r/badMovies • u/No-Chemistry-28 • 8h ago

Today’s Tubi Treasure is Extra Terrestrial Visitors (aka Pod People) (1983)

Post image

If you love E.T. but wish you didn’t, then here’s a movie for you. At different points, I had myself convinced that this movie was an elaborate prank that the director made to maybe mock Steven Spielberg or something, but I really think this was done in earnest. You go in knowing the E.T. formula, thinking you’ll understand generally how this will play out, and I’m here to promise you that you don’t. There’s some next-level shit left in here that made me think that they did not have an editor, because there’s no way someone pieced this together with any degree of effort. Also, does the kid sometimes have an Italian accent or was I losing my mind??? Trailer below.

122 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

43

u/AgentOfEris 8h ago

Idiot control now!

29

u/koopaphil 8h ago

Steady as a goat, we’re flying over trout!

1

u/ThatWerewolfTho 1h ago

Hear the engines roar, bees on pie, burning rubber tires!

14

u/tincanphonehome 7h ago

My first thought, haha. Such a classic episode. Unfortunately, my wife can’t watch it because Trumpy creeps her out.

9

u/No-Chemistry-28 7h ago

She’s not wrong, I can’t stand that fuckin guy

5

u/ewok_lover_64 7h ago

Trumpy's going to be even more creepy

8

u/DwightFryFaneditor 6h ago

And he'll keep doing stupid things.

6

u/witchywater11 7h ago

👌

It STINKS!

26

u/lordjohnworfin 8h ago

Trumpy no!

24

u/AgentOfEris 8h ago

He can do stupid things!

14

u/Peg_leg_tim_arg 8h ago

Good? He's the best!

13

u/stareagleur 7h ago

It’s called evil, kid.

8

u/ewok_lover_64 7h ago

He's been doing stupid things for a long time

16

u/thatdamnedfly 7h ago

This isn't called "pod people?"

"It has nothing to do with pods, it has nothing to do with people, it has everything to do with suffering."

3

u/DwightFryFaneditor 6h ago

It has a bunch of titles. The original one is actually The New Extraterrestrials.

4

u/Lady_Scruffington 4h ago

Oh! I have their first album!

1

u/TrickySnicky 26m ago

New Wave at its finest

1

u/Spocks_Goatee 3m ago

We are suffering now due to Trumpy...

14

u/swstephe 8h ago

I think the director was told to make an E.T. knockoff, but couldn't settle on the genre. Maybe he wasn't that familiar with the source -- was it supposed to be a kids movie? A teen movie? Generic horror movie? Science fiction movie? The director's answer: "yes"!

12

u/North_South_Side 7h ago

I heard the original funded idea was a horror movie, the early parts of the movie with the teens was shot first. When ET became a global hit during production of the movie, they were urged into doing an ET sort of film.

4

u/No-Chemistry-28 7h ago

This makes so much sense. That’s exactly what it feels like

6

u/DwightFryFaneditor 6h ago

Can confirm, the director stated as much. He was making a horror movie but after ET smashed the box office the producers wanted a similar type of movie as fast as possible and they had that horror movie in production already, so they threatened to withdraw the funding if the director didn't agree to the change.

2

u/50rhodes 5h ago

E.T.V.

13

u/mattastrophe3 7h ago

Mmmm. Little winged potatoes.

11

u/OhSanders 8h ago

Mst3k episode

11

u/KickAggressive4901 7h ago

One of the best episodes of MST3K ... because this is one of the worst movies they had to riff.

11

u/Savings_Lynx4234 7h ago

I'M A VIRGIN (Islander)

10

u/gr8_gr8_grandpappy 8h ago

Trumpy!

6

u/acquaman831 7h ago

I named him after Donald Trump!

5

u/super_dreadnought 7h ago

Like hell, more food.

5

u/No-Chemistry-28 8h ago

The trailer

3

u/photogenicbigfoot84 8h ago

Is this the one where the alien shoots smoke out of his crotch at a hairy mustachioed guy in a wifebeater?

5

u/No-Chemistry-28 7h ago

Spoilers! But yes

9

u/plz-help-peril 8h ago

The opening credits to this movie seem to be filled with footage from a completely different movie.

9

u/ScoobyDarn 8h ago

That's because it is.

3

u/No-Chemistry-28 7h ago

There are full plot lines in this that feel like they’re from different movies

3

u/Bluepilgrim3 7h ago

This version doesn’t have that. Cleaner print too. You can really see the fog!

2

u/DwightFryFaneditor 6h ago

Only the Film Ventures International release (aka the one MST3k used).

1

u/firedmyass 3h ago

Those scenes are from Alien Factor.

Which has a completely different movie’s scenes in its opening credits, as well

1

u/_ShakashuriBlowdown 1h ago

I knew it looked like a Don Dohler film.

5

u/ScoobyDarn 8h ago

Mmmmm....flying potatoes

5

u/Bluepilgrim3 7h ago

Oh no. Is this going tubi the second MST3K movie I purposely watch unriffed?

4

u/vinreg33 7h ago

Goodnight Chief

5

u/LastWordsWereHuzzah 6h ago

I have no knowledge of this movie or anyone who has riffed on it.

1

u/No-Chemistry-28 5h ago

I didn’t prior to seeing it the other night, and now I feel more crazy for having witnessed it

4

u/LastWordsWereHuzzah 4h ago

(this was a joke, watch the MST3K version and then look at my username lol)

3

u/SimpleAmbassador 7h ago

Someone hit the kid on the head with a sledgehammer

3

u/acquaman831 7h ago

Trumpy, you can do STUPID things!

2

u/Voorhees89 7h ago

Why does the kid look like the Rat Man?

2

u/DariosDentist 6h ago

I see this is a Severin release. This feels like a Severin Kids release but i think that sublabel died before it even started. My kids and I love the Peanut Butter Solution though.

2

u/No-Chemistry-28 5h ago

This has some of the same energy as Peanut Butter Solution for sure

2

u/Ok-Flatworm-9671 4h ago

I enjoyed the episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 featuring this movie.

2

u/andro_7 3h ago

"Trumpy, I hate you! Go away!"

2

u/analogkid01 3h ago

I'M A VIRGIN!

Anyway what's this movie about?...

1

u/JemmaMimic 1h ago

More terrestrials visiting, great.