In a post-apocalyptic future ruled by the military, a group of renegade teenage orphans find a legendary orb, Bohdai, that can supposedly bring the rain back to dried up Earth.
A hip guardian angel named Bobby Fantana, who died in a car race in the 60s, reluctantly agrees to watch over lonely 80s high schooler Lenny Barnes who needs guidance on how to become cool.
A socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other.
A Victorian era scientist and his assistant take a test run in their Iron Mole drilling machine and end up in a strange underground labyrinth ruled by a species of giant telepathic bird and full of prehistoric monsters and cavemen.
Director:
Kevin Connor
Stars:
Doug McClure,
Peter Cushing,
Caroline Munro
The Space Shuttle returns to earth, but some of the equipment brought back on it begins to behave strangely. Scientists are unsure what is happening, and decide to take all necessary ... See full summary »
Director:
Robert Dyke
Stars:
Walter Koenig,
Bruce Campbell,
Leigh Lombardi
While on detention, a group of misfits and slackers have to write a letter to the President explaining what is wrong with the education system. There is only one problem, the President ... See full summary »
Director:
Kelly Makin
Stars:
Matt Frewer,
Valerie Mahaffey,
Lawrence Dane
Still in the thrall of the evil vampire Radu, Michelle yearns to be taught the skills of the vampire. Meanwhile, her sister Becky tries to free her from his evil clutches, and this time, she's brought some help.
A high school student and his friend find a strange, orb-like piece of equipment to use as a science project, but must stop it when it begins to threaten mankind.
Director:
Jonathan R. Betuel
Stars:
John Stockwell,
Danielle von Zerneck,
Fisher Stevens
In 1868, an American scientist and his team become hostages of fanatical pacifist Robur who uses his airship Albatross to destroy military targets on Earth.
The evil vampire villain Radu returns to his hometown Prejnar, after spending years in exile. He steals the precious blood stone which is said to be bleeding from all saints, from his ... See full summary »
In a future, water has disappeared from the Earth, and a group of teenagers, who live at an orphanage run by the despotic rulers of the new Earth, find an orb of special power. They escape from the orphanage and try to cross the wasteland looking for a place they can live free even as the storm troopers search for them and the orb.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
The hand melting scene was borrowed from Dune (1984) which also starred Richard Jordan (Grock). See more »
Goofs
Why does "Gavial" just vanish from the movie, following the RED ALERT/EVACUATE signal at the Aqua Bunker? The picture seems to suggest that he escapes, but this is never substantiated; Gavial simply flees the control room and never reappears. See more »
Quotes
The Warden:
[words of wisdom to the Solarbabies]
Remember, behavior determines existence... Stick with us, learn to serve the Order, and you'll achieve a decent life-grid.
See more »
"Solarbabies" apparently wasn't given much of a theatrical release by MGM. After seeing the movie, I can understand why they apparently decided to cut their losses. To be fair, the outdoor locations are pretty eye-catching (the movie was shot in Spain), and the sets look like some serious money and time was spent on their construction. But aside from those things, there's not much more praiseworthy to bring up. The movie is really confusing at times, with several plot points brought up so suddenly in the narrative that I'm pretty confident I'm correct in thinking the movie was severely cut in the editing room, taking away the introduction and explanation to these plot points. Despite this editing, there are still plenty of ridiculous things to be found in the movie, like the youths getting around in this post-apocalypse world on roller-skates. But most of these ridiculous things are just mildly amusing, not insane enough to make this worth seeing on a camp level. Will anyone like it? Well, I have an idea that (very young) kids - especially kids who have not seem many better fantasy movies - might get some enjoyment out of it, but I'm sure they'll still question a lot of the movie's incoherent moments.
13 of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
"Solarbabies" apparently wasn't given much of a theatrical release by MGM. After seeing the movie, I can understand why they apparently decided to cut their losses. To be fair, the outdoor locations are pretty eye-catching (the movie was shot in Spain), and the sets look like some serious money and time was spent on their construction. But aside from those things, there's not much more praiseworthy to bring up. The movie is really confusing at times, with several plot points brought up so suddenly in the narrative that I'm pretty confident I'm correct in thinking the movie was severely cut in the editing room, taking away the introduction and explanation to these plot points. Despite this editing, there are still plenty of ridiculous things to be found in the movie, like the youths getting around in this post-apocalypse world on roller-skates. But most of these ridiculous things are just mildly amusing, not insane enough to make this worth seeing on a camp level. Will anyone like it? Well, I have an idea that (very young) kids - especially kids who have not seem many better fantasy movies - might get some enjoyment out of it, but I'm sure they'll still question a lot of the movie's incoherent moments.