Shout! Factory does it again with a double dose of Roger Corman 80's Sci Fi Horror Action classics. Just released this past week are Galaxy of Terror and Forbidden World (aka Mutant - review coming soon). Galaxy of Terror I had heard of a few times over the years but it was very hard to find so I never got a chance to see it...until now. I love 80s Sci-Fi films so that alone would make me see this film, but what really got me to make it a priority is the cast. I mean what other 80s Sci Fi film brings together Freddy Krueger, Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses and Joanie Cunningham from Happy Days?
A crew has been assembled to take the Quest, a space ship led by Captain Trantor (Grace Zabriskie) - who appears to have a slight case of post-traumatic stress disorder, on a rescue mission to the planet Morganthus. Among the crew is Alluma (Erin Moran) who has special psychic powers, 2nd in command Baelon (Zalman King) who butts heads with our hero Cabren (Edward Albert), an easy going, likable crew member. Then there is Quuhod (Sid Haig) the strong and silent crewman, Ranger (Robert Englund), assistant to the technical officer Dameia (Taaffe O'Connell). When they get to Morganthus, they find the crew they are rescuing dead. As they further explore and search for answers, each of the crew are picked off one by one by an alien lifeforce that feeds off their fears.
Galaxy of Terror was a cheesy, low budget sci-fi film produced by Roger Corman that works very well, despite it's weaknesses (mainly budget). Many of the props (courtesy of set dresser Bill Paxton), scenery (production design by James Cameron) and special effects are rudimentary but actually turned out pretty decently. The acting is not that great but the cast is a one of a kind ensemble of some of the most varied names in the entertainment business. Zalman King (Trip with the Teacher/Blue Sunshine) does a great job as Baelon and Edward Albert (song of Green Acres' Eddie Albert) also excels as Cabren. Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger, duh) shows some decent acting skills while Sid Haig's (House of 1000 Corpses) presence makes any movie worthwhile for me. No review of this film would be complete without a mention of the Giant Worm Rape but I'll let you see that to believe it. Overall, the film was exactly what I was hoping it would be, a fun, silly, gory, exploitation sci-fi flick sure to satisfy any B Movie fan.
RATING: 7/10
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