Search - Star Slammer on DVD

Just plain awful

C. U. Stomer | 05/16/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"this is a very boring film. It has potential for camp, but doesn't utilize it. Is this the same Fred Olen Ray who directed the classics "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers" and "Bikini Hoe-Down"? Where is the humor in this flick?It has the look of sci-fi T&A, but practically no T or A.The acting, as might be expected, is horrible (althouth the lead is pretty and engaging), but so is the dialogue and plotting. What is John Carradine doing in his cameo?"

"How Do You Like Being A Can Opener?"

Robert I. Hedges | 05/08/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Star Slammer" is an outer space women-in-prison flick from the great schlockmeister Fred Olen Ray, who is also featured as the Mouse Robot. The movie is very tongue-in-cheek and offers several amusingly subtle references to earlier horror films such as "The Brain From Planet Arous", while simultaneously satirizing every cliche in the genre: note especially the appearance by John Carradine as "The Judge" in his 223rd of 235 films.

The film follows Taura from a traumatic battle on planet Arous with Bantor (who ends up with an unsightly and ridiculous hand injury), her subsequent imprisonment on the spaceship prison, her torment, her unhappy reunion with Bantor (and his can opener hand), and eventual revolt and jail break while paying homage to predecessor science fiction classics. The film features an odd cast including midgets with pots on their heads, an ultra-strange orthodox priest of some type, Zaal, played wonderfully by Johnny Legend, and hilarious and pompous dialogue such as "A man who gives in to evil unlocks the door to his own asylum."

Other features include an amply endowed and evil prison warden, a ridiculous monster which is dispatched in a manner that may remind some of the conclusion from "Jaws 2", numerous fights between the prisoners (of course), and some extremely jarring harmonica playing with accompanying dancing. A favorite of mine is the presence of giant rubber rats that engage in fights as realistic and vicious as the famous duel between Bela Lugosi and the octopus. I was mystified as to the purpose of the pastime involving the combination of dancing and boxing, but it made me laugh out loud. This brings me to the Frisbee of Death. This is perhaps the most hilarious death scene ever caught on film. I will say no more about it so you can savor it for yourselves.

The film doesn't take itself especially seriously (if you haven't already guessed), and I particularly enjoyed the frequent public address announcements relating vital information like that the movie of the day is "Jailhouse Rock". This was one of the more entertaining ploys in the film. The film is entertaining in a B-movie sort of way, but is not without detractions. First among the list of issues is the pacing: there actually are some clever satirical concepts here but the pacing is slow, and the film drags. The low budget effects were amusing in a way, but some of the scenes were too close to the serious science films that came before them to be effective as parody or satire, and didn't work well; that is especially true of the protracted climactic space battle.

Overall this earned three stars: it does have entertaining and amusing moments, but they are too far apart, and intermingled with some really loopy dialogue and bad (really bad) overacting. B-movie lovers should enjoy it, and to them I recommend it."

Scantilly clad, beautiful women in space prison?

E. Parkinson | Los Angeles, CA | 06/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... what planet are they from, and what was their crime? At some point, does plausibility and reason matter?"