Galaxy of Terror

1981's GALAXY OF TERROR was one of the many late night cable curiosities from my adolescent years.  I had cautiously flipped by it a few times, concerned that a parental unit might enter the room at just the wrong moment; they always seemed to do that.  I was also intrigued by its menacing poster - two fearsome creatures pinning a New Wave looking chick on the ground.  It was not until a few years ago that I fully digested this Roger Corman-produced cheapie, one of several blatant ALIEN ripoffs spawned in the early '80s.  The main reason I bothered was for the cast, quite a choice crop of B-movie talent.

Erin Moran, for one.   I always had a certain fondness for her, fueled by her role as Joanie on Happy Days,  but even in my youth realizing she wasn't the greatest of actresses.  She seemed one note, always playing it as if annoyed and exasperated.  That's exactly what she does here as Alluma, an empath who is part of the crew of a spaceship dispatched on a rescue mission.  Edward Albert (even looking like Dallas from ALIEN) plays her crewmate and apparent boyfriend, the voice of reason among a group of anxiety-ridden souls which also includes characters played Zalman King, Sid Haig, Robert Englund, Grace Zabriskie, and Ray Walston.  Each does a respectable job, going through their paces as they attempt to elude some mysterious being(s) that takes different forms, for reasons we will eventually learn.  The film settles into cat and mouse.  Voiced concerns.  Arguments.  Violent deaths.  Repeat. 

Director Bruce D. Clark's work is nothing special but pre-TERMINATOR production designer/second unit director James Cameron's talent is already evident.  That pyramid - seen during the film's climax - is impressive.  Even the sci-fi props are more advanced and detailed than typically seen in a trash movie like this. Cameron took more than one idea from this movie for his second big directorial gig - ALIENS, five years later.  The screenplay by the director and Marc Siegler reveals some heady ideas in the last twenty minutes or so, but this feels more like low rent Star Trek than Robert Heinlein (or even Alan Dean Foster).  

GALAXY OF TERROR, largely silly and dull, is mostly remembered for the infamous worm scene, one that will repel some viewers and titillate others (and nearly earned the movie an X-rating before some cuts).  I read that it was Corman's idea to transform what was previously a mere kill scene into something darkly sexual.  It's vivid, though if you watch these kinds of movies you've likely seen worse.

I'm not sorry I finally caught up with GALAXY OF TERROR, but why is it that films with short running times always feel so much longer?