Deep Space

Any movie with Julie Newmar in it is at least worth one watch. She only has a bit part here in an Alien rip-off with a police procedural main plot. Charles Napier & Bo Svenson also star in this movie. Tough cop cliches and Alien cliches are mixed together (one scene from Alien is almost stolen intact) for a time-wasting romp. You might not remember it tomorrow, but it wastes 80 minutes in a not too bad way. One problem that is hopefully fixed with a blu-ray release is how absolutely dark some of the scenes are. I know this was a cheap movie & some of the effects are hidden with some darkness, but this is way over the top. You might even give it another point if you're able to see what is going on for the whole run time. As far as Alien rip-offs go, this one wan't too bad, and the story moved at a fast pace.

An American satellite with a new biological weapon gets out of control and crashes onto US territory. A slimy monster emerges and manages to escape, killing everyone who crosses his path.

We have a great cast here, with Julie Newmar, Charles Napier and Bo Svenson. I mean, wow, good job guys, getting such a great lineup of character actors for such a disposable film. This puts "Alienator" to shame! Did you think the vine scene was eerily similar to the tree assault in "Evil Dead"? I sure did. Intentional? Maybe not, but when you are dealing with king of the B-movies, you never know when he might be ripping off "Evil Dead" or "Alien" or any other number of better-known films.

My review was written in April 1988 after watching the movie on TWE video cassette.

Something went wrong with "Deep Space", a horror send-up that reportedly went through extensive post-production reshooting and tinkering before its recent direct-to-video release. Finished product doesn't fit its title in the slightest.

Both Chales Napier and Ron Glass are typecast as a couple of L. A. police detectives, partnered on a case when a monster from Outer Space crash lands and starts killing people. The monster was created by U. S. scientists for military research that went awry, with project director James Booth feeling the heat from his supervisor, a general played by Norman Burton.\ Pic is essentially a too literal, tired homage to Ridley Scott's modern classic "Alien", which already has been the model of several alien-on-Earth cheapies such as "Scared to Death" and "Alien Contamination".

Helmer Fred Olen Ray goes to absurd lengths to mimic "Alien", including a scene of a guard calling for his kitty cat which is staged identically, the monster dripping KY jelly. It striking with the same rapid movement (but ropelike tentacles), having a young version that is shaped like an oversize scorpion (instead of the octopus look) and even a variaton of the chest-burster scene. It's all silly, not funny or scary.

Cast includes numerous unimpressive cameos, including erstwhiel "Li'l Abner" star Peter Palmer popping up as a fellow copo; he has no scenes with his one-time co-star Julie Newmar, however. Lead players are okay, maintaining a flippant attitude. The monster vaguely resembles the beastie inserted at the climax of Jacques Tournueur's classic "Night of the Demon", and Napier ultimately wields a chainsaw against it.

A cut-rate imitation of "Alien" that has an air of sloppiness about it (the script could have been written over a weekend probably), but delivers the goods in the end with some good buzzsaw action and lots of slime. Problem is, it's STILL not particularly better than any other of the dozens of "Alien" ripoffs that are floating around.....(**)

The late, great character actor Charles Napier, a favourite of filmmakers Jonathan Demme and Russ Meyer, here has one of his rare leading roles. He plays Ian McLemore, your standard-issue rule-breaking, maverick police detective. He and his partner Jerry Merris (Ron Glass of 'Barney Miller' fame) pick up the trail of a monster that's crashed to Earth. But this is no actual extraterrestrial; it's a predatory life form that was designed by the government for use as a biological weapon. Various G-men try to stymy McLemores' efforts as he vows to find and destroy the rampaging, slime-spewing creature.

Afforded a relatively bigger budget than was usual for him, veteran B movie director Fred Olen Ray shows us a pretty good time with this one. It's knowingly cheesy stuff; the actors stop short of winking for the camera, but there IS a definite tongue-in-cheek quality to the whole script (written by Ray and T.L. Lankford). Some of the lines ARE pretty dopey. And Ray & company lightly poke fun at the conventions of the genre with their inclusion of various cliches (such as the hard-driving boss (Bo Svenson) who demands results). The body count is modest, but the monster is appropriately gnarly, the pace is good, and the movie generates some genuine chuckles along the way. It also features a unique seduction scene, as McLemore literally charms the pants off of hottie cop Sandbourn (Ann Turkel, "Humanoids from the Deep") by donning a kilt and playing the bagpipes.

As was often Rays' style, he packs the cast with a number of familiar faces, some from B movies of old, like Anthony Eisley ("The Wasp Woman"), Norman Burton ("Bloodsport"), Michael Forest ("Beast from Haunted Cave"), Elisabeth Brooks (the temptress from "The Howling"), James Booth ("Avenging Force"), Fox Harris ("Repo Man"), and Rachel Howard (Chili in "Friday the 13th Part III"). Julie "Catwoman" Newmar plays a psychic lady who has to try to convince authorities that her information has merit. The engaging Napier, all full of swagger, has good chemistry with both the sexy Turkel and the amiable Glass.

"Deep Space" is no great shakes, but then it's not even *trying* to be. It's merely good, straightforward entertainment that gives fans of the genre a good show for 91 reasonable minutes.

Seven out of 10.