They Bite (1996)

Sub-Genres - Sci-Fi Comedy  |   Run Time - 98 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Review by Robert Firsching

A surprisingly entertaining horror-comedy from director Brett Piper (Dark Fortress), this enjoyable monster movie posits amphibian monsters from beyond the stars menacing models and porno performers. A mix-up involving photographs of a model being attacked by the monsters inspire the smut producers to make a fish-man porno film (although that was almost achieved in Humanoids from the Deep many years before). The whole thing ends up with undersea aliens coming to the rescue, a woman (Playmate Susie Owens) with some fanged privates, and the by-now obligatory cameo from porn star Ron Jeremy Hyatt. It's more fun than it probably sounds, and although there are appropriate homages to Monster from the Surf and Horror of Party Beach, Piper avoids the self-referential trap into which scores of low-budget horror spoofs have fallen. This movie stands on its own, although it is stuck in somewhat of a no-win niche, with too little sex and nudity for the skin-flick crowd, and too much racy material for the goofy comedy crowd. It's the same problem which plagued another worthy spoof, The First Nudie Musical, and may be part of why it took nearly seven years for They Bite to be released.