Kamillions
A 1990 sci-fi comedy about shape-shifting aliens from another dimension.
Kamillions is a 1990 science fiction comedy film directed by Mikel B. Anderson from a story by Robert Hsi and a screenplay written by Anderson in collaboration with Harry S. Robins. The film was re-edited by producer Teresa Woo, who later admitted she did not understand the film's genre and had expected an action film. Shot primarily at the Dunsmuir House and Gardens in Oakland, California, the film follows a mad scientist who accidentally opens a portal to another dimension, releasing two shape-shifting aliens with opposing personalities.
Quick Facts
- Writer
- Robert Hsi (story) / Mikel B. Anderson (screenplay) / Harry S. Robins (screenplay)
- Starring
- Christopher Gasti / Dru-Anne Cakmis / Kate Alexander / Dan Evans / Laura O'Malley / Chuck Bartelle / David Allan Shaw / Andrew Ross Litzky / Allison Rachel Golde / Harry S. Robins
- Director
- Mikel B. Anderson
- Producer
- Robert Hsi / Teresa Woo / Sally Aw (executive) / Ning-Ping Chan (associate)
- Music
- Kent H. Randolph
- Cinematography
- Kathleen Beeler
- Editing
- Ian L. Turner
- Country
- United States
- Distributor
- Ulysses Pictures
- Released
- 4 October 1990
- Runtime
- 90 min.
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film's plot centers on bumbling mad scientist Nathaniel Pickman Wingate (played by Harry S. Robins) of Miskatonic University, who opens a portal to another dimension while his family prepares his fiftieth birthday party. Two triops-like creatures escape, assuming the forms of Nancy's cousin Count Desmon (Christopher Gasti) and a model named Jasmine (Dru-Anne Cakmis). Jasmine is friendly and intelligent, using telepathy to become the girlfriend of Sam (Dan Evans), while Desmon is a sadistic trickster who harms people for amusement, such as stuffing a phone receiver into Lindy's mouth and causing an electric shock to handyman Floyd.
Reader's Guide
Kamillions is notable for its troubled post-production history. The film's rough cut ran 121 minutes, which Robins believed to be the director's cut until Anderson corrected him. Producer Teresa Woo, accustomed to action films like the Iron Angels series, re-edited the film to a 90-minute cut for video and television release, later regretting her changes. Robins continues to pay for refrigerated storage of the original elements in hopes of a director's cut, which Anderson says would be longer than 90 minutes but shorter than 121. The film was sold in German-speaking markets as The Wingates, and an unauthorized VHS release by SBM of Chatsworth, California in 1991 used packaging comparing it to David Cronenberg's The Fly and Joe Dante's Gremlins, though the film is more concerned with social comedy than referential comedy.
Did You Know?
- The film was sold in German-speaking markets under the title The Wingates.
- An unauthorized VHS release in 1991 by SBM of Chatsworth, California compared the film to David Cronenberg's The Fly and Joe Dante's Gremlins.
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