Voyage of the Rock Aliens

A low-budget mid'-80s musical starring pint-sized sex kitten Pia Zadora: how could this be anything but a disaster? The funny thing is, I just watched the film and enjoyed it much more than I expected, yet I'm still asking how it could be anything but a disaster. I mean, the plot is atrocious, the dialogue diabolical, and the special effects like something I might achieve with my minimal knowledge of motion graphics software. By all rights, it should be unbearable, but I found myself charmed by its goofiness, and actually thought the musical numbers were pretty good. Zadora is no Olivia Newton-John, but she acquits herself well enough in the singing and dancing departments, if not the acting.

The film opens on a spacecraft manned by musical aliens who are travelling across the universe on a scientific mission, searching for rock music. After passing on several planets (including one where Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora flirt with each other, much to the annoyance of a gang of bikers in nasty white outfits), they decide to pay a visit to Earth, where they encounter trouble with a pack of rock and roll thugs led by Frankie (Craig Sheffer), who isn't happy when his girlfriend Dee Dee (also Zadora) shows an interest in the aliens' commander, ABCD (Tom Nolan).

Sounds straight-forward enough, but the whole thing is imbued with a surreal strangeness, from a robot that transforms into a mobile fire hydrant, to a teleportation phone booth, to a toxic lake that is home to a giant tentacle. Then there's the small matter of the escaped homicidal maniacs, one of which is played by Michael Berryman, who falls for Dee Dee's best friend Diane (Alison La Placa) when she helps to mend his chainsaw. Part cheesy '80s sci-fi, part '50s beach party movie, and part new-wave post-punk musical, but ALL bizarre, this is a perfect 'midnight movie' viewing for those who enjoy offbeat trash from the decade that taste forgot.

7/10 (with the potential for a higher rating on repeat viewings).

Plotless, goofy, lighthearted, audacious, uplifting, spirited - in short, the most fun movie I've watched in months! I don't even like musicals, but this one had me constantly tapping my feet on the floor. Pia Zadora's acting won't win any awards, but she's appropriately bright and perky here, plus a terrific singer. In its own terms, this film is damn close to perfect. If you have any nostalgic feelings about 80s music, this is a gift sent from heaven. (***1/2)

I stumbled on this movie by accident, when I turned it on, my wife gave me 'the look' and asked "Why???" She changed her tune pretty quick and now it's something we tell our friends about. If the 80s were your decade then you MUST see this movie... Although don't expect Jermaine Jackson to actually be in it. He's in the opening sequence but that's all, and that's okay because the real stars are Pia and the aliens...

If anyone has questions about this movie please let me know, I was in it. I played the part of NPQR the Alien. I also co-wrote several songs for it.

And yes, this movie is about as cheesy as you can get. It was supposed to be a spoof on 60's beach movies with some (then) modern twists to it. The bands featured in the movie are Rhema and Jimmy and the Mustangs, I was in Rhema. Pia was a delight to work with as was the whole crew and cast.

After a few years I took the videocassette "Voyage of the Rock Aliens" out of the shelf. Blow the dust away and start watching the movie! I feel like removed back to 1984. Pia Zadora! Great music. O.k. the movie is awful, but the music is great. You must see the film as a lot of music-clips put together in one movie. Then it works. If you like the music of the 80's and enjoy songs like "When the rain begins to fall", "Little bit of heaven" or "Let's dance tonight" it's your movie!