Space Mutiny (1988)

User Rating:

2.1/10   

Directors:

David Winters
Neal Sundstrom (co-director)

Writer:

Maria Dante (written by)

Release Date:

1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

There is nowhere to hide from the enemy within!

Plot:

A pilot is the only hope to stop the mutiny of a spacecraft by its security crew, who plot to sell the crew of the ship into slavery.

Plot Keywords:

Mutiny | Space | Dancing | Cult Favorite | Lieutenant

Cast

Reb Brown	...	Dave Ryder
John Phillip Law	...	Flight Cmdr. Elijah Kalgan
James Ryan	...	MacPhearson
Cameron Mitchell	...	Cmdr. Alex Jansen
Cisse Cameron	...	Dr. Lea Jansen (as Cissy Cameron)
Graham Clarke	...	Capt. Scott Devers (as Graham Clark)
Billy Second	...	Flight Lt. Lemont
Rufus Swart	...	3rd Engineer Steve Codell
Arthur Hall	...	Mortuary Keeper
Norman Anstey	...	Joseph Enforcer
Rick Skidmore	...	Chief Engineer
Guy Pringle	...	Kalgan's Bodyguard
Claudia Jacobs	...	Female Lieutenant
Evan J. Klisser	...	Mohawk - Enforcer
Chip Mitchell	...	Blake - Enforcer

Also Known As:

Mutiny in Space (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:108 min

Country:

South Africa | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

A.I.P. Productions

Trivia:

All space-battle footage is from the TV series "Battlestar Galactica" (1978).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Steve Godel (?) is thrown off the railings by Kalgan and hits the ground, his glasses fall off. There's a cut to Kalgan laughing, and in the very next cut, with the papers falling on him, his glasses are back on.

Quotes:

Kalgan: I have weakness for pain... of others.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Space Mutiny (#9.20)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

The Edge of a Dream

....starring Slab Bulkhead as Whiney McGirl-scream!

I actually quite enjoyed this film. Well, I enjoyed laughing at Mike and the Robots comments on it anyhow. The film itself is just the worst kind of awful you can imagine.

For a start, the budget for any real effects was obviously non-existent, so they stole LOTS of shots from Battlestar Galactica. These scenes occur early on in the movie mostly, and lead you to think that (apart from the plagiarism)it might not be too terrible. Wrong! After the initial ten minutes the Galactica stock-footage is rarely seen again, but the inside of various industrial buildings is seen almost constantly. I was thinking "Ah, a late 70's, early 80's era film" where any old chemical or power plant interior would do as "futuristic" sets. Wrong again! This "movie" was made in 1988, not even twenty years ago! It's like the makers went through a time warp to the late 70's, made the film, then brought it back for our delight.

But the plagiarism, in another form, continues right through the movie. The sound effects of the lasers are ripped straight from Battlestar Galactica again, and also, later on, the sound of the lasers from Battle Beyond the Stars makes an appearance.

Then there is the acting. Or rather, the awful lack of it. Particularly bad is Chunk Benchpress (aka Reb Brown) who lumbers around the sets trying to look dashing and heroic, then spoils the image by screaming like his 'nads have been caught in a food processor. The love interest for Chunk is old enough to be his mother (or maybe even grandmother!) and bares altogether too much flesh for someone of her advancing years and plastic surgery.

The commander of the ship on which the mutiny takes place is Cameron Mitchell, an actor of some note. What the Hell he was thinking in being in this is anybody's guess. But, bad though his choice of movie is, it's nothing compared to the ridiculous Father Christmas beard he's made to wear. It looks sooooo real nobody will be able to tell its a fake. Not!

And finally, the main cast is rounded off by John Phillip Law, another actor who has some credit to his name (At least prior to this turkey). Obviously he yearned for his wacky Barbarella days again and signed up for this abomination. I could never decide here whether he was actually trying to act or just hamming everything up. Suffice to say his maniacal cackling at even the slightest provocation ceases to be funny after the tenth or twentieth time.

Other things to watch out for are the stupid golf carts done up to look like futuristic transportation. The cheap body shells wobble like they're only held on with tape and the "chase" scenes are just hysterical. It's like you've tuned into a re-run of The Banana Splits Show. Try humming "Tra-la-lah, La-la-la-lah!" as you watch and its even funnier.

I won't mention the plot, because there really isn't one to speak of. Just a flimsy premise that people who were actually born in space are more likely to yearn for a real planet to live on than those who came from a planet, which sounds counter-intuitive to me. Or in other words, just plain dumb.

Watch it as an MST3K episode and this one is great. Without their comments it might be rather too much to handle for any normal person. It thoroughly deserves its place in the bottom 100 of the IMDb. You have been warned!