrea Roth, though their love triangle is unexciting. Bernard Kates has some fun moments as a crazy old man trying to expose the aliens despite being mocked. Full Moon regular Sonny Carl Davis also appears as a local farmer who meets a horrible fate. Peter Manoogian’s direction is decent, especially during the nighttime scenes where he uses various colored lights. It helps that he had Full Moon’s go-to cinematographer Adolfo Bartoli on hand to enhance the style.
The film’s real highlight is the creature effects from John Carl Buechler and Mike Deak, primarily puppets and rubber suits. Each titular monster’s distinct look closely matches the box cover, which is a plus. Admittedly, the film’s low budget shows when you can tell the actors are just moving the puppets around. That said, it’s very progressive how they hired disfigured performers to wear alien costumes and gave them opportunities. This movie feels like the filmmakers wanted to pay tribute to classic 1950s B-movies and succeeded, for the most part. At barely under 90 minutes, the film goes by fairly quickly, though there’s a lot of filler sprinkled throughout. This isn’t on par with Full Moon classics like Puppet Master III or Dark Angel: The Ascent, but it’s decent. Overall, Seedpeople is best recommended as a rental, much like other Full Moon movies you’d find at the video store.
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