A sequel to Galaxy of Terror in the way of James Cameron‘s sets from that flick more than of plot. Still an alien homage, but with added inspiration from Star Wars in the way of space battle scenes (well, one scene… that was from Battle Beyond the Stars).
A military man and his trusted robot are sent to a distant planet where scientists have created a new life form. That sounds like a great idea, but it’s DNA is prone to mutation and before long, it violently ravaged every other animal in the lab before enclosing itself in a cocoon of some sort. Did they secure the cocoon? No. Do people stay far away from it? No, they poke their heads right into it to get a better look.
The creature is quite interesting. There seems to be a lack of food stuff in space, so they created a photosynthesis bacterium that multiplies rapidly which they can mix with other lifeforms to grow a lot of food stuff quickly. What made it into a monster? They mixed it with human DNA. Why would they make food stuff out of human? God knows.
The creature goes on a rampage, infecting crew members so their body gets slowly turned into a goo made out of the protein the creature feast on. The hunter becomes the hunted or something.
The film looks good, not just for a budget film but just in general. That’s of course a lot due to Cameron’s work on Galaxy of Terror but the new sets, practical effects and props look good, too. The high points are the John Carpenter-esque synth soundtrack and the female leads, Dawn Dunlap and June Chadwick, who are the most talented (and beautiful) actors in the film.
Remade in 1991 as Dead Space.
