Following a failed voyage to the planet Morganthus, the spaceship Quest is dispatched from the Planet Xerxes for a rescue mission. Once there, the crew discovers the remains of the crew of the doomed voyage as well as a strange pyramid containing unspeakable horrors.
Galaxy of Terror is a 1981 sci-fi/horror film from producer Roger Corman. The film saw him attempt to cash in on the success of Alien much in the same way Battle Beyond the Stars was his answer to Star Wars. Once again using the talents of James Cameron who provided the impressively improvised effects, with Cameron hired as an art director and effects supervisor alongside Robert Skotak. The movie has carved quite a legacy for itself (one of infamy as well as curiosity) and while I can't say much for quality of its writing, from an atmospheric and technical perspective it's undeniably memorable.
Starting off, the writing of Galaxy of Terror is often very confused and muddled with the nature of elements such as Xerxes' "Master" or the borderline Darwin Award behavior of the some of the crewmembers making it pretty obvious plot is not this movie's strong suit. Rather than creating a streamlined narrative Galaxy of Horror is mostly a showcase of impressive effects work in both creature design and gore work and both the curiosity factor of seeing James Cameron's humble beginnings as well as the grotesque nature of the kills and creatures has given the film a lasting legacy (such as the forceful nonconsensual sexual escapades of a certain giant worm).
As far as Alien rip-offs go Galaxy of Terror is certainly memorable in its exploitation and nastiness value even though with its thin characters and borderline nonexistent story that's the only real selling point. Depending on what you're looking for Galaxy of Terror might satisfy those trashy cravings we all deny having in spite of our knowledge to the contrary.
