Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)

On a distant planet inhabited by mutants, two bounty-hunters race to rescue three Earth female captives from the clutches of an evil mutant warlord.

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Stewart Harding (story), Jean LaFleur (story)

Stars:

Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson

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

Storyline

Three women make an emergency landing on a planet plagued with a fatal disease, but are captured by dictator Overdog. Adventurer Wolff goes there to rescue them and meets Niki, the only Earthling left from a medical expedition. Combining their talents, they try to rescue the women.

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Plot Keywords:

camp | 3d | low budget sci fi movie | dictator | sword and planet | 

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Taglines:

Blast off on a high-powered adventure.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was part of an early 1980s cycle of 3D movies that also included Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), Jaws 3-D (1983), Parasite (1982), Amityville 3-D (1983), Comin' at Ya! (1981), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) and El tesoro de las cuatro coronas (1983) ["Treasure of the Four Crowns"].

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Goofs

In the final battle between Wolff and Overdog, Wolff has one rocket left in the chamber. He fires it and when we switch back he has 2; seconds later only one again. (This occurs at 1:20:55-1:21:18)

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Quotes

Nicki: Y'know, there's room for two in there, if they was cozy.
Wolff: Well, we ain't cozy.

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Alternate Versions

Released in Japan on the short-lived VHD format in 3-D. This disc has been widely copied to make bootleg tapes and DVDs.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our VHS Collection (2019)

User Reviews

Better than a lot of movies currently churned out by Hollywood...

I saw this in July, 2008 for the first time and was surprised by the amount of mechanical devices and vehicles built for this one. And the attention to detail is higher than many modern productions.

A funny thing about making movies in 1983 is your choice of either using miniature models or constructing full scale behemoths. This movie goes for the latter option, which is one of its strengths, almost everything you see is right there and not some blue screened effect or shoddy computer graphics. This investment carries very well still today some 25 years later. It is like watching Road Warrior with all of the bikes, cars and trains and it all looks authentic because its actually there. Speaking of Road Warrior, it must be said that Spacehunter has an apparent look and feel of a post-apocalyptic desert world similar to that of the Mad Max films.

Striking are the interesting locations which are thrown at the viewer at a fast pace where new environments show up around every corner during their hunt in the forbidden zone. While short scenes in themselves, they come together nicely in creating the feel of a good adventure movie reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies.

Not sure of the budget here, many things look really nice, some space scenes are awful but very, very short. I've mentioned two series of other films in this review, don't expect to find either one of them in Spacehunter, rather expect to find elements of all of them combined.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1983 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Le Guerrier de l'espace

Filming Locations:

The Domes, Casa Grande, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,053,016, 22 May 1983

Gross USA:

$16,478,265

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,478,265

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Delphi I Productions, Zone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Dolby 2.0)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1