I like this forgotten little gem. The opening 'commercial' is reminiscent of a similar technique in Futureworld. Of course the computer-run-amok theme is not new, but a nice electronic soundtrack combined with an overall soundscape of computer voices and radio transmissions create a soothing mood piece of sci-fi escapism. Everything here is in a futuristic font with names like Arcturus, Cycloid, and two computers named FLX (Felix) and the Master Cerebral. Whole film is done very seriously with no attempts at comic relief. I did wonder how that rolling robot ('mechanical') got through the doorways though, since it would have to step up and over the portal-type entrances. I recommend closing your eyes, turning the volume way up, and floating away with this one.
13 Reviews
5/10
Analog_Devotee4 January 2021
This one isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. Sure, it's a very low-budget flick and the acting is pretty cheesy/subpar, but the concept is actually really engaging. There definitely needed to be a more stern hand in the editing room, in my opinion, because there are too many instances that feel like filler.
I still recommend this flick even with its numerous faults. If you enjoy cheap sci-fi, this may just be right up your ally.
I still recommend this flick even with its numerous faults. If you enjoy cheap sci-fi, this may just be right up your ally.
Not too shabby
mergatroid-111 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I have to agree with most of the other reviewers here. I really didn't expect anything from this movie. I bought what I thought would be 4 bad movies on one DVD for $5. I like watching bad movies, it's fun. This movie, however, wasn't bad. Most people will recognize the actors from other movies or TV. At least four of them are easily recognized and are very good actors. Even the script was pretty good.
A Spaceliner has a reactor blow and only one lifepod escapes, damaged and with about 7 or 8 people on it. Things start going wrong right away as the blast from the doomed spaceliner pushes their lifepod out of the search area. Unfortunately the communication equipment was not maintained and does not work. With little food and water, and less hope, these people must survive to live another day. Unfortunately the space liners destruction was no accident, and the person who destroyed it is on board....
Over all this was WAY better than I thought it would be, and I congratulate the producers, director and actors on doing such a good job on an obviously low budget. They even got the effects to look good. Go figure.
Kudos.
A Spaceliner has a reactor blow and only one lifepod escapes, damaged and with about 7 or 8 people on it. Things start going wrong right away as the blast from the doomed spaceliner pushes their lifepod out of the search area. Unfortunately the communication equipment was not maintained and does not work. With little food and water, and less hope, these people must survive to live another day. Unfortunately the space liners destruction was no accident, and the person who destroyed it is on board....
Over all this was WAY better than I thought it would be, and I congratulate the producers, director and actors on doing such a good job on an obviously low budget. They even got the effects to look good. Go figure.
Kudos.
let's hear it for low-budget sci-fi!
Strelnikoff2 December 2005
Life Pod is one of those films to watch out for, should it appear on your local cable station's movie listings late at night. Those who dismiss it in the first glance will miss an unusually compelling, worthwhile science fiction film that belies its low-budget origin.
Let's briefly rattle off some of it's merits:
~It's got no annoying loopholes; everything works and makes sense. Odd how a 'small' movie can sometimes do this better than a big-budget production.
~The special effects don't get in the way of the story. And there is quite good photography, too.
~The narrative itself, focuses on a human situation, rather than being pointlessly technological, or un-engaging fantasy. It's the same foundation that made 'Alien' great. People are at the heart of this movie.
~Set design is complementary in that is innocuous, unobtrusive, measured. Again, properly servile to the plot.
~The actors are all low-budget actors from TV land. Once again, a case of "less is more". They are unknowns, so they are abstracted for the viewer, and this allows for fluid, accessible characterizations.
~Pacing is efficient, economical, simple, and linear, with no waste. The director takes us exactly to the emotional climax comfortably and confidently.
With all that said, I think its just a great little sci-fi story: an intriguing plot that, humbly executed in a no-frills manner, sticks with you over time. I would love to have this in my collection.
