Starship Invasions

"Starship Invasions" is an incredibly slow and underacted sci-fi film from Canada. While it stars Robert Vaughn and Christopher Lee, the rest of the cast are mostly unknowns. If I didn't know better, I would believe that the film's director gave all the actors downers before they began filming. This is because although the film is supposed to be a life or death tale about the invasion of the Earth, it's all so low energy and the acting is just too subdued....to the point where you start to wonder if it's a sci-fi zombie film!

So is there anything I really liked about this film? Well, there isn't much but I did like the makeup job on the huge-domed aliens-- they looked quite good considering the low budget. As for most of the rest of the aliens, however, they were just folks wearing silly black leotards. The robot that saves the day is even more ridiculous. Overall, the film has its moments but just not enough to recommend you watch it.

The film studio responsible for the old "OUR GANG" serials cranked out this science fiction film in 1977. The film, STARSHIP INVASIONS drew inspirations off of the wave of space warfare films coming out at that time. The film tells the tale of a ufo menace to earth that is combated by friendly aliens who ask humans for help. A fun point in the plot is the ERIC VON DRAKEN plot point involving hidden ufo bases and ancient astronauts. I don't believe this in real life it was as I said fun. The film was a good family movie and a great "pop corn and coke" film. The special effects at times were creative and others dreadful yet the film is worth viewing. I if you are into UFO lore you will like this film. The film plays like a modren incarnation of a old BUSTER CRABBE serial.

"Oh boy, a real flying saucer!" is what a little boys shouts when he and his parents are confronted with a mysterious space ship circling above their car on a secluded countryside road. I definitely shared his enthusiasm, because I truly worship cinematic B-trash like this, and my only regret was that I wasn't yet drunk enough when I watched "Starship Invasions". Although a low-keyed crossover between the hugely successful "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", this piece of junk has quite a lot to offer. For example, it stars Christopher Lee in the most ridiculous and embarrassing outfit of his long and respectable career, hypnotizing aliens speaking without moving their lips, alien base camps underneath sea level, loads of sexy space wenches, authentic R2D2 robots (oh no, they're not men in suits AT ALL) and goofy intelligent beings with gigantic bald heads and miniature ears. I'm not at all sure what the plot is about, but it sure is incoherent and totally messed up. There are alien invaders trying to overtake planet earth, but at the same time these crazy beings are at war with other extraterrestrial species. I can't really say why because I always got distracted by random alien babes in too tight spandex costumes. Presumably the big bald aliens are here to protect us humans from the nefarious Christopher Lee and his posse. Meanwhile, Robert Vaughn stars as a professor who takes himself deadly serious and appears on TV talk shows in order to persuade the world about the existence of interstellar civilizations. Okay, "Starship Invasions" comes across as cheesy and campy, but admittedly it's also dark and sinister at times, especially when it turns out that the evil aliens are able to make earthlings commit ritual suicide through their telekinetic powers. Once you're done laughing with Vaughn's nihilistic facial expressions and Lee's stoic voiceovers the film does become very boring, though. The special effects are astonishingly decent for a low- budget Canadian exploitation flick like this. Particularly the UFO models are nifty, albeit prototypic, and even when floating around they don't look that stupid. With a slightly more coherent script and competent direction, and maybe also with less urge to imitate other and more successful Sci-Fi titles, I'm convinced that "Starship Invasions" could have been a better movie. Now it's merely a curious footnote in the genre and a reasonably interesting flick for cult-collectors. Writer/director Ed Hunt was also responsible for two favorite 80s guilty pleasure of mine, namely "Bloody Birthday" and "The Brain".

While there's no denying the poor production value and cheap special effects (this is a B movie, after all); I feel the story behind this movie has some value. The motivation of the bad guys is well established. They are not simply evil, but are in a bit of a tight spot themselves. Also, the primary method they use to achieve their goal (a suicide ray) is rather chilling. The use of telepathic communication between the aliens was a nice touch. The cheesiness of this film can easily be embraced as enjoyable camp. It's not a great film, but I think you'll find that it sticks with you after you watch it. The story is fairly rich, with lots of details and connections filled in along the way. It truly has some meat to it. I first saw it as a kid while growing up. Now, over 25 years later, I finally tracked it down and watched it again. I'm still charmed by it.

A film with some great special effects shots and a few not so great. A film with neat ideas yet, crisp film cinