The Deadly Spawn

The Deadly Spawn
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Douglas McKeown
Written by	Douglas McKeown
Produced by	Ted A. Bohus
Starring	Charles George Hildebrandt Tom DeFranco Richard Lee Porter Jean Tafler Karen Tighe Ethel Michelson John Schmerling James Brewster Elissa Neil
Cinematography	Harvey M. Birnbaum
Edited by	Marc Harwood
Music by	Paul Cornell Michael Perilstein Kenneth Walker
Distributed by	21st Century Film Corporation
Release date	April 22, 1983 (1983-04-22)
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25,000

The Deadly Spawn is a 1983 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Douglas McKeown, and produced by Ted A. Bohus. The film's plot centers on an meteor that lands on Earth, which unleashes a carnivorous alien that finds refuge in the basement of a house. As it grows larger, a young monster movie fan named Charles (Charles George Hildebrant) and group of others try to survive against the creature and its offspring.

The Deadly Spawn was shot in New Jersey on 16 mm film. The house in which the majority of the film takes place belonged to illustrator Tim Hildebrandt,^[1] who also served as an executive producer on the film. John Dods served as associate producer and special effects director; the effects work involved wire-controlled rubber puppets.

Upon its release, in some territories, the film's title was changed to Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn or The Return of the Alien's Deadly Spawn in an attempt to capitalize on the worldwide success of the 1979 film Alien.