Meet the Applegates

Did You Know?

• The film was released in the Philippines by First Films with free cassette tapes to lucky patrons.
• The film was released in the United States by Triton Pictures.
• The film was met with mixed reception.

Plot

Deep in the Brazilian rainforest, a logging crew is attacked by a giant, shapeshifting mutant insect family known as the Brazilian Cocorada. Meanwhile, in an affluent Ohio suburb, the Applegates—a seemingly normal family—move into a new home. In truth, they are the same Cocorada, sent to study human society with the ultimate goal of wiping out humanity. Their mission requires them to blend in perfectly. The father, Dick, has taken a job at a nuclear power plant, where he secretly plots to trigger an explosion that will eliminate all humans and leave the bugs alone.

At first, the Applegates embody the American Dream. Dick is the breadwinner and a devoted father; Jane is his loving wife and mother to their two children, Johnny and Sally. Johnny starts as a model student but soon falls into heavy metal music and marijuana. Sally is the quintessential popular high school girl, dating Vince Samson, the football team captain. But the family's perfect facade begins to crack. Dick's marriage to Jane deteriorates as he starts an affair at work, and Jane becomes hooked on shopping and maxing out credit cards.

One day, while smoking pot with his friends Kenny and Kevin, Johnny accidentally reveals his insect form. Panicked, he wraps them in cocoons and hides them. Sally, during a sexual assault by Vince, also shifts into her true bug shape. Terrified, she cocoons Vince and stashes him in the basement. As the family strays from their mission, their aunt, Bea Cocorada, is sent to get them back on track.

Things spiral further. Dick's affair with his secretary Dottie gets them both fired, and Dottie tries to blackmail him. In a panic, Dick cocoons her and hides her in his basement. At the bank, Jane is denied further credit and causes a scene. Desperate to pay her debts, she attempts to rob a convenience store but is caught by Sheriff Heidegger as she flees. With no other option, she cocoons the sheriff and brings him home. Johnny walks in just as she is hiding Heidegger.