Let's briefly rattle off some of it's merits:
~It's got no annoying loopholes; everything works and makes sense. Odd how a 'small' movie can sometimes do this better than a big-budget production.
~The special effects don't get in the way of the story. And there is quite good photography, too.
~The narrative itself, focuses on a human situation, rather than being pointlessly technological, or un-engaging fantasy. It's the same foundation that made 'Alien' great. People are at the heart of this movie.
~Set design is complementary in that is innocuous, unobtrusive, measured. Again, properly servile to the plot.
~The actors are all low-budget actors from TV land. Once again, a case of "less is more". They are unknowns, so they are abstracted for the viewer, and this allows for fluid, accessible characterizations.
~Pacing is efficient, economical, simple, and linear, with no waste. The director takes us exactly to the emotional climax comfortably and confidently.
With all that said, I think its just a great little sci-fi story: an intriguing plot that, humbly executed in a no-frills manner, sticks with you over time. I would love to have this in my collection.
Slow-moving 2001: A Space Odyssey rip-off
Leofwine_draca12 December 2015
The last of the Sandler/Emenegger sci-fi films comes as something of a relief to me as all of these movies have been poor quality, low budget science fiction efforts in which the level of imagination involved counts for nothing when so little money has gone into the production. They're also all entirely derivative, with this one tackling 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for inspiration.
Once again the film's main antagonist is a computer, a rather open rip-off of HAL 9000 although without the same quality of the voice acting. A desperate crew are trapped aboard a space ship with time running out (just like in ALIEN) and must figure out a way to work together in order to survive and/or escape.
Like the rest of these movies, the cast is unknown, the quality of the acting is very poor, and the script is sub-par. I appreciate that this one seems to have a little higher budget than others like LABORATORY and CAPTIVE so it's a pity they picked a script that was so derivative. For a change, it's not Robert Emenegger or Allan Sandler directing; instead that job goes to first-timer Bruce Bryant, and he doesn't make much of an effort really.
Once again the film's main antagonist is a computer, a rather open rip-off of HAL 9000 although without the same quality of the voice acting. A desperate crew are trapped aboard a space ship with time running out (just like in ALIEN) and must figure out a way to work together in order to survive and/or escape.
Like the rest of these movies, the cast is unknown, the quality of the acting is very poor, and the script is sub-par. I appreciate that this one seems to have a little higher budget than others like LABORATORY and CAPTIVE so it's a pity they picked a script that was so derivative. For a change, it's not Robert Emenegger or Allan Sandler directing; instead that job goes to first-timer Bruce Bryant, and he doesn't make much of an effort really.
Very slow.
plan993 April 2024
I watched this immediately after watching the wonderful "The Alien Factor" and it's not a patch on that masterpiece of bad film making. The terrible electronic music did not help as it was mainly a series of beeps with no actual tune going on. The acting was very poor. If the miniature model maker got paid for every time the exterior of one of the ships was shown he must have made a fortune, this was just a bit of padding to make to film a bit longer.
It's hard to watch as it's very slow with no feeling of tension at all and it is a bit repetitive, how many times did we need to see the perspex ornament above the control panel, not as often as we did, more padding.
Not worth watching.
It's hard to watch as it's very slow with no feeling of tension at all and it is a bit repetitive, how many times did we need to see the perspex ornament above the control panel, not as often as we did, more padding.
Not worth watching.
Not too bad
JHC314 July 2004
Wow. Something of a surprise. Though flawed, it is far better that I expected.
The brand new space liner Arcturus with some 3,000 passengers is in the final days of its sixteen day trip to Jupiter. Without warning, the ship's Cerebral (central computer) sounds a disaster alarm and orders everyone to evacuate.
Soon, there are only a handful of people remaining including one of the ship's astrogators (Penny), the captain (Cary), and the director of the shipping line (Kenyon).
It turns out that the alarm was false and that the main Cerebral is acting
erratically. The remaining passengers and crew must escape the ship and
avoid personal conflicts in order to survive.
