The Lucifer Complex

But it has its moments. Not a great sci-fi flick, but not a total waste of time either. I thought the choreography was poorly done, and certain special effects, principally blowing stuff up, weren't done to well. But Robert Vaughn was, as always, cool. The "Nazi bitch" with the bride of Frankenstien hair style was kind of campy. Aldo Ray, and I've always enjoyed his work, didn't have much of a part or come across that well. The premise is okay but the plot, not to mention the characters, is never really developed. And the guy in the cave, watching all of this via computerized film footage? Well, lots of what he sees, which is what we watch with him, took place behind closed doors and in swamps and ... Who was holding the camera? Ahh, nothings perfect. This is OK sci-fi if you don't set your expectations to high. Its worth a watch.

"An intelligence agent is set off to investigate events surrounding some of the world's leaders and he comes to a shocking discovery. A plot by former Nazi scientists to clone the world's leaders, in order to return the Third Reich to power, has been undertaken and he must try to stop them from completing their evil plans. Tracking down the headquarters of the Nazi scientists brings another surprise to the agent, when he uncovers the madman ultimately behind the sinister plot," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

One of the most boring films every created. Dare an insomniac to stay awake during the first twenty minutes. If you can keep your eyes open, as William Lanning seems strangely able to do, watch for the "Area L7" sign (probably the film's highlight). Then get ready for a spit upon Lesbian prison guard and a few explosions. A not so shocking surprise guest appearance would make the most ardent xenophobe racist swear off holocausts forever, lest they be exposed to more films like "The Lucifer Complex".

* The Lucifer Complex (1978) David L. Hewitt, Kenneth Hartford ~ Robert Vaughn, Merrie Lynn Ross, Keenan Wynn, Aldo Ray

Near-abominable tale of an intelligence agent (Vaughn) assigned by his boss (Leo Gordon, uncredited) to infiltrate an island outpost where he discovers a shocking plot to clone world leaders in an audacious plan to resurrect the Fourth Reich, forty years following the end of WWII.

Vaguely reminiscent of its contemporary "Boys From Brazil" has a great cast that aside from Vaughn sleep-walking through his role, includes Keenan Wynn, Aldo Ray, the lovely Lynn Cartwright (in a distinctly unlovely role as a sadistic Nazi), Kieu Chinh as a female prisoner, Victoria Carroll as a double agent and Corinne Cole ("The Party") in a frivolous bit part as a potential one-night stand, though our secret agent is so inept, he manages one corny pick-up line ("you need less bump and more grind"), before duty calls.

And let's not neglect William Lanning in the ostensibly unrelated scenes that punctuate, as he narrates the tale watching it unfold from a laser-read time capsule. If you're confused by that plot synopsis, you're starting to appreciate what "The Lucifer Complex" has to offer the patient viewer.

The film is absolute dross, pure guff, atrocious in almost every department, totally bereft of suspense, thrills or coherency, BUT, in my opinion it does qualify as 'so bad it's funny' and for that reason, coupled with the distinguished cast of Hollywood A-listers and B-movie personnel (Cartwright was always a scene-stealer, and she alone earns this turkey one star for pure camp value), it's essential for any film buff's burgeoning collection.

This movie could have been so much better if they would have had the lone survivor discovering that the video he is watching is really the Lucifer Complex and he was in it. Like he was discovering that he was a clone. But as the movie is, it makes little sense of anything.

A reviewer here on the IMDb said this is what THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL would look like if directed by Ed Wood and I have to say that assessment is pretty dead on. A young guy wanders around an island before heading into a cave with computers that have history on laserdisc. After checking out WWII and Vietnam, he heads to the "big war" of 1986 and the movie begins proper. Government guy Glen Manning (Robert Vaughn) catches wind of the Fourth Reich when his plane crashes on a small island off the coast of Florida and he finds Nazis working on a clone of Hitler. With the help of April Adams (Merrie Lynn Ross), Manning manages to escape and blows lots of stuff up with a tank and stop the bad guys. The end. Cut back to the guy in the cave who says something like, "Will man ever learn? I've got to explore this island more." Vaughn has a filmography that extends to over 200+ movies and TV series, but I'm going to boldly claim this was the worst thing he has ever been it. It was a production rife with problems and I'd say the Vaughn material amounts for maybe 65 minutes of the 90 minute running time. The wrap around screams of padding and doesn't make a lick of sense (man had the ability to record every single moment on laserdisc?). Keenan Wynn and Aldo Ray show up for a few scenes.