Meet Billy Duncan. He's having a bad day. His mother is a whore, he just got a speeding ticket from two pot-head cops, and he can't seem to find his shirt. To cope, Billy drives his van into the desert where he finds a neat-o laser cannon. After retrieving a bulky necklace from a pile of ashes in the shape of a human being (Billy doesn't seem to mind), Billy gets down to blowing shit up, including a car belonging to the town bad-ass who tries to rape his girlfriend at a birthday party, the two bumbling deputies who have it out for him, and Roddy McDowall. Each time he puts on the necklace and straps the laser cannon onto his arm, Billy turns into a gibbering green-faced imbecile with sharp teeth and glassy eyes who hates automobiles.
This movie's got something for everybody: shirtless dudes, a birthday party, attempted rape, exploding cars, aliens that kind of look like turtles and Roddy McDowall! It's also pretty damn short and relatively fast-paced.
Unfortunately it's a little too short and could leave you, the viewer, with several UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:
1. How did the young man at the beginning of the film get his hands on the laser cannon? We see him green-faced and crazy, but other than that we're kept in the dark. Do I smell prequel?
2. Why do the turtle-aliens leave the laser cannon behind? After executing the first human victim of the laser gun's eerie powers, the turtle-guys climb back in their spaceship and fly away. Pretty lazy, dudes. Sheesh Louise!
3. Why does Billy's mom go to Acapulco so much? Is she an entertainer? A high class call girl who accompanies rich businessmen on expensive vacations? Is she an international spy? It is suggested that she makes good money, so it could be any one of those things. We know she goes a lot though because of the following exchange:
Billy: When are you gonna stop going to Acapulco?
Billy's Slutty Mom: When they stop asking me!
Who are they? The mystery deepens...
4. Are Chuck and Froggy more than just friends? They sure seem to hang around each other a lot (think Zach Morris and Screech, only more gay) and at one point Froggy exclaims, "I can hardly wait," while driving down the highway with his best pal. We're never told what he can hardly wait for, but I bet it has something to do with blow jobs. Or lunch. Maybe just lunch.
5. Why don't the turtle-aliens turn Billy into a pile of ash when they shoot him at the end? As far as we know Billy could still be alive. Do I smell sequel???6. What is in Tony Craig's briefcase? Whatever it is, it starts beeping whenever Billy's near. I thought maybe Tony was going to end up being one of the turtle-aliens in disguise. Turns out we never actually find out who he is, but everyone he shows his mysterious badge to seems impressed.
