Moontrap - Gefangen in Raum und Zeit

This movie is what I call "Cheap Sci-Fi": a garage sale script, minimal special effects, and a great leap of faith to justify the story.

The premise is that there was a previous technological civilization on Earth (of course, this is never really explained), and they've left deadly robots on the moon. Not to be outdone, Earth sends a team of astronauts on a search and destroy mission.

Of course, the fact that it would be safer to leave them there, with the lunar gulf separating us is never mentioned! That would invalidate the whole movie, wouldn't it?

Jason & Ray (Koenig & Campbell) awaken a woman (Leigh Lombardi) in suspended animation whose role is wasted on a pointless T&A scene and the obligatory screams of fright. But don't despair, Koenig's real-life wife, Judy Levitt, shows up to save the plight of women on the screen by piloting a space shuttle, armed with missiles (did the producer have something against the peaceful uses of space?).

Most sad are the scientific errors which plague the script (be sure to click on the "goofs") and show that quick profits, not accuracy, were the driving force behind this flick.

Ironically enough, although the movie's a lost cause, the soundtrack by Joseph Lo Duca is superb, and a good premonition of his later work. Even more ironic is the fact that Lo Duca went on to write soundtracks for shows like Xena and Hercules, in which Bruce Campbell would have recurring roles.

Moontrap? Moon-trash would be a better title!

Space shuttle pilots Grant and Tanner discover a giant alien spacecraft between earth and moon. During an investigation, Grant finds a football-like thing and a corpse of a 14'000-year old astronaut! Back on Earth, in a NASA laboratory, the mentioned football-thing comes to life and combines itself with the corpse! The result can only be described as sort of a zombie-robot killing machine. It soon wreaks havoc on everything in his path, but Grant manages to destroy it. On moon, Grant and Tanner then discover the remainings of an ancient civilisation! Inside a giant palace, they find the female survivor of a war that took place there 14'000 years ago, and they have to fight against other zombie-robot creatures. They are not aware that they brought the final piece of technique (their landing capsule) to the moon that allows an army of robot-aliens (known as "Kaaliun") to finish their spacecraft in order to conquer the earth! They've been waiting for 14'000 years, and now Grant must find a way to stop them...

I really don't understand why everybody calls this a B-movie. Maybe it was not in theatres in the US, but it was in Europe. The special effects are great. Of course, they used models in several scenes, but it was good model work. The film has exactly the kind of wonderful and frightening (thanks to Joseph LoDuca's score) atmosphere that makes science-fiction movies great. And we have Walter Koenig and the incredible Bruce Campbell, what more could we ask for? Yes, the movie isn't perfect, but what movie is? Yes, it can't be taken seriously, like most other SF movies either, and yes, a higher budget would have added to the film's quality, but the budget can't have been that low either. This film is also NOT an "Alien" rip-off and NOT a "TERMINATOR" rip-off, nor a rip-off of any other movie. It's idea has absolutely nothing in common with the mentioned SF classics and is very original. Contrary, it has been ripped-off by John Bruno's "Virus" in 1999. If you really call yourself a fan of SF movies, you simply can't dislike "Moontrap".

The good? Effects and props... and Koenig.

The bad? Everything else.

Apart from its value as 80s nostalgia, there's not much to see. The 1950s did this type of stuff much better.

It would have made a good TV movie, though.

Astronauts Jason Grant (Walter Koenig of 'Star Trek' fame) and Ray Tanner (Bruce "Ash" Campbell) discover some ancient alien artifacts in the vicinity of the moon. Among them are an alien corpse (that turns out to be 14,000 years old), and an object somewhat resembling one of the eggs from the "Alien" franchise. When the object and the corpse merge into a menacing cyborg, our heroes are motivated to make a return trip to the moon to see what else is out there. They're in for some more discoveries. This time, one of them is a very human looking female named Mera (lovely Leigh Lombardi).

Director Robert Dyke and screenwriter Tex Ragsdale try not to overstate matters. Basically, Jason has to figure out for himself what the story is, and expresses it out loud just to make sure that we get it. Dyke does a creditable job of working with an obviously very limited budget, but establishes a fairly grim atmosphere right from the start. The practical special effects are actually pretty damn good considering the constraints. Joseph LoDuca composed a decent enough score. While Dyke and Ragsdale are to be commended for creating a serious mood, they don't hesitate to insert a little levity here and there. As can be expected, the swaggering Campbell does have his moments. There's just a little bit of gore, but folks looking for exploitable elements will be pleased to see that Lombardi and an exotic dancer both bare their breasts. The dialogue isn't always so hot, but the performances are fine from the two leads, and they do create some chemistry. It IS nice to see veteran Koenig in a top billed hero role.

Be sure to wait through the closing credits for a little bit of an epilogue.

"Moontrap" is decent, deliberately paced entertainment that may have some appeal for lovers of sci-fi / horror combos.

Six out of 10.

MOONTRAP has the perfect genre cast: THE EVIL DEAD's Bruce Campbell and STAR TREK's Walter Koenig team up as a pair of astronauts who are busy investigating a robotic mystery on the surface of the Moon. That set-up sounds great, but in reality the execution turns out to be quite pedestrian; this has the look and feel of an Albert Pyun movie, say, rather than a 'proper', well made movie.

It looks cheap and it is. About the only thing MOONTRAP has going for it are a series of robotic creations which are pretty good in a cheesy '80s kind of way. The animation is fairly decent, with some scenes bringing to mind the likes of ROBOCOP, but it's the story that also lets this one down. There's little to no scope here, just characters wandering around aimlessly and fighting repetitively.

Campbell is given short shrift by the script and that awful haircut of his doesn't help. Koenig is, somewhat hilariously, playing a youthful hero type (his character appears to be at least 20 years younger than the actor), the sort of guy who gets the girl at the end, which is a little weird and unworkable. But really, there's not a lot going on here, especially for fans of the sci-fi genre who will have seen it all before.