Meet The Applegates

Meet the Applegates (released in the Philippines and the United States as The Applegates) is a 1990 American science fiction horror black comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. It was filmed during 1988-89, but not released in the United States until 1991 due to the financial difficulties surrounding New World Pictures, its production company. It takes a dark, satirical look at the end of the world, nuclear holocausts, alienism and terrorism. It was filmed in Oshkosh, Appleton and Neenah, Wisconsin. It has gained a cult following. <br /><br />The film focuses on a family of mutant shapeshifters from Brazil who have taken human form and settled in Ohio, set to cause nuclear holocaust and human extinction, but their experience of life is beset by very human vices and flaws. <br /><br />Plot <br />In a Brazilian rainforest, a logging crew is attacked by a family of huge shapeshifting mutant bug creatures called "Brazilian Cocorada". In a well-off suburban Ohio neighborhood, the Applegates, a typical-looking family, move in. They are secretly Brazilian Cocorada exploring human society on a mission to eradicate humans. <br /><br />The Applegates are tasked with assimilating into the human culture. They have moved to the suburbs after the husband, Dick, got a job at a nuclear power plant. He is secretly working on a plan to cause a nuclear explosion that will rid the world of humans and leave the bugs in peace. <br /><br />The Applegates start off living the American Dream. Dick is the patriarch, a loving father and the main breadwinner, while Jane is his loving wife and mother to Johnny and Sally. Johnny is initially a strait-laced A student but begins listening to heavy metal and becomes a pot-head. Sally starts out as the all American stereotypical high school girl. She is dating Vince Samson, who is the captain of the football team. <br /><br />Dick and Jane's "perfect" marriage begins to crumble as they drift from each other. Dick begins having an affair at work and Jane becomes addicted to shopping and credit cards. While Johnny begins smoking marijuana with his metalhead buddies Kenny and Kevin, Johnny accidentally displays his true bug form. In a panic, he cocoons Kenny and Kevin and hides them. Sally, while being raped by Vince, displays her true form. Also in a panic, she cocoons him and hides him in the basement. As they drift away from normality and their mission, their aunt, Bea Cocorada, is dispatched to get the family back on track with their mission.