*** This review may contain spoilers ***
On a desolate, storm-lashed planet called Morganthus, survivors of a crashed spaceship are attacked by their fears.
Director Bruce D. Clark offers a choppy edited and scripted affair. Nevertheless, there are some interesting kill scenes including a man fighting his doppelgänger, a woman being consumed by a giant maggot (Taaffe O'Connell's notorious death scene), another man being killed with a throwing star by his own severed arm. As with most Roger Corman productions there's plenty of imagination but low budget production values.
The cast are an assortment of familiar TV and film actors from Happy Days to V and a Nightmare on Elm St. who do their best with the script and ill-fitting costumes. There's Sid Haig, Robert Englund to name a few. There's some nice effects on display, along with matte paintings and sound effects. Interestingly as a precursor to bigger things, James Cameron serves as production designer and second unit director, there are reminiscent smidgens of The Terminator and Aliens visuals on display, even though not as well lit or executed.
Galaxy of Terror is unashamedly a series of kills strung together with gore moments and effects. But so were the majority of films in its genre at the time. Worth viewing if only out of interest for the practical effects work.
2/5
2/5