Kilroy Was Here (1983 film)


Kilroy Was Here is a short film made to tie in with the Styx album of the same name. It was played at the beginning of each Styx show on their 1983 tour. It was written and directed by Brian Gibson of Still Crazy, What's Love Got to Do With It, The Josephine Baker Story and Poltergeist II fame. The VHS video release of the mini-film and live concert is also known as Caught in the Act in the United States.

Plot

The film tells of a future where rock music is outlawed by a fascist theocracy government and the "MMM ". The story's protagonist, Robert Orin Charles Kilroy, is a former rock star who has been framed for murder and imprisoned by MMM leader Dr. Everett Righteous. In this future society, policing and other peacekeeping duties are maintained by robots; in the prison where Kilroy is kept, "Roboto" humanoid models act as prison guards.
Meanwhile, a young musician/activist, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back. He is shown leaving a shibboleth graffiti tag, and later comes to the attention of Kilroy when he pirates an MMM video broadcast with a Kilroy video. This inspires Kilroy to disable a Roboto, steal its mask as a disguise, and escape prison.
At night, Chance breaks into the Paradise Theatre, the site of the Kilroy concert where an MMM member was allegedly killed by Kilroy. The theater has since been turned into an MMM museum against rock music, filled with animatronic replicas of "decadent" rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, and Kilroy. Still disguised as a Roboto, the real Kilroy emerges from the shadows and reveals himself to Chance. At this point the film ends.

Cast