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Review by
Rod Barnett
Film:4
BD:10
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| I don't think
anyone is ever going to mistake Galaxy of
Terror for a good movie. I know I certainly don't think
it's very good but I must admit that I still really like this
bizarre little Roger Corman produced rip-off of Alien.
As Corman gleefully recounts in this disc's extras he had the
barest of ideas about the crew of a spacecraft being confronted
with their individual fears on a distant planet which he handed
off to his creative staff to run with. Describing it as an "existential
horror story" it's clear he had visions of a cheap copy with
just enough variation in the mix to claim a thin veneer of originality.
As most rip-offs do, Galaxy of Terror
shows just how much of a leap forward in almost every way that
Alien truly was by falling back into
some of the standard pitfalls of the 1950s monster movies Ridley
Scott and his team worked so hard to avoid. Not that there was
a lack of talent or skill involved in this movie. Indeed, the
high level of technical craftsmanship should be visible to even
the most critical of viewers today. Other than a few minor but
obvious gaffs GOT is a remarkably
sharp-looking picture. According to the people involved the budget
for the production was less than $2 million but it looks like
a movie with far more money to toss around. It certainly looks
like a movie that was carefully made and shot even if the script
and direction often leave it looking like a project the creators
were ashamed to be making. It's these warring qualities that leave
the finished product both frustrating and fascinating at the same
time — in other words it's a perfect cult film. |
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At some time in the
future the starship Quest is sent on a rescue mission to the planet
Morganthus. A ship has crashed and they are to locate the crew
and save them if still alive. But after homing in on a distress
beacon and nearly crashing themselves, the crew finds only corpses
around the ruined ship. A huge pyramid-shaped structure nearby
draws their interest and, since it appears that the remaining
missing crew might have taken shelter inside, they decide to explore
the creepy place. Once inside the various members of the Quest's
crew begin to experience horrifying visions ending in violent
attacks and, even after returning to the ship, a kind of madness
starts to manifest for each survivor. Before long they are being
attacked and killed by slimy monsters, re-fighting old space battles
to the death and just generally facing their strongest fears in
inexplicable ways. |
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This short synopsis
doesn't really get across the joys, frustrations and outright
confusion Galaxy of Terror has to
offer the first-time viewer. At times completely disconnected
and random, the movie will have almost anyone asking obvious questions
repeatedly. Why is such a clearly loony captain given charge of
this mission? Why does said captain treat the mission liftoff
from Earth as if she were attempting to beat a high score on a
video game? And why doesn't the pissed crew talk to her about
her erratic, dangerous actions? And these are just the questions
that occur to the observant (i.e. non-drunk) viewer in the first
15 minutes! The confusing and bizarre sidesteps the film takes
are so unpredictable I often found myself unsure if certain characters
were still alive even after I'd seen them ripped apart by slavering
beasts. |
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But though GOT
lacks a coherent story structure or a logical, lucid sense of
movement from one event to another, it does manage to consistently
hold my interest. This may be only because it occasionally slings
blood against the walls or tosses a severed arm across the room
— but that's OK. Those are the elements I expect from a Corman-produced
SF/horror rip-off. The truly unexpected elements are the cast
assembled for this barely comprehensible story and the already
mentioned excellent technical credits. The cast is stunning in
its eclecticism, featuring TV stars, cult icons and great actors
slumming for no good discernible reason. The unforgettable Grace
(Twin Peaks) Zebriskie plays the half-crazed Captain Trantor;
Edward (Butterflies Are Free) Albert
is the levelheaded, mustachioed hero; Zalman (Blue
Sunshine) King is the hotheaded man of action; Erin (Happy
Days) Moran is the crew's psychic agent with a phobia just
begging for attention; Bernard (The Changeling)
Behrens is the older commander in charge of the rescue; Corman
veteran Sid (The Devil's Rejects)
Haig is the mysterious, nearly mute master of the throwing crystals;
pre-Freddy Kruger Robert Englund is bland crewman Ranger; and
acting legend Ray (Fast Times at Ridgemont
High) Walston plays the ship's cook. Or does he? That brings
us to the oddest ingredient in this spicy stew. The film opens
with a sequence in which we learn that the future Earth is ruled
over by The Master — some kind of dictator/divine right king who
has final say over any and all things. This is the mysterious
man that assembles the Quest's crew and sends them on their way.
There seems to be a reason he wants them on planet Morganthus
and this reason only becomes clear in the final few minutes. Of
course, this opening scene is so out of left field and unlike
everything afterward that I had completely forgotten about it
until the 'surprise' ending. Trust me — when a film features a
maggot growing to human size and raping a woman to death you forget
all about the man with the hidden face from 45 minutes before.
I'm tempted to claim that this was a slick bit of storytelling
designed to whipsaw the audience but it's far from that level
of brilliance. It is chuckle-inducing, though. |
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Besides the nasty R-rated
deaths, sexual attacks and generally sleazy tone the real reason
to watch this film today is to marvel at the effective set design
and special effects. A team headed by the young James Cameron
really did a fine job creating very believable sets for the ship,
the planet and the interior of the pyramid building. The ship
looks both functional and well worn with lots of details that
give the sense of a real place instead of a set. The crater-pocked
planetscapes are beautifully dark and creepy with mist or fog
adding to the feeling of immense size. The fine points of the
carefully sculpted walls of the alien structure make things look
rock-solid and alien at the same time. The pyramid's vast interior
is often stunning in its scope with the characters fitting into
view with a credible reality. As I've said, this is a very good
looking film that hides its low budget and it's easy to see that
Cameron tried out some ideas for his Alien
sequel's look and feel. You might even call Galaxy
of Terror at test run for some of the ideas that made that
film such a success. |
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| Making
its debut on digital video in a big way, Galaxy
of Terror
comes to DVD and Blu-ray from Shout Factory spit-shined to perfection.
The presentation of the film in anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1
widescreen is superb. The movie has been mastered in high definition
from the original film elements and looks clean and sharp even
when the screen is filled with wisps of Morganthus' grit and fog.
The image has the nicely grainy look of a vintage film that hasn't
been processed to look plastic for the digital age. This makes
me extraordinarily happy as I hate the false sheen some new transfers
of old movies have been given in high def. The original Mono soundtrack
is presented and it is clear with no distortion or distracting
noise at all. I am lucky enough to have gotten my hands on the
Blu-ray disc and I have to say that I am shocked at how impressive
the movie looks in 1080p. Spotless, sharp and without flaw the
movie has been given a level of loving care I would only expect
from projects with a much higher profile. That Shout! Factory
has lavished this amount of effort on Galaxy
of Terror
tells me that they are definitely the right people to be handling
the exploitation fare in the huge Corman film vault. This feeling
is doubled when you look over the wealth of extras that are included
as well. Not content to do a few simple interviews with actors
or crew members, Michael Felsher's Red Shirt Pictures has assembled
a six part, hour-long documentary about the film. Covering every
aspect of the production, Tales From the Lumber Yard: The Making
of Galaxy of Terror is a fun and funny glimpse behind the
curtain. The list of on-camera interviewees include Corman himself,
director Bruce Clark, screenwriter Marc Seigler, production assistant
David DeCoteau, composer Barry Schrader, director of photography
Jacques Haitkin and a half-dozen other members of the technical
and effects team that made the movie. Actors Grace Zabriskie,
Robert Englund, Sid Haig and Taaffe O'Connell discuss the film,
relating a series of very entertaining anecdotes of working on
low budget science fiction for Roger Corman. Haig had worked on
Corman-produced films many times before and appears to have tried
to help his fellow thespians navigate the sometimes choppy waters.
It was a relief to know that O'Connell had no bad stories of mental
trauma to tell involving the maggot rape scene with her reaction
to it, then and now, being amusement. The documentary even takes
the time to reflect on the participation of James Cameron and
although it's clear he was a very hard working guy, not every
tale paints him in a positive light. Overall this is one of the
best behind-the-scenes extras I've seen in years. The depth and
breadth of what is covered is amazing and it's put together in
a great package. |
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Also
included is an audio commentary track with Taaffe O'Connell, mechanical
effects creator Allan Apone, prosthetic effects man Alec Gillis
and production assistant David DeCoteau. This turns out to be
far more fun than I thought it would be with the four people reeling
off a number of juicy tidbits that aren't repeated in the documentary.
I was surprised at how quickly the film rolled by with their company
and how much I laughed with them. Several huge photo galleries
present production sketches and designs, behind-the-scenes stills,
poster art and lobby cards from around the world and more. Three
different trailers and two short TV spots are included with my
favorite being the one which advertised the film under its alternate
title Mind Warp. The Blu-ray also
has a PDF of the original screenplay available when put into your
DVD-ROM drive. Capping the extras is a booklet inserted in the
DVD case with great liner notes from Jovanka Vuckovic and a reversible
cover giving you the chance to display the film under the Mind
Warp title. I can't imagine a better presentation of this
terrible little movie. Shout! Factory has far exceeded
my expectations. 8/01/10 |
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