From the first 5 minutes you can tell this is going to be daft. The characters are fairly one dimensional (the rebel captain, the nervous noob, the old man commander), the names and setting are borderline fantasy in genre rather than hard sic fi, and the storyline is fairly silly - characters do daft things for no obvious reason. The cast is a lot of b movie and tv stars you'll recognise even if you can't name them (assuming youre the right sort of age). This is also a rip off of Alien, and might almost have been an inspiration to Aliens... But don't let the comparison fool you into thinking this is of the same quality. This is pure trash, but without having pretensions to be any thing more than that. Its just dumb fun - so just switch off your brain and enjoy the ride.

I will start this review by saying I love low-budget movies. As a kid I was bombarded by them on Saturday-afternoon TV, plus my father was always showing me these strange ones from the 70's and 80's that were made in Canada, Italy, countries like that. I have been around those types of movies even since the age of 3, 23 years ago. Roger Corman is obviously one of the first names you think of when you think low-budget films. I am a fan of him myself. To get to the review this is one of the films I have heard about and read about in countless magazines, movie trailers, review sites, etc., but never seen until just recently. Warning! This review will probably have spoilers!This film starts off looking like a low-budget Star Trek-type space opera, about 10-12 minutes in it becomes more of an Alien clone, ending up with an ending that is like a psychological mind-bender. To put the plot-line in as basic a way as possible without telling too much, pretty much a ship-crew goes on a mission examining another ship that was lost on a planet and find out something is way wrong with the situation.The acting for the most part was okay. They weren't really great, but it was not exactly dull or mediocre. Granted most of the actors probably didn't do too much before this so I could forgive it for that reason, although Robert Englund does a good job.The soundtrack for me wasn't necessarily great. It was one of the soundtracks that fit the circumstances, how it was a lot of weird sounds and synth chords, so it works as a film-being-a-horror-type standpoint, but I didn't enjoy it as a way of being something that I would listen to on it's own for enjoyment. So the soundtrack is good, but not that type of good. It was composed by Barry Schrader.The effects in this movie is fantastic. From the weird looking computer animations on the ships computers systems, to the stomach-twisting, and surprisingly graphic blood and guts effects. This film was definitely made before CGI, so they had to come up with creative ways to make the effects, and they are great. Nowadays they spend thousands of dollars making these effects on computers that for the most part end up looking like crap, and here they are in this film using techniques that are very cheap to make, some of the effects and stuff probably not taking more than 30-40 dollars to make and these look way better than most of these computer-generated effects you see today. The effects in this film do not disappoint. The only effect I didn't really care for was the weird red glow around the mystical beings head, but that was about it.This film was surprisingly graphic, violent,and psychologically and philosophically deep for not only a Roger Corman film, but for low-budget 80's films in general. Also the cinematography and camera work for the most part was pretty good. Set designs as well. The alien planet was very creepy in appearance and you did get a real sense of dread looking at it. This film genuinely gives you goose bumps, sometimes before anything even happens. This film does give you some real shocks. James Cameron was also one of the production designers for this film, and some of the effects and landscapes does make you think of his work in Aliens. If you are a fan of science fiction-based horror films or low-budget films, check this out. It is a recommended watch. I give this film a 7.5 out of 10.

I can't remember whether I rented this with friends or saw it on HBO late at night ... probably both, but either way I remember scrunching my lips at the thing and wondering why it was made.Correction; I didn't wonder why it was made, but why the people who made it didn't invest a few more dollars into the thing, or at least put a more serious effort forward. At the time horror films were the big rage (an idiotic genre to begin with), and someone, somewhere, decided that marrying horror with Star Wars would be a great idea and money maker.The problem with that is that money, time, effort and craftsmanship went into the making of Star Wars. Someone who had a story to tell, who was interested in social psychology, the myths created by mankind, history, and updating the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers' properties, made Star Wars. I of course speak of George Lucas. And the people who made "Galaxy of Terror" are no George Lucas.Here's the thing, for a scifi film it's not all that convincing. From a story point not all of the characters' plots are completed. From a "horror" perspective it isn't even scary nor suspenseful. And, in retrospect, knowing what I do about the horror genre, I can see why this marriage of genres was doomed for a bitter divorce.Horror relies on superstition. Fear. Science fiction is about using technology, science, or some kind of ability to overcome adversaries. One is steeped in religious and tribal fears, the other is about embracing knowledge for victory (or examine how science and technology have gone wrong). I mean there are a few films that successfully mix the two, "Alien" being one of them, but "Galaxy of Terror" is not one.Another "Let's make Star Wars meets movie-X" film that was made by people who only understand marketing data.Avoid.

I am not sure why I actually finished watching this crummy movie. The only semi-decent acting came from Edward Albert. All the others including Erin Morin must have taken this role because she needed the money. She must not have a residuals agreement for the numerous "Happy Days" reruns that are all over the TV screen. I don't think she was all that good then either. The special effects are some of the worst I have ever seen for this time period. There are a couple of questions that come up but are never answered. Why was Baelon such an emotional wreck? Why so angry? Why did they burn all the bodies they came across? Who in their right mind would send a newbie Cos out on his own to search a crash. I mean if I had written this script (no way in hell) I would have paired him with someone, that way two could be killed instead of just him. The entire plot of this movie seemed to be to select the new Master" for what ever world they came from. Another point is where is the food source for the creatures that appear? This is an extremely poorly done movie and I hope ALL the copies and the original get destroyed.