Galaxy of Terror (1981)

What a waste of my time!!!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Fantastic dark visual,great sets,creepy monsters,sexy scenes,clever plot amazing special effects,nice casting...anyway it's an example how make a perfect B-Sci-Fi movie should be....all elements are here...Zalman King as always a bad temper,Sid Haig a Crystal's guy is great...Ray Walston in a convincing acting and Taaffe O'Connell sexy than never...fantastic picture from the master of horror Roger Corman and James Cameron still ignored!!Resume:First watch: 1990 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7

Galaxy of Terror (1981) may be the most underrated of all science fiction movies. Although it obviously shares plot elements with Alien (1979), it is definitely its own movie. Just as Alien strives for familiarity/realism with its English-language names and its destination of earth, Galaxy starts you off on Xerxes, a mysterious planet on the fringes of occupied space.Sure, Xerxes may be mysterious, but it is positively ho-hum compared to Morganthus, where the plot takes you next. There, the astronauts must explore a terrifying pyramid which is at the core of the story.In short, Alien is merely an excellent attempt at brutal realism in space. Galaxy of Terror is a metaphor or, if you wish, an allegory.You see, it's heavy, man. Real Heavy. Much heavier than Alien.

I got caught up in this film, even though it totally confused me. Who are these people and why are they so intent on this mission? it seems that there is a bona-fide death wish. They are all either neurotic, frightened, or pure sociopaths. They have no respect for each other and some have gone around the bend. The seemingly sanest is the cook, played by Ray Walston ("My Favorite Martian"), but that is short lived as well. Corman throws every type of gore and slime he can think of, including a woman being raped by some gigantic maggot. I wish I knew what these people were trying to accomplish. All they seem to do is become isolated and then become the prey of the monsters on the planet. There is perpetual jumping out at people where you can anticipate it happening almost every time there is a solitary figure on the screen. Erin Moran from "Happy Days" has a major role. The whole thing has no moderation. The difference between this film and some of the more successful ones is not in production costs. It has to do with a kind of control, a creation of suspense. Mostly, we are not privy to what motivates these people to do what they do. The dialogue is also about as stilted and downright idiotic as it can get. Still, it's hard to take one's eyes off it at times.

I am not sure why I actually finished watching this crummy movie. The only semi-decent acting came from Edward Albert. All the others including Erin Morin must have taken this role because she needed the money. She must not have a residuals agreement for the numerous "Happy Days" reruns that are all over the TV screen. I don't think she was all that good then either. The special effects are some of the worst I have ever seen for this time period. There are a couple of questions that come up but are never answered. Why was Baelon such an emotional wreck? Why so angry? Why did they burn all the bodies they came across? Who in their right mind would send a newbie Cos out on his own to search a crash. I mean if I had written this script (no way in hell) I would have paired him with someone, that way two could be killed instead of just him. The entire plot of this movie seemed to be to select the new Master" for what ever world they came from. Another point is where is the food source for the creatures that appear? This is an extremely poorly done movie and I hope ALL the copies and the original get destroyed.