By: Frank

 

As RadRev continues on its apparent crash course with the cast of 'Joanie Loves Chachi,' we now find ourselves cavorting with Erin Moran, who--along with the acting-challenged Edward Albert, the fay Ray Walston, and future horror celebs Robert Englund and Sid Haig--finds herself stranded in distant space fighting a terrifying force that pits people against their worst fears.

 

Galaxy of Terror is an unabashed Alien rip-off in true Roger Corman fashion. The story finds the members of wayward rescue mission being drawn to an alien pyramid structure on a distant planet. Suddenly crew members begin dying, falling victim to their own worst fears, which somehow morph into reality because of the alien structure. In the end, lead protagonist Cabren, played with soap opera finesse by Edward Albert, must take on the force behind his crew's deaths.

 

The premise veers slightly from Alien, but in execution it doesn't touch on anything original. The

effects scenes are pretty satisfying to watch. Most of them look great, but even the ones that don’t have a fun, 60's drive-in kitsch factor that works. The shots of the alien structures are impressive (mostly matte paintings, it seems), even if they were scammed from H.R. Giger's handiwork. There's some cool miniature work in there too, and I know there's others out there like me who love miniatures on film. When I see a good miniature space ship landing with overcranked dust swirling in its wake, it makes me want to start revolution against CGI and fill the streets of Hollywood with the blood of the guilty. But I digress...

 

 

 

There's a twist ending, if you can even call it that (since it's irrelevant to most of the audience, who stopped caring about the plot an hour ago), but it sucks unless you're really into Ray Waltson playing an ominous overlord character. It's unfortunate that the casting director put Uncle Martin from 'My Favorite Martian' in as the powerful alien master since it's about as plausible as Nathan Lane playing Rambo. Good one, guys. But you made up for it by casting good ol' Edward Albert. His Cabren is the most compelling hero character I think I've ever seen on screen! Oh wait. That sentence is correct if you replace "compelling" with whatever word is the exact opposite. Thank you, Central Casting.

 

 

But big props for casting the future iconic madmen Robert Englund and Sid Haig as two of the crew members. Both men are known to overact, but they make a movie like this worth watching for something other than the effects. If everyone else in this movie mugged it up as much as these two, this would be an 80's classic.

 

The aforementioned Erin Moran is alternately annoying and boring for the majority of her screen time, loping around bug-eyed and self-aware. When her death comes (I guess her worst fear was having her head crushed), it's actually a pretty gleeful time for the viewer.

 

Overall, this is a very watchable, but pretty forgettable little affair. If you enjoy the practical effects of the 80's, this is a great popcorn movie for Friday night. If not, spend your time catching up on your gay porn collection.

 

Also, I've read rumors of a DVD release in the works, but no confirmation.

 

Fast forward to the best scenes:

Rating: 2/5 Crystal Ninja Stars

 

Bad in a Good way

 

 

 

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