Kid-friendly sci-fi. Byrne and Merrill are good in this minor fare that often resembles an episode of TV's "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Yes, it's kiddie sf, with the same kind of feel to it as the "young adult" literature I used to read in boyhood. Think Judy Blume with a higher IQ. It's still a good yarn, however, even if you're a grownup... all the more so due to its present inaccessibility; I only saw this movie because I found it in an El Cheapo vidpit on the outskirts of town over a decade ago, and as of this writing it still hasn't made it to DVD