Galaxy of Terror (1981)
Aka Mind Warp, Quest, Infinity in Terror
Directed by Bruce Clark
Produced by Roger Corman 1981
I was drawn to this movie simply by looking at the gaudy promo poster as a young lad, and it was some twenty years later that I actually saw it, the copy came complete with cool art work on the cover which is totally unrelated to any scene in the actual film.
Essentially, Galaxy of Terror is a Roger Corman clone of Alien but without any of Ridley Scott’s understated class. You know the story, astronauts land on a spooky and always misty planet to solve some mystery or other, only to be horribly dispatched in varying icky ways.
It is interesting to note that James Cameron was working on this film for a time and the gritty sets and dirty overalls of the space bound crew is like a preview of what he was eventually to do in Aliens. However, this film was made at a time when Cameron had recently completed the equally atrocious, and therefore strangely watchable, Piranhas 2.
Now whoever said that Roger Corman is some sort of horror genius is either pulling your leg or a bit backward. See his woeful version of Edgar Allen Poes, The Raven to see what I mean.
This well-photographed stinker was obviously an attempt at mainstream success, how else can you explain the cast featuring Erin Moran otherwise known as Joanie from Happy Days (worth the price of rental just to see her head explode), the old dude from the original My Favorite Martian series, and a fresh faced pre-Freddy Robert Englund.
Despite surprisingly good visuals for its era, (check out the big spooky pyramid they find) this is B-grade tosh that tries so hard to scare, so hard to be serious, it comes off looking completely naff. The story is very similar to the recent Event Horizon, where the characters all face their worst nightmares, which are somehow made tangible by a super intelligent and therefore evil entity. (snooze)
It has an ambitious, kind of ‘shock’ ending which is admirable, but it reeks of exploitation, this movie is famous if only for the seedy–slimy-alien-maggot-rape scene. Just track down a copy and see for yourself.