ESCAPE FROM GALAXY 3 (1981)

ESCAPE FROM GALAXY 3 (1981)

Tagline: Nope

(Sci-Fi, Adventure, Romance) [R]

Note: The MPAA did not give this movie a rating. It would definitely be an [R] if it came out now. Apparently, this was also known as STAR CRASH II, but only used some of the models and footage. Storywise -wise this is not a direct sequel. 

My father also said that the people who tasted the joys of life lose their gift of immortality.

In this one, Belle Star and Lithan are trying to escape a ruthless Oraclon who trying to not only take over the galaxy but likely trying to hoard all the glitter that he can find to put in his beard. They end up landing on a planet that is basically earth and are introduced to sex pretty much right off the bat. Belle Star and Lithan are both heroes and outcasts when they run into a primitive village but the specter of Oraclon looms. Can the discovery of emotions and physical contact save the universe?

First off, if you have ever seen STAR CRASH or FLASH GORDON, you know that cheesy STAR WARS rip-offs can be either utterly fantastic or painfully bad. ESCAPE FROM GALAXY 3 is an extremely flamboyant romp that somehow manages to marry sex and STAR WARS to one another and still manages to be watchable for at least 27 minutes. I am not saying the effects are good, they aren’t, but the back and forth between the villagers who seem to either really love or really hate Belle Star and Lithan is pretty comical. 

All of the action is poorly acted out and it feels more like a stage play than anything else. Like a lot of other b-movies from the era, very little time in this movie is actually spent in space. We are also subjected to terrible dance routines and just a bunch of people making out for an inordinate amount of time in this thing. I should also note, that even though I brought up FLASH GORDON in this review, FLASH GORDON is basically the exception to the rule for STAR-WARS-ish type movies. FLASH GORDON is actually legendary. This one is merely mildly entertaining and even funny at times.

Acting wise Sherry Buchanan plays Belle Star and does okay. There isn’t a ton to write home about in regards to her acting overall, but she was in a few other interesting movies like TENTACLES and 1980s ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST. Fausto Di Bella who plays Lithan is pretty decent in this, but I don’t recognize any of his other work acting. The other standout performance is Don Powell’s over-the-top take on Oraclon. He was both an actor and a composer but like Fausto Di Bella, I am not familiar with any of his other work. The rest of the cast is pretty rough and only seems to be there because they didn’t have a budget to get anyone else. 

Ultimately this movie suffers from being bad for a full 65 minutes or its 92-minute run time and that is where I really can’t recommend this thing. I guess if you are a massive Sherry Buchanan fan, this might be your thing, but overall the parts that are interesting just aren’t good enough to make me say this is one of the sci-fi b-movies you have to see and believe it are not, there are some pretty cool ones out there.  

This thing is a 2 out of 7, but part of that had to be expected when you read the premise. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF CLIMATE FILM AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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