Rock Aliens

This is perhaps the best amalgamation of everything excellent about the eighties. Pure and total destructive insanity. To watch this movie is akin to reliving the eighties only through MTV news updates. There are so many things "right" about this movie. As in, the right stuff. Baby.

Rock 'n' Roll is misleading, but it's more like New Wave vs. Rockabilly. And how does that not equal brilliance? Name another film that that happens in please because I would love to watch it.

If you do not like this movie you obviously hate the eighties and everything associated with it. And therefore, if you are over 16 years of age you hate yourself. And I am saddened by your condition. Just know that I care about you.

Voyage of the Rock and Roll Aliens changed my life. And not just in regards to my fantasy wife becoming Pia Zadora. In many other equally profound ways.

If you have the chance, snatch this movie up and give it a viewing.

Even though the special effects rarely rise above amateurish, even though the acting, at places, can best be described as 'cardboard', and even though the final production lacks the polish of a comparable film, say 'Grease', this film is definitely worth the time.

This film has several things going for it, definitely. First of all, there are some pretty decent actors in the film and some talented singers as well.

There are few who are both decent actors and talented singers, but this in itself doesn't ruin the movie.

Musically, watch for the sequence 'nature of the beast'. It is a bit overplayed, and stylistically overdone, yet still quite entertaining.

Much of the comedy in the movie falls rather flat, but there a few shining moments mixed in. At the point the female victim helps the homicidal maniac repair his chainsaw is really where the movie begins to hit its stride and the various elements come together.

Throughout the film, Pia Zadora is a joy to watch. She really doesn't deserve the bad press she's gotten. In this film, she comes across as a wonderful singer, as well as a passable actress who seems completely to buy into her character. This is definitely not a trivial task, as the plot as a whole is rather hokey and the monster in the film looks really cheap and rubbery. I personally cannot imagine myself having to pretend to be frightened of it, but the cast really does a pretty good job with it and overall.

In short: Watch it, enjoy it. Don't expect 'Grease' going in, and you won't be disappointed coming out. And BTW, look for Pia's duet with Jermaine Jackson on 'When the rain begins to fall' at the beginning of the movie. I don't think it has anything to do with the rest of the movie, but it is a cute little rock video.

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).

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!

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)