THREE WOMEN MAKES AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A PLANET PLAGUED WITH A FATAL DISEASE, BUT ARE CAPTURED BY DICTATOR OVERDOG.ADVENTURER WOLFF GOES THERE TO RESCUE THEM AND MEETS NIKI, THEONLY EARTHLING LEFT FROM A MEDICAL EXPEDIT... more »ION. COMBINING THEIRTALENTS, THEY TRY TO RESCUE THE WOMEN.« less
"I love this movie. Yes it is definitely a B-movie, but as a B-movie I think it's one of the great ones.
It comes from the era when Mad Max and the Road Warrior were all the rage and so has the same "lost in a decaying forbidden zone" kind of feel.
After trying to be a serious actor and starring in things like the TV mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man", Peter Strauss' career obviously stalled, as by 1983 he was reduced to starring in B-grade fare like this. And Molly Ringwald, fresh from "The Facts of Life" and prior to her becoming the 80s teen movie queen, has never been more annoying -- which is just what the script called for her to be: an annoying, whiney early teen. And "Ghostbusters'" Ernie Hudson also shows up to round out our cast of heroes.
This movie has everything -- from androids to sea monsters and mad scientists to amazons.
The costuming and set design are also well done and imaginative, especially the ultra-cool villain Overdog (played to perfection by Michael Ironside) and his nightmarish death maze.
If you're looking for meaningful or "serious" sci-fi you should probably look elsewhere. But if you're looking for some purely mindless entertainment which doesn't take itself too seriously and lets you just turn off your brain, chill out and be transported to another universe, this movie is perfect.
A classic slice of 80s space-flavoured cheese!"
I love this movie
Daniel Read | Atlanta, GA USA | 06/15/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Yes, that's right: five stars. It's a five star B movie, and one of my favorites. My dream is that some day they will figure out a way to release these old 3-D movies on DVD for home viewing. But whether or not they get it in 3-D, I hope someday to see this on DVD. "Spacehunter" is a total cheesefest, but brilliant in it's own way. It's my favorite of all of the "forbidden zone" mutant type movies. There are all sorts of strange deformed creatures running around that were created by a mad scientist. The best part is Michael Ironside, who is awesome as the Overdog, who is the head mutant of this particular forbidden zone. He runs a death maze the he feeds beautiful women into to see if they can survive. Best line: "I like her. I like her for the maze!" Check it out."
Perfect. I swear.
Tay Arrow Sherman | Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom | 11/17/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie freaking rules. When I was a kid it was on every time I was sick home from school, on public TV, at about noon. It was very consistent. I TRUST THIS MOVIE. Buy it. It will always be there for you in times of need and is perfect with soup and kleenex and a couch."
Great fun B-movie
GoonMoon | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 11/25/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Somehow, this is much more entertaining than it should be. It's one of those films that's dumb but totally watchable. One thing that none of the other reviews has mentioned is the decent score by Elmer Bernstein which adds a lot to the film. The main theme is suitably rousing, a la The Magnificent Seven, but he also has some whistful pipe/flute cues that complement the thematic elements of being on a strange outlying world where civilization has broken down, adding a tinge of sadness to the proceedings. As McNab, Ironside is great as always, and there's just enough invention to offset the obvious genre influences, which, as other people have noted, are actually more on the Mad Max than the Star Wars side of things."
Great adventure
Popcorndani | Washington | 05/30/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a good old fashioned adventure, with some comedy and good natured suspense. We remember it from when it was released, but my 8 year old grandaughter loved it - she watched it twice! We are a little disappointed in the quality of the DVD; it does seem quite grainy and not much better picture that the VHS."