User reviews

I was amazed after seeing this film. When my boss even said this film was awful and he likes all the cheesy sci-Fri movies such as the cave I had to believe it with my own eyes. I work at an independent video store so we get quite a few b movies. I was in for a disturbing treat. I have now seen the worst sci-Fri movie in years.

The movie had to been made with maybe 1,000 dollars. The acting had to be voluntary and the movie had to of been shot with a sony hi8. The audio was very muffled and unclear.

The movie took place in who knows where. The directer says its a spaceship. The first 35 minutes took place in what it looked like bunkbeds painted white. The "beast" was just a guy with a terrible hairy suit.

With all this saying I would recommend this movie. A good movie to show in class on how to make a bad film. In fact the only reason I'm not giving it a 1 is two reasons. 1) Its so bad that some parts are funny such as when you hear crunching noises. A girl asked "What is going on" The man replies "She is being devoured!" It was very funny to me. You have the perfect examples of how bad movies can get (especially the audio). 2) The way the movie was distributed. I don't know how I saw the movie for sale at Best Buy but it is amazing. They had about four laying on the table ready to be bought. I bet they sent them all back after a week! They also distributed the movie the same week that War of the Worlds came out. This will get people confused on buying the wrong movie. Very smart.

I give the directing a 1, acting a 1, editing a 1, and storyline a 1. It really was that bad.

An surprisingly good effort given budget and limited locations (all of this is detailed in the special features). Director Mike Conway makes clever use of what little he had to work with by creating psychological suspense in the first act. (showing as little of the creature as possible was definitely a good move here). The rest of the film takes on more of a low budget feel after the initial threat is dispelled, but is redeemed by the somewhat campy acting and unintentionally funny delivery of the characters (especially the captain). All in all, a good concept fairly well executed. See it with someone who can appreciate a low budget production and prepare to be entertained...

The original film name is more appropriate "Terrarium" (2003). (Filmed in Las Vegas and surrounding area) watch and you will see why.

A new planet has been found and looks like it can be colonized. We get the standard mix of colonizers and their backgrounds.

Their spaceship has a mishap and the potential colonizers wake up (thaw out) 15 years later to find themselves stuck in their cryo-thingies. But wait, they are not alone. Looks like they may be alien munchies. But wait, it gets weirder.

However, I am not about to give the story away. Per-say the original title may give you a clue.

Do not let tales of low budget discourage you and think of the presentation as more of a play.

I felt this was worse then Plan 9 from Outer Space. Cheesy costumes, poor script, low budget Special effects and just poor acting. I felt like I was watching one of those old drive in B movies but worse. If you're looking for something to just kill a hour and a half or so this is it. You never really get a good look at the cheap gorilla suit alien eating the crew. The acting is so lame I could have done just as bad.The aliens that control the " Creature " look like monkey masks, the weapons the aliens use look a lot like cheap fireworks and cheap one at that.What is really bad is that I had problems just finding this movie on IMDb. I had to search by one of the actresses names to look it up, Unless you like campy movies, steer clear of this one.

terrariumthemovie.com Starring: Timothy S. Daley Written and Directed by : Mike Conway Okay this film freaked me out. I have claustrophobia and a fear of the dark... The monster was done well,The creepy keepers were well thought out. I saw the extras ,And like everyone else who ever desired owning the Batmobile or Oscar Meyer Weiner wagon ...I wanted that ship and TO FIND OUT it was destroyed makes this fan-boy cry ! The set was something, really something and done to its best angles, Can't imagine what place those actors went to bring the fear that is so apparent. Mike Conway has lots more movies up his sleeve and we cant wait.

Boy, I have seen a lot of cheesy and bad movies. Some of them made into brilliant set pieces by the MST3K crew. However, I'm not even sure they could save this one. It really stinks. It looked like it was made for 25 dollars in some guys basement.

