speakers
I love watching bad 80s science-fiction and this fits the bill. The special effects are shoddy, even for the time; the actors all take turns at chewing the scenery, apart from Robert Englund who has a natural charm throughout the film.The story is that a ship with a crew entirely chosen by the Master (whose head glows bright red for no accountable reason), have been sent to rescue the crew from another ship that has crashed on a remote planet. Each one is introduced with a sketchy characterisation which is pretty much all the background you get; there's the weirdly manic, driven captain (with terrible ageing make-up), the commander who is obviously "too old for this s**t", the sullen leader who hates the jovial moustache man, the pretty psychic the moustache loves, the buxom blonde, the cook with secrets, the semi-mute who carries some plastic throwing stars, the coward, the cheery tech guy.The moment they land and investigate the crashed ship, things start to go wrong. They also do odd things, like incinerating the bodies in the crashed ship or splitting up for no good reason which leads to the death of the coward. The ones left behind in the ship fare no better; the Captain begins to hallucinate she is facing an old enemy from a previous disaster where she was the only survivor. After firing the ships weaponry, she picks up an enormous gun and dies in a completely unexplained way.At this point, the plot and the character motivations go out of the window and everybody turns their acting up to 11; the mute is killed by his own plastic stars and the poor blonde is raped to death by a giant slimy maggot, in a scene that is as uncomfortable to watch as it must have been to act.After killing almost everyone else, the plot then takes a metaphysical left turn which would have been a masterstroke had it not been setup so badly at the beginning and rushed at the end.Try this film as a basis for a drinking game (a shot every time someone does something really stupid or a character dies or the dialogue makes you cringe) and you'll have a great, if rather drunk, time.
martinwyer
I seen this movie as a youngster and thought it was great craic and watched it again recently on Netflix and have to say that I enjoyed it just as much as an adult.It was obviously made on the cheap and a lot of the acting/effects leave a lot to be desired but when a movie is fun it's fun. It doesn't outstay its welcome and the pacing is excellent, at no point does it seem to lag.If cheesy sci-fi is your thing with tons of gore and crazy monsters well then you can't do much worse than this B movie classic. P.S. the recent Blu Ray release is excellent!!
Neil Kelly
Galaxy of Terror (1981) may be the most underrated of all science fiction movies. Although it obviously shares plot elements with Alien (1979), it is definitely its own movie. Just as Alien strives for familiarity/realism with its English-language names and its destination of earth, Galaxy starts you off on Xerxes, a mysterious planet on the fringes of occupied space.Sure, Xerxes may be mysterious, but it is positively ho-hum compared to Morganthus, where the plot takes you next. There, the astronauts must explore a terrifying pyramid which is at the core of the story.In short, Alien is merely an excellent attempt at brutal realism in space. Galaxy of Terror is a metaphor or, if you wish, an allegory.You see, it's heavy, man. Real Heavy. Much heavier than Alien.
Hitchcoc
I got caught up in this film, even though it totally confused me. Who are these people and why are they so intent on this mission? it seems that there is a bona-fide death wish. They are all either neurotic, frightened, or pure sociopaths. They have no respect for each other and some have gone around the bend. The seemingly sanest is the cook, played by Ray Walston ("My Favorite Martian"), but that is short lived as well. Corman throws every type of gore and slime he can think of, including a woman being raped by some gigantic maggot. I wish I knew what these people were trying to accomplish. All they seem to do is become isolated and then become the prey of the monsters on the planet. There is perpetual jumping out at people where you can anticipate it happening almost every time there is a solitary figure on the screen. Erin Moran from "Happy Days" has a major role. The whole thing has no moderation. The difference between this film and some of the more successful ones is not in production costs. It has to do with a kind of control, a creation of suspense. Mostly, we are not privy to what motivates these people to do what they do. The dialogue is also about as stilted and downright idiotic as it can get. Still, it's hard to take one's eyes off it at times.
AD
