Moontrap

SPOILER: i loved this movie and not for a post ST Koenig or evil dead Campbell, but because it had a strange twist on what may have happened to earth in the past, they were prob the legends of Atlantis and shows us a idea of why we should not let our toys get smarter then the ones who build them. yes there are a lot of poor cheesy jokes and the plot was lame in places but over all it was a good flick if a bit gory in the reuse of humans for parts. It does have a lot in common with terminator, aliens and virus but sci-fi does have a tend to copy it self, but if you want to see a good film with some good ideas then this one is for you, it is a thrill ride if you don't think to hard

Wacky, gory, and strangely humorous, "Moontrap" is one of those low budget films that forces its way into your heart. You just can't help but watch all of "Moontrap" once you accidentally run into it when channel surfing. Cheesy, and almost parodoxial of contemporary space action movies, "Moontrap" plays out into a required viewing B-movie for any one remotely interested in sci-fi. The plot is simple and standard issue: Walter Koenig is Col. Jason Grant (a.k.a., Pavel Chekov), a single-parent, astronaut burn-out who brings home an alien artifact. When NASA's computers find out that hostile alien life originated in the Moon's Prometheus Crater, Col. Grant is sent with a special team to eliminate an army of football-shaped alien eggs in stasis. One can pretty much guess what happens, and this basically makes "Moontrap" a space slasher film. All in all an incredibly stupid film, but well worth viewing. Very similar to "Virus" in some respects.

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.

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!

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.