Search - Star Quest on DVD

Possibly worth a 99 cent 5 day rental...

Zap | USA | 08/09/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This a very low budget film set in a space ship with 8 crew searching for a new planet for humans to move to. Earth in bad shape with greenhouse warming and war looming. Crew awakes from hyper-sleep after 100 years under (as is family at home). Captian is dead. More deaths follow. Where these all accidents or is there a killer among them. Very low budget, basically only the sets on the ship. Soundtrack unexciting. Two seperate scenes of nude characters make rating R. No swearing that I remember. No sex scenes either. No pubic hair. Steals ideas from several big screen movies any sci-fi fan will have seen. If its on commercial TV, probably not worth watching. Slightly better than "BATS", "ATTACK OF KILLER TOMATOES" and "ARRIVAL II"..."

Space opera whodunnit.

R. Christenson | Pine, CO USA | 10/31/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
Star Quest is a low-budget science fiction thriller about a group of astronauts on an interstellar mission. When they wake from hibernation, that Captain is dead, apparently from a malfunction in his cryogenic chamber. Some of the crew suspect murder. The next in command is also killed in a suspicious accident, and his replacement suspected. The special effects are decent, but this is more of a story/dialogue oriented film, a whodunnit in space. The acting is good enough to make it effective on that level. There is a surprising surprise ending, more of a sci-fi twist revealing more than just whodunnit."

Sci Fi Mystery, with a loop!

P. A Clark | San Jose, CA USA | 11/30/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Star Quest was a fair film and deserves a fair review.

The film begins when 7 of the characters awake from their hibernated sleep of 100 years, and discover that their commanding officer died while in transit. After the discovery, the second in command takes control of the Federated crew after arguing with the 3rd ranking officer. Later however, he discovers that the earth has been destroyed by a nuclear holocaust, and kills himself.(or does he) ALthough his death appears to be a suicide, some of the crew members believe foul play is at work and they confront the next ranking officer. He denies any wrong doing, but is relieved of command. He however, ends up dead after a virtual reality simulation appears to go wrong. This removes doubt from the remaining crew members that someone is killing off the officers, and a muntiny occurs. I won't say anymore so as not to spoil the film. However, I will say it progresses and takes some interesting twists and turns until the end.

Star Quest was obvioulsy a low budgeted film, but not neccesarily a bad one. It is true that the whole film takes place on the ship sets only, but there is a reason for this which is discovered at the end. The actors do a satisfactory job of potraying their characters. The special effects were decent enough for the purpose of the film. And the who done it element keeps the viewer thinking. There are also other elements in the film which add some drama. The stress of some crew memebers of losing their loved ones, the anxiety of wondering about foul play, and the attempt of forming a new mini gov't by the surviving crew. I'd say that this is more a mystery than a Sci Fi film though. It's just a mystery that happens to take place in space.

The one area of the film that didn't seem to fit was the two nude lady scenes which is what gave the film an R rating. They take place while two of the male characters are in VR. One of the scenes dosn't serve a purpose in plot progression, while the other can arguably be justified. Two other VR scenes helped develope the female characters. And the fifth one, with a male character, was more like filler for time.

The tech aspects of the DVD include full screen, a trailer of other films as well as the trailer of Star Quest, and that's about it.

Overall I'd say Star Quest is worth a rental at least. It has a double surprise ending which keeps the film in the back of my memory, and it has recognizable actors in it such as Steven Bauer, Ming-Na Wen and Alan Rachins. So if you can deal with low budgeted Sci Fi with little action and more thinking, give it a try. If you're planning to buy, remember it is a mystery, So after a couple of viewings there won't be anymore surprises. Get it as cheap as possible.

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