The film starts out very well. The opening commercial is a very nice touch. There are obvious parallels to 2001: A Space Odyssey and to the historic
sinking of the Titanic. The film does slow down at times and has pacing
problems, but is generally well made and well acted.
The brand new space liner Arcturus with some 3,000 passengers is in the final days of its sixteen day trip to Jupiter. Without warning, the ship's Cerebral (central computer) sounds a disaster alarm and orders everyone to evacuate.
Soon, there are only a handful of people remaining including one of the ship's astrogators (Penny), the captain (Cary), and the director of the shipping line (Kenyon).
It turns out that the alarm was false and that the main Cerebral is acting
erratically. The remaining passengers and crew must escape the ship and
avoid personal conflicts in order to survive.
The film starts out very well. The opening commercial is a very nice touch. There are obvious parallels to 2001: A Space Odyssey and to the historic
sinking of the Titanic. The film does slow down at times and has pacing
problems, but is generally well made and well acted.
Very underrated
Skragg1 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I agree with "Jerry." It's a very underrated space movie (of course, how many good low-budget ones AREN'T underrated?) If I remember correctly, the solution to the mystery was a sort of variation (but not "rip-off") of 2001, because the computer controlling the spaceship had actually been a man, who had somehow been turned into a computer. And like HAL, they tried to disconnect his "mind", but not the mechanical parts of him, and as with HAL, it led to disaster. There is at least one funny moment. When the Christopher Cary character, who can't find any food, finds the abandoned pet bird, there's a kind of ominous moment, but then the obvious thing doesn't happen after all.
It's got the VIBE!
I LOVE how the characters are introduced to the audience by the ship's A.l. Looking them up in it's database!!!
She also has a lasergun which is awesome. It's sci-fi !!!
J344R3Y2 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
- Rented LIFEPOD on VHS at least twice in 1984 because I liked it a lot. I just watched it again today on Tubi for free with ads. It was almost line seeing it for the first time again since it's been 37 years since I seen it as a kid.
- The actors do very well, realistic reactions to their situation.
I LOVE how the characters are introduced to the audience by the ship's A.l. Looking them up in it's database!!!
- I liked the Walkman Videocamera that reporter Roz Keshah (Carl Lumbly) uses and always wanted one just like it.
- Lieutenant Simmons (Joe Penny) does a good job most of the time except when he didn't want to try the elevator because all the other ones didn't work...
- ...but passenger Fiona Harrison (Kristine DeBell) tries the elevator anyway and it works. LOL!!! The little touches like this made it believable and kept me in the movie. I liked how she would carry the birdcage around also.
She also has a lasergun which is awesome. It's sci-fi !!!
- The Starship Arcturus cruise ship is a really cool design and I'd like to have a model of the ship like the one in the Captain's Bridge. Even the Lifepod would be cool to have.
- The VIBE that this movie has is the vibe that I get when watching Star Wars, Alien, Empire Strikes Back, Outland, Bladerunner, Tron. The late 70s and early 80s sci-fi film grain look vibe. Lifepod, Outland, Bladerunner, and Tron don't have aliens in them but are really good in the human element in a sci-fi setting.
- In my opinion Lifepod needs to come out of obscurity into the mainstream classics of the late 70s and early 80s.
- Jeffrey Hemphill.
Cute little Sci-Fi if not a bit on the amateurish side
srlindsey4270117 December 2005
Life Pod is one of those movies that you just watch and try not to analyze too hard. The acting is rather amateurish, at best. The special effects are obviously low budget, but not too bad. The story line is rather stock, but with an interesting twist. Computer run amok, but not exactly a computer and the running amok is very understandable when the truth is revealed. Still the movie has its moments and is quite watchable. For me, at least part of the allure of this movie is the prominent role of Kristine DeBell. She may not be the greatest actress in the world, but having been a former playmate of the month, she is cute enough. In all Life Pod is much like other low-budget Sci-Fi movies of the 1980s and somewhat predictable.
The White Star Lines bit is cute, if completely inaccurate. The last of the White Star Lines Company stock was purchased by the Cunard Lines 1947 and the last ship to sail under the White Star colors was the Britannic (not the sister of Titanic) which was sold for scrap in 1960.
The White Star Lines bit is cute, if completely inaccurate. The last of the White Star Lines Company stock was purchased by the Cunard Lines 1947 and the last ship to sail under the White Star colors was the Britannic (not the sister of Titanic) which was sold for scrap in 1960.
Great start, poorly executed, bad ending
ogomez29 April 2000
First scenes of Arcturus spaceliner and interaction of passengers with ship's computer are promising, but the movie falls apart shortly thereafter. Plot is interesting, the acting and writing just aren't up to it.
They seem to have spent most of the money on the very repetitive shots of the ship moving through space.
They seem to have spent most of the money on the very repetitive shots of the ship moving through space.
Low-budget remake of Hitchcock classic
leeshoredoc24 September 2023
I first saw this in grad school, and recently watched it on late-late-night TV. For a remake of the 1940's Hitchcock movie, with minimal early 1980's special effects and sets, the story held up surprisingly well. Worth a couple of hours to see Joe Penny and Carl Lumbly (1980's actors with mainly TV roles), and Kristine DeBell ("Meatballs" and a memorable cameo on the Harry Anderson "Night Court" TV show). Reasonably decent acting, and the "surprise ending" wasn't completely telegraphed in the plot. There was no connection to 2001, other than a talking, slightly psychotic computer. More closely related to an episode of the a Rod Serling "Twilight Zone"
A better film that aged well
georgeorwell-2769729 November 2020
I'm going to throw some love to this movie. I first saw this almost 25 years ago on a Sunday morning. The graphics even in the day were not top tier. However, I did like the plot.
It's 2020 and the patina of age has treated this kindly, IMHO. The storyline is a luxury liner, the Arcturus, is on it's maiden voyage to Saturn and a malfunction has occurred which has required to abandon ship, a hairy idea if you consider life pods in space going who knows what direction. What has caused the malfunction is the question that gets answered at the very end. A life pod that has escaped the Arcturus, containing a ship's lieutenant, various passengers, and the head of the Whitestar line is being pursued but the ship itself while the captain remains on board, not in control, wrestling with the central computer that controls it.
This is a movie that with the right exposure could be something of a cult classic. I think the acting is pretty good, especially Christopher Cary, the captain. Like every good Sci-Fi movie, they lend a believability that allows a willful suspension of disbelief. The design of the Arcturus is pretty good, the robots in the film are believable, the launch and movement of the Lifepod are well done, and the interaction of the cast are good. They set out to make a believable movie given the limitations of the money (obviously) and I think they did a good job.
This is a movie you can find on Amazon Prime. Give it a try. You'll either turn it off in the first 20 minutes or you'll enjoy the ending.
It's 2020 and the patina of age has treated this kindly, IMHO. The storyline is a luxury liner, the Arcturus, is on it's maiden voyage to Saturn and a malfunction has occurred which has required to abandon ship, a hairy idea if you consider life pods in space going who knows what direction. What has caused the malfunction is the question that gets answered at the very end. A life pod that has escaped the Arcturus, containing a ship's lieutenant, various passengers, and the head of the Whitestar line is being pursued but the ship itself while the captain remains on board, not in control, wrestling with the central computer that controls it.
This is a movie that with the right exposure could be something of a cult classic. I think the acting is pretty good, especially Christopher Cary, the captain. Like every good Sci-Fi movie, they lend a believability that allows a willful suspension of disbelief. The design of the Arcturus is pretty good, the robots in the film are believable, the launch and movement of the Lifepod are well done, and the interaction of the cast are good. They set out to make a believable movie given the limitations of the money (obviously) and I think they did a good job.
This is a movie you can find on Amazon Prime. Give it a try. You'll either turn it off in the first 20 minutes or you'll enjoy the ending.
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