MovieChat Forums > The Earthling (1980) Discussion > The demise of the parents

The demise of the parents

posted 19 years ago by Vampire-Sharpshooter
10 replies | jump to latest

I was five when this movie was released and had to have watched it when I was six or seven. There is very little I can remember, though the parent's death is a stark memory. I remember the camper falling off the cliff and the dad screaming like someone who knows he is going to die. What caused the camper to fall in the first place, just to refresh my memory? Whoever responds please don't say gravity. I also recall Rick's character trying to dig his parents out and eventually burying his new-found friend and mentor. Everything else is a blur.

[–] BoSoxRule 19 years ago

It's actually kind of stupid how it happens. The father tries to back the camper up (Mom's in the back cooking) and we see that it's suddenly on a hill that didn't seem to be there when they first pulled up. So instead of backing up it lurches forward and eventually goes plummeting over the edge as little Ricky watches. Good time for the whole family, this movie.

[–] ldziub 19 years ago

I too saw this movie as a 5 year old. It *beep* me up good, that's all I can say. Just a freak accident as I recall - who would park a camper that close to the edge of a cliff?

The other scene that stands out is the obligatory cute scene where Ricky plays with some fuzzy baby chicks. One of the only lighthearted moments in this survivalist drama.

[–] BoSoxRule 19 years ago

Yeah, good point. The father says, "I'll back the camper away from the cliff". Well, why did you park it so close in the first place, jackass?

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BoSoxRule 18 years ago

Yes, craig, they were on vacation and sightseeing. Is that any excuse to park so close to a cliff with a five hundred foot drop? I don't think so.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BoSoxRule 18 years ago

You've seen stupider mistakes in real life, huh? Do tell.

[–] somfincute 18 years ago

It's been so long since I saw this and I was 4 or 5 but why was the camper burried? Am I remembering that right? did the camper fall off a cliff into quicksand? Wouldn't it have just exploded. I may be remembering this wrong. But for one weird reason or another it stuck with me as a kid. I thought the parents were alive and burried in the camper cause the lights were still on. That is really the only thing I remember from the movie.

[–] BoSoxRule 18 years ago

It wasn't buried, it basically split in two upon impact.

[–] dewmax 17 years ago

This movie traumatized me as a small child of 4 yrs old, the scene where the camper falls off the cliff, I still have not forgotten 26 yrs later.