The acting was appallingly bad. The first 20 minutes in the 'cryo-chambers' was laughable - you could see that the walls were made sheets of cloth or something. I love how the cheese-monster also peeled away the plastic that was the glass sealing in the astronauts for their 15 year voyage.

Gilligans Island was more realistic than this absolutely awful grade-Z movie.

because his works actually made the effort to be movies. This, not so much.

Most of the movie is the characters waiting around in cryobeds while the monster comes in and eats them. I think that's the whole plot or something...

Maybe the writers wanted to do more with it, but the found they could only afford the one set after paying all the actors for the day and renting the gorilla suit...

I'm just not seeing what the point to any of it was.

Kind of like trying to write out ten lines to fill out a IMDb review when there really isn't ten lines worth of plot to write about.

Terrarium (aka-War of the Planets) is an awesome movie. Especially if you know the story behind it! Mike Conway did an incredible job with such a small budget and limited time. It's truly an awesome success story for someone who works primarily as a banquet captain to write/produce/direct/score/act,etc. in a movie like this.

I love the DVD and the fact that it contains the short "Roadkill". Roadkill will easily be the best 14 minutes you spend EVER. That may be going a little far, but seriously for a short film, to pack as much action, suspense and sheer fun, Mike Conway should be lauded.

Although, I might be a little biased...I happen to be one of the stars of "Roadkill". But seriously...it's a great DVD...Terrarium, Roadkill and all the extras...

Nice Job, Mike...keep it up brother!

Besides the absolute lack of real special effects and relying entirely on what you don't see, this movie relies solely on the performances of the players. Though not star quality, Terrarium does provide enough suspense to carry along and keep the watcher involved.

you would swear this movie was made in the late 70s for a million dollar budget. Instead it was made a couple years ago for 25k in some dudes back yard. Kudos to him. I LOVED IT

The captain is way more hilarious than captain t Kirk the aliens look like they were straight from the trekkies 60 universe

the ship was so flimsy though, you wonder how it survived the impact, and it didn't even look at that beat up. But these are technical details.

I really wonder what kind of colony they would be able to make with only a couple of chicks, but again... details

whats fun is the fighting with the giant gorilla and the 80s banter between the cosmonauts. go buy it today!

Don't watch this with the expectation of incredible special effect bonanza. It's not that kind of movie.

This is low budget, like El Mariachi and Clerks kind of low budget. But like those movies, what Mike Conway has made is pretty impressive, considering he built the spaceship in his backyard (check out the special features on the dvd).

So as long as those are your expectation, you're sure to enjoy this movie. While not a comedy, the captain has some hilarious one liners. The story is pretty good, but early on in the movie, when the colonists are trapped, you might need to open a window to get some fresh air, as you begin to feel boxed in yourself.

Terrarium is an excellent sci-fi flick done in the tradition of Aliens. The sense of claustrophobia looms as the director puts you in a ziploc bag, waiting and wondering if, and when, the monster/alien will come back to eat you.

The movie is chalk full of scary scenes that had my wife jumping and covering her eyes. The filmmakers choice to revel small glimpses of the monster works brilliantly and is very reminiscent of horror from yesteryear.

The '70s synthesized soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly. It really gave a sense of the classic Corman sci-fi.

If you like Sci-Fi, you will definitely appreciate Terrarium.

I had been waiting for so long. I planned on buying it when it was Terrarium. Waited too long and found out it was no longer for sale and the movie title had changed because it was bought by Lionsgate. Rented it yesterday and finally got to see the movie. And while not a big budget/Hollywood extravaganza this movie is great. I'm glad the movie didn't have big effects. I think it would have taken away from the movie and what the director accomplished with the budget he worked with. Also how many nobudget films can you name that are scifi besides CL.one, Primer etc; and nobudget films that aren't zombie flicks or slasher etc.? The acting wasn't Oscar winning, but they were believable. I like the ending. It keeps you wondering what will happen next; instead of being told.