MOONTRAP (1988)

 

MOONTRAP (1988)

Tagline: 14,000 years it has waited for us.

(Horror, Sci-Fi, Government Contractors) [R]

Get a team up to the isolation room, on the double, the bodies missing!

In this one a space shuttle brings back a decomposed body with a helmet to earth. Because why leave it up there you know? Of course it takes about 25 minutes before it starts going nuts and tries to kill everyone. Now Ray Tanner (played by Bruce Campbell) and Col. Jason Grant (played by Walter Koenig best known for being Chekovin STAR TREK) will have to go back to the moon to find out what the heck is going on, and to hunt down anything else that’s creepy and kill it, or set it on fire, or drown it, or keep it from the Russians, or whatever. 

When it comes to the script this thing is really rough. The dialog is super basic and it seems like the writer had some sort of stick up his butt about God, because gd, gets said in this movie like every other sentence. It’s always annoying, but in this one it’s extra annoying. What we do get is a pretty cool plotline, and the fact that they at least come back to earth once during the film makes it feel less claustrophobic. The movie does involve some pretty decent sets, but nothing on the level of ALIENS or anything like that, so I would walk into this expecting cheap 80’s sci-fi. 

The acting is pretty terrible all around. I like Bruce Campbell and Walter Koenig, but they mail it in on this movie and so does pretty much everyone else. I mean there are some parts in this that are meant to be serious that had me almost rolling on the floor laughing. This movie does have Leigh Lombardi who is a good actress (best known for the TV shows KNIGHT RIDER  and  MACGUYVER), but her role is relegated to very few lines, so unless you watch those shows you probably aren’t going to know about it. 

Oddity – this movie actually has a sequel called MOONTRAP: TARGET EARTH that was made 29 years after the original. 

Quick note, the first person that says “this is a great moment for mankind” is usually going to end up getting slaughtered by whatever they tried to befriend. Especially if it’s the 80’s and it’s a horror movie. 

What I did like about this movie was the overall plot (minus a few things that are extremely unlikely to have happened even in this nutty flick), it’s pretty cool for what it is. I also like that they kind of amplify the fact that robot aliens wouldn't really have a concept of time. Even if they waited 14,000 years it wouldn't matter as long as their power source survived or new power sources periodically arrived. Then again if they are sentient, then I guess the possibility of boredom is always there? Why am I on this train of thought? Anyway, the killer alien robots look pretty great and a lot of the design in this movie is solid. I am also a sucker for practical effects and all of that is decent in this movie, but it’s not without its goofiness in some scenes. 

Overall I will give this thing a 3 out of 7. There are some parts that drag, but overall it’s a nice change up from some of the other space horror fare. Don’t expect anything amazing and you might have a bit of fun even with it's sub-par score and all the other issues I mentioned.

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