Space Mutiny Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4

South Africa - U.S.A. / 1988 [1997] Directed by David Winters [Kevin Murphy] Starring Reb Brown, John Phillip Law Cameron Mitchell [Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett] Color / Not Rated / 92 Minutes Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC / 4-disc set) Rhino Home Video

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		Review by Brian Lindsey

7     6   10 = Highest Rating

Film Rating is for MST3K version | DVD Rating is for entire set

Quite possibly the worst science fiction/space adventure film made in English... Even the horrendously bad Shape of Things To Come (1979) can't aspire to such depths of total putrescence. I speak of the notorious made-in-South Africa Space Mutiny, a real cinematic abortion if ever there was one. At least 99% of the flick's minuscule budget apparently went to hiring the two 'name' actors — Cameron Mitchell and John Phillip Law (not exactly marquee headliners in 1988) — and buying stock effects footage from that old TV show, Battlestar Galactica. (They couldn't have stolen it, right?) Yet having a vision far grander than available financing is the very least of the movie's sins. The filmmakers were either completely incompetent, just didn't give a rat's ass, or both. It's simply STUNNING how bad Space Mutiny truly is.     A huge 'generational' spaceship called The Southern Sun carries the descendants of its original crew on a journey to colonize a very distant planet or star system — wherever they're going it's going to take a long, long time. Unknown to the kindly skipper, Commander Jansen (Mitchell), a revolution is brewing below decks. The Sun's chief of security, the ruthlessly evil Kalgon (Law), plots to take over the ship. He and his fellow conspirators are tired of their tin-can existence in space. They want to land the ship on a planet in pirate-controlled territory and start livin' large with their feet on solid ground. A secret campaign of murder and sabotage sees Kalgon's plan ripe for implementation — only the final step of open mutiny awaits his order. But throwing a big monkey wrench into the scheme is the arrival aboard the Sun of a coven of space witches, known as Bellarians, and beefy, gung-ho fighter pilot Dave Ryder (Howling II's Reb Brown). The high priestess of the Bellarians warns Commander Jansen of Kalgon's treachery; Ryder organizes fighting squads of loyalists to counter the mutineers. Lots of aimless laser gunplay, "railing kills" and interpretive dance ensues.     With Space Mutiny even seeing isn't necessarily believing. The very existence of this film still leaves me flummoxed. Every single element of it sucks to high heaven. The Toolbox Murders' Cameron Mitchell, a ludicrous fake beard glued to his chin, looks more like Santa Claus in a muu muu than a starship commander. Law, the dashing hero of Danger: Diabolik and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, is completely over the top here, delivering one of the hammiest performances you're likely to ever see. (He throws in the Patented Evil Villain Laugh — "Bwaa ha ha ha ha ha!" — seemingly every other line! I think Law was either drunk or just didn't give a crap.) The romance between Ryder and Jansen's scientist daughter Lea (Cisse Cameron) is downright disturbing... The less-than-youthful "young lady" could easily pass for her boyfriend's aunt; she compounds the horror by parading around in a unitard and spazzing out on the dance floor with a hula-hoop — yes, the Southern Sun has a techno nightclub. Speaking of dancing, the Bellarian witches like to fondle Tesla Coils while voguing telepathic come-ons to Kalgon's horny henchmen. (???) As mentioned, all 'exterior' special effects are cribbed straight from TV's Battlestar Galactica; the actual mutiny battle was evidently filmed inside a dilapidated factory. (Judging by the rusty machinery, brick walls and sunlight streaming through the windows, at any rate.) Mere words fail to adequately describe the astounding awfulness of the climactic duel between Law and Brown, fought in laser-equipped electric golf carts. (Or are they floor buffers?) On top of all this, the film also contains perhaps the most incredible continuity flub in the history of motion pictures.     Thankfully Space Mutiny came into the crosshairs of the zany Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang at the end of the show's first season on The Sci-Fi Channel... It'd simply be too painful to endure in its complete, 'un-MSTied' form. With Mike Nelson and robot sidekicks Tom Servo (Kevin Murphy) and Crow (Bill Corbett) perched in the corner of the screen, mercilessly ripping the film a new orifice, science fiction shit is magically transformed into comedy gold. The outright stupidity of the movie — with its wretched acting, pathetic production values and loopy parade of non sequiturs — provides a treasure trove of material for the MST quipsters to play with; their hilarious 'in-theater' riffing is as good as any to be found in the best Comedy Central episodes. The only downside to this particular ep is one that plagued many of the 40-something shows made for The Sci-Fi Channel: a couple of the skits during breaks in the movie don't just fall flat, they're dreadful. I refer specifically to the two "Stranded in Roman Times" sketches with additional characters Pearl Forrester (Mary Joe Pehl), Prof. Bobo (Kevin Murphy in ape costume) and Brain Guy (Bill Corbett, as a white-faced alien). Everyone tries hard but the bits simply stink. To be fair, these multiple episode-spanning 'storyline' skits were forced on the writers/performers by Sci-Fi as a condition of picking up the series after its 6-year run on Comedy Central. Used to a considerably looser, more freeform style of sketch humor, the MST3K crew's attempts at ongoing plotlines can sometimes seem terribly stilted. Such is the case with the "Roman Times" stuff here. (Anyone watching this disc without prior knowledge of the show will just be confused.) Happily, the ep's other two skits (involving Mike and the robots) are pretty damn funny.

Space Mutiny is a part of Rhino's multi-disc Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume 4 (released November 2003), which marked the first time episodes from the show's Sci-Fi Channel period appeared on DVD. In addition to Space Mutiny the set includes Ted V. Mikels' Girl in Gold Boots (1969), a dubbed German television production of Hamlet (1961), and the Canadian-U.S. science fiction telefilm Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1985). Only the MSTied versions are offered, though Rhino saw fit to toss in a handful of extras this time: the theatrical trailer and a TV spot for Girl in Gold Boots plus brief (under 1 minute) introductions to each episode by Mike Nelson. A/V quality is as you'd expect, akin to watching the show via digital satellite hookup... only with no commercials or channel logo in the corner of the screen.     The 4-disc set is actually something of a mixed bag, since it couples two of the funniest Sci-Fi Channel eps — Girl in Gold Boots and Space Mutiny — with two of the dullest. (The prolix Shakespeare play doesn't easily lend itself to rapid-fire barbs and taunts fired off by Mike and the 'bots but I have to give 'em props for giving it the old college try.) Sure, I would've loved to have had, say, Agent for H.A.R.M. and Prince of Space instead of Hamlet and Overdrawn at the Memory Bank; alternately, Boots and Mutiny would've made for a killer two-disc (i.e., less expensive) package. But as a diehard fan of the show since 1990, I'm just thrilled to see any episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 make it to DVD. 12/17/04

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