Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Stewart Harding (story) and
Jean LaFleur (story) ...

Release Date:

20 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Journey with Wolff and Niki, an interstellar adventurer and young rebel. On a mission to rescue three stranded women from a planet no one has warned them about. Because no one has ever returned.

Plot:

Three women made an emergency landing on a planet plagued with a fatal disease, but are captured by dictator Overdog...

Plot Keywords:

Dictator | Explosion | Lie | 3 Dimensional | Forbidden Zone

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Peter Strauss	...	Wolff
Molly Ringwald	...	Niki
Ernie Hudson	...	Washington
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Chalmers
Michael Ironside	...	Overdog
Beeson Carroll	...	Grandman Patterson
Hrant Alianak	...	Chemist
Deborah Pratt	...	Meagan
Aleisa Shirley	...	Reena
Cali Timmins	...	Nova
Paul Boretski	...	Jarrett
Patrick Rowe	...	Duster
Reggie Bennett	...	Barracuda Leader

Also Known As:

Adventures in the Creep Zone
Road Gangs
Spacehunter (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (#27017) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) (uncut) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The "tape machines" were on loan from Brainstorm (1983), which was being filmed on an adjacent set.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Studio carpark visible when the ship first lands on the planet.

Quotes:

Overdog: [Nicki has survived The Game, a maze full of lethal hazards] Congratulations!, you made it through!
Overdog: You have a very enviable life force, a life force you're going to share with me.
Nicki: But... you said if I made it through, I'm free.
[There is a pause, and the Overdog grins evilly]
Overdog: I lied, nobody goes free! Chemist, prepare the Fusion Tube!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Step Brothers (2008)

Forgotten Gem

Spacehunter is a film I saw as a child, which has remained at the back of my mind for years. Around the same time, I was watching things like Ghostbusters and Star Trek (The Wrath of Khan), and knew nothing about special effects, budgets or story lines. All I knew was that I liked these films. Having recently obtained a copy of Spacehunter, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it holds up, compared to other classics. Yes, a lot of it is hokey nonsense, but in a GOOD way.

Strauss makes a likable rogue, obviously straight from the Han Solo mold, and Molly Ringwald is her usual early eighties cutie. The special effects are fair for the time (though the title sequence leaves something to be desired), and the futuristic 'Mad Max' style vehicles could easily be from a more recent movie.

Michael Ironside is almost unrecogniseable underneath prosthetics, but offers a great performance, hampered only by his lack of mobility in costume. I was especially surprised to recognise Ernie Hudson as a supporting character, playing Strauss' ex-buddy.

In all, a great film with a few minor flaws. I'm amazed this got no further than it did at the time. One of the few post-Star Wars movies that deserves a sequel (which i'm tempted to have a bash at myself).