Sci-Fi Flicks G-M

G-M

GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)

D. Bruce Clark W. Marc Siegler & Bruce Clark

Classic Roger Corman production has a rescue team coming to a planet where their worst fears become a horrific reality. Gore, bloody death and rambunctious destruction follow. Standout scenes include a giant maggot attack, a tunnel full of leech creatures and Erin Moran getting her head squashed. Great cast includes Ray Walston, Edward Albert, Robert Englund, Sid Haig, Taffy O’Connell and Zalman King. AKA MINDWARP: AN INFINITY OF TERROR and PLANET OF HORRORS.

GOD TOLD ME TO (1977)

D/W Larry Cohen

New York cop Tony Lo Bianco is plagued by a series of motiveless, violent crimes. In each instance the assailant murders then exclaims, “God told me to!” Lo Bianco follows a number of strange leads that point to a bizarre cult leader who believes he is the reincarnation of Christ, but he may very well be the spawn of a human/alien coupling. Bizarre and thought provoking. AKA DEMON.

HARDWARE (1990)

D/W Richard Stanley

This is your basic “killer on the loose, chopping up dumb teens, stab-o-rama” plot set in the future and switching the faceless killer with a psychotic combat robot. Stacey Travis is the bot’s intended victim. Dylan McDermott is her bionic-armed boyfriend. With lots of action and nasty bits. (European cuts run longer with more of the red stuff.)

HEAVY METAL (1981)

D. Gerald Potterton W. Dan Goldberg & Lew Brum

Animated, adult anthology concerns a ball of pure evil and its many travels through the universe, linking the stories together. The stories include a New York City cab driver of the future, a woman abducted by horny aliens and a WWII soldier shot down in battle. This is an awesome flick with tons of action and violence and a terrific ‘80s heavy metal and rock soundtrack. Definitely worth your time. Inspired by the adult comic/magazine of the same name.

THE HIDDEN (1987)

D. Jack Sholder W. Bob Hunt

Outstanding sci-fi actioner has a leech-like alien visiting Earth, inhabiting various bodies and causing all sorts of hell to an exploding hard rock soundtrack. LA cop Michael Nouri assists FBI agent Kyle MacLachlan track the body-swapping intergalactic bad guy. Non stop action, destruction and fun with loads of outrageous stunts, effects and monsters. You will not be disappointed.

THE HIDDEN 2 (1994)

D/W Seth Pinsker

TV sequel uses nearly 15 minutes of scenes from the first film to set up the alien-swapping human bodies premise. Then, eggs left behind from the original start hatching and it’s up to universal good guy Rapheal Sbarge to save the day. Worth a watch when there is absolutely nothing else better to watch. With Kate Hodge.

HORROR PLANET (1982)

D. Norman J. Warren W. Nick & Gloria Maley

A British research team exploring a planet for signs of past inhabitants discovers, instead, a ferocious beastie that mates with one of the female team members. The coupling results in a pair of mean-assed, muppet looking critters that crave human blood. Slow moving but gets going towards its bloody finale. AKA INSEMINOID.

INHUMANOID (1996)

W/D Victoria Muspratt

Richard Grieco is a maniacal ‘bot who wants to live like a man and take a wife. He/It wipes out everybody on a space station to get what he/it desires. So-so Roger Corman produced thriller has a couple unsettling moments, okay special effects and decent production values.

INVADERS FROM MARS (1986)

D. Tobe Hooper W. Dan O’Bannon & Don Jakoby

Hooper’s big budget remake of the fondly remembered ‘50s classic tanked at the box office during its bijou run. That’s a real shame too, considering the talent behind the script and the impressive creature effects by F/X wizard Stan Winston. Suffering from terminal stiffness, the film never gets moving but Hooper does achieve a weird, dreamy quality throughout. You still might want to check it out as Hunter Carson tries to get people to believe a space ship landed in his back yard, and that his parents are no longer his parents. With Karen Black, Timothy Bottoms and James Karen.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1987)

D. Stephen Chiodo W. Charles & Stephen Chiodo

Super-fun, hyper-imaginative sci-fi/comedy concerning intergalactic, blood thirsty alien bozos who come to Earth in their circus tent spaceship and collect humans for sustenance. The victims are preserved in cotton candy cocoons. An up-dating of sorts of THE BLOB, teeners try to convince the adults and authority figures that their town is under siege, but no one will listen. Fast paced and funny, this one is highly recommended.

LASERBLAST (1977)

D. Michael Rae W. Franne Schacht & Frank Ray Perilli

Billy the Geek gets pushed around by everyone and regularly gets his ass whupped by the nerd from GREASE, Eddie Deezen. Nearby, two David Allen created space aliens hunt down another teen and blast him into ashtray fillings on a desert road. Billy wanders by and finds the laser gun the aliens were trying to retrieve. Becoming possessed by the terrestrial weapon, Billy turns into a blue skinned lizard-boy bent on destroying his hometown. (He even blows up a billboard advertising STAR WARS!) Terrific low budget feature from producer Charles Band. With Roddy McDowall and Keenan Wynn.

LIFEFORCE (1985)

D. Tobe Hooper W. Dan O’Bannon & Don Jakoby

Although it did little but bomb at the box office, this is a spectacular science fiction thriller that pays homage to Hammer’s QUATERMASS series of films. In the tail end of Halley’s Comet a spacecraft is found. Inside, astronauts led by Steve Railsback find three seemingly human-like creatures and hundreds of dried-out husks of what look like bat creatures. The humanoids are brought to Earth where they awaken and come to life as a trio of space vampires who survive on the “lifeforce” of human beings. All hell breaks loose as nutzoid Railsback tries to stop them. The best scenes show London as a devastated, war torn, zombie filled battle field. An incredible effects filled extravaganza not to be missed.

THE LOST CONTINENT (1968)

D. Michael Carreras W. Michael Nash

Pulp adventure tale concerning a freighter filled with explosives and a group of passengers with mysterious pasts. A storm sinks the ship, leaving the survivors to fend for themselves in the Saragasso Sea of Lost Ships. The Saragasso is populated by mutated Spanish pirates, man eating seaweed, enormous flesh craving crab monsters, blood crazed weed monsters and mammoth mutated octopus monsters that pull unsuspecting victims overboard whenever the action lags. The pirates use huge helium balloons to help walk across the putrid sea and are ruled by a 13-year-old messiah who feeds people to the giant throat he keeps under the floor. Braindead but fun hokum from Hammer. Based on a novel by Dennis Wheatly.

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)

D/W Stephen King

Incredible “no-brainer” has all the machines in the world coming to murderous life and revolting against man. The action centers around the Dixie Boy Truck Stop where semis hold a group of rednecks hostage in a bizarre twist on George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Emilio Esteves is the young hero and Pat Hingle is his fat, cracker boss. Full of great redneck dialog and action. The first twenty minutes take off like a Tijuana bottle-rocket but then things slow down a tad too much during the middle stretch. Before it’s all over some AC/DC music cranks up and Emilio faces off with the awesome Green Goblin big rig. One truly terrific drive-in flick.

METAMOPHOSIS: THE ALIEN FACTOR (1995)

D/W Glenn Takakjian

Another one of those biological, DNA experiments goes wild and kills everyone in the secret lab flicks, chuck full of gooey creature attacks. Two bimbo sisters who are searching for their missing security guard father stumble onto the creature’s existence and yes, it’s up to them to save the world. The outrageous monster effects are courtesy Ted Bohus. An enjoyable creature feature with tons of action and carnage. Worth a watch.

MIMIC (1997)

D. Guillermo Del Toro W. Matthew Robbins & Guillermo Del Toro

Scientist Mira Sorvino develops a new kind of roach that will live off other roaches then die out after it exhausts its food supply. Years pass and the common, disease carrying roach is no more. However, the new breed of roach never died off. It radically adapted to its environment and now walks among New Yorkers and scarfs down little kids! Brimming with nail biting suspense and scares.

MINDWARP (1992)

D. Steve Barnett W. Henry Dominick

Mind blowing, virtual reality nightmare centers on a young woman determined to experience the real world. Her rebel ways get her booted into the wastelands where she has to escape from cannibalistic geeks and hybrid freaks to survive. Film retains its weird, surreal nightmare atmosphere throughout. Extremely watchable. With Angus Scrimm and Bruce Campbell.

MUTANT (1984)

D. John “Bud” Cardos W. Peter Z. Orton, Michael Jones & John C. Kruize

Two brothers get stuck in a hick town where toxic waste is turning the local yokels into blue faced, toxic zombies that leak yellow blood and die in direct light. The great Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins and Jennifer Warren are the last humans in Goodland and must battle the zombie horde. Cardos creates some nice creepy ambiance and a couple tense scenes, but something is missing; namely, zombies that do something other than scratch at windows and beat on doors. They don’t drink blood or eat flesh. They just pull screaming folks out of the camera’s view. Regardless, I’ve always enjoyed this flick. They were calling it NIGHT SHADOWS when I first saw it.