Galaxy of Terror - I think I saw this.  I think

Okay, I’m writing this review less than twenty-four hours since I watched this film.  Or at least I think I did.  I’ve had to look up the plot and the cast to remind myself whether this was the film I saw or not.  Apparently, I did.

I do like bad films, or rather I like ‘so-bad-they’re-good’ films.  This is definitely one of them.  For, as far as I can remember, I did actually enjoy it for the ninety minutes or so that I sat through it.  It’s just a pity it hasn’t left much of a lasting impression.  Then I read someone else’s review and it mentions ‘maggot rape.’ Then it all came flooding back to me.

After the colossal hit of ‘Alien’ it seems that ‘monster-in-space’ movies were all the rage, or at least they were in the bins of VHS stores you saw in your local rental shops.  ‘Galaxy of Terror’ – like so many others of its kind – never made it to the cinema and certainly never achieved as much praise as Sigourney Weaver’s epic outing.

If you don’t like Alien, you’ll hate this film.  If you like good films, you’ll hate this film.  In fact, most people will hate this film.  It is pretty easy to detest.  However, if you generally like bad films, there’s a small chance you’ll get something out of this.  However, if you like bad films and want to see just how much one film can rip off Alien without getting totally sued, then you do stand a chance of enjoying this (this was me, by the way).

Crew of spaceship, blah, blah, blah, lands on planet, blah, blah, blah, monster on the loose, blah, blah, blah.  Yeah, it’s pretty run-of-the-mill.  However, like I said, if you know that it’s a blatant Alien rip-off you’ll be okay with it.  Despite the awful blue-screen scenes where the spaceship flies through the galaxy (which are generally a measure of the film’s special effects budget), the sets and general atmosphere are actually quite good.  They’re dark, foreboding and generally claustrophobically mood-inducing, but that might have something to do with the man behind the sets being none other than James (Aliens/Terminator/Avatar) Cameron.

There are a few bits that are actually quite memorable (you recall my comment on the ‘maggot rape?’) and these may stick with you slightly longer than the twenty-four hours it’s taken me to forget everything apart from that bit and apparently the man with the glowing head.

Know what you’re in for.  It’s a classic, but only in the sense that it’s so bad that you’ll find yourself not being able to turn it off simply because you can’t believe just how bad it’s actually getting.

Oh, and Freddy Kruger’s in it too – or that guy who plays him, only not half as well as he did with Freddy.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights