Top of the Food Chain
An isolated Canadian town (populated by the weirdest group of people this side of Saturn) has seen its share of problems. First the nut factory closed, then the CATV antenna stopped broadcasting, and now something is gruesomely devouring the townsfolk! Can visiting atomic scientist (and expert on "cool fusion") Dr. Karel Lamonte solve the mystery before everyone disappears?
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- Cast:
- Campbell Scott , Fiona Loewi , Tom Everett Scott , Nigel Bennett , Hardee T. Lineham , Bernard Behrens , Elisa Moolecherry
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Reviews
To me, this movie is perfection.
The Worst Film Ever
One of my all time favorites.
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN (3 outta 5 stars) Canadian director John Paisz came out with some brilliant short movies back in the 80s... culminating in the brilliant "Crime Wave". He showed great promise at the time... his work sharing many surface similarities with the work of David Lynch. But for almost 15 years he seemed to disappear from the world of film... doing a little TV work in Canada and not much else. Well, he finally came back in 1999 with this zany B movie parody film and, while comes nowhere near the quality of his earlier work, it does have enough wit and style to make it worth seeing. The movie starts out TERRIBLY... so don't let the first five minutes put you off... it does get better. Man-eating aliens come down to a small Twin Peaks kind of town and start noshing on the citizens. Luckily a world famous atomic scientist (Campbell Scott) is passing through town to lend a hand. The movie's story isn't quite as well-scripted as the more recent "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" but it does have some very funny lines... and some bizarre characterizations (the way-too-friendly brother and sister, the town policeman who goes around singing his own jazzy theme song). If you're in the mood for something silly you could do lots worse than this. Choicest lines: "An atomic scientist's life can be very lonely. There aren't many atomic lady scientists, after all." "I got backbone! Matter of fact when I was born I had a tail, too! That's just MORE backbone only it's furry!" "A genetically engineered band of devil worshiping serial killers... or a Sasquatch type thing? I don't like the sound of that!"
Maybe it's because I am not Canadian, drunk, under age 7, or under the influence of some mind altering drug, but this movie was just terrible. I'll give credit where credit is due and this did make me laugh a few times, but after finishing it; all I can say is terrible. My head hurts right now cause this made no sense, the plot was just pathetic, it was directed in a painfully bad manor, and the actors gave some of the worst performances that I've ever seen (I assume under the terrible direction of John Paizs). As each minute went on, I had more and more questions and my head started to ache. The only decent part of this movie was the ending, and that was simply because I'd never need to watch any part of this ever again.
Top of the Food Chain (A.K.A. Invasion!) is a very wacky film, but I recommend it to anyone with a good sense of humor, especially if you like parodies. The humor is delivered deadpan but takes turns you'd never guess. There are all the clichéd characters you could expect in a B-grade horror movie - the religious nut, the pompous scientist, the surly policeman, various suspicious characters, and the smart and spunky love interest - but each of them deviates from the norm in their own way. This is a low-budget film but that actually is a strength for a parody of other low-budget films. This is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. It reminds me of Airplane, although it's more subdued and yet more daring in its humor. Rent it if you get the chance.
I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It is the best spoof on B Sci-fi movies I can think of. The deadpan delivery of Campbell Scott, as well as the twists and turns never get old. Nigel Bennett is also a great addition as the vacuum salesman. I just had to buy the DVD so I could watch it over and over. I rate it a 10/10.