Alien Apocalypse

Did You Know?

• The film was shot in Bulgaria, like Man with the Screaming Brain, also starring Bruce Campbell.
• According to the DVD commentary, many Bulgarian actors spoke little English, so most dialogue was dubbed or looped in post-production.
• The aliens are giant termite-like creatures that arrived 20 years before the story and used E.M.P. bombs to cripple Earth.

Plot

After a forty-year space voyage, Dr. Ivan Hood, an astronaut and osteopath, returns to Earth with his companion Kelly and two other astronauts. Human bounty hunters capture them near the ruins of Portland, Oregon. One of their team dies from a sprain, which Dr. Hood insists would have mended in days. The group is brought to a work camp run by enormous termite-like aliens.

These creatures arrived two decades earlier, using E.M.P. bombs to disable Earth before invading to consume wood. Another team member is devoured alive by an alien after refusing labor. Human bounty hunters oversee the camp and receive better treatment. Witnessing the illiteracy and brutality the aliens have inflicted on humanity, Dr. Hood and Kelly plan an escape after hearing rumors of a surviving President with an army.

Their escape goes smoothly, but bounty hunters recapture Kelly. Dr. Hood sets out to find the President, eventually reaching a secret headquarters where he discovers the President is a broken figure. Frustrated, Dr. Hood decides to lead the escaped slaves himself and organizes an assault on the bug camp holding Kelly. The attack begins well; Kelly, who lost a finger as punishment for her escape attempt, joins the fight.

When the bugs deploy heavy artillery, the President's group arrives with a surprise attack, destroying the bug tanks. Other slaves join the battle and defeat the bugs. Dr. Hood and his rebels then continue their campaign, liberating camps and killing bugs. Over time, he earns the title the Great Exterminator.