Or, To Live and Slime in L.A. I wouldn’t consider this film horror, strictly speaking – it comes off more as a sci-fi actioner, with a bit of fish-out-of-water police procedural thrown in. In other words, more Men in Black than Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That said, it’s a fun ride. Otherwise normal, law-abiding people start acting in violent, homicidal ways, drawing oddball FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan doing a dry run for Twin Peaks’ Agent Cooper) to team up with gruff local detective Tom Beck (Michael Nouri). It turns out these crimes are actually being committed by a parasitic alien who has a penchant for fast cars, a lack of impulse control, and a preference for inhabiting the bodies of stocky men. As is de rigueur for a buddy cop film, our heroes are terribly mismatched, with Beck being a straight-laced family man and Gallagher a cryptic loner. Hints that Gallagher might be a bit more than he originally claims allow MacLachlan some nice moments of dry humor, though they come too quickly in the film and give away the game a bit early for my tastes. There are a few Cronenbergian body horror touches present, but either a stingy FX budget or just overly cautious restraint on director Sholder’s part keeps them infrequent and on the fringes. It’s a slight film, but moves at a brisk pace and you can’t argue with Concrete Blonde on the soundtrack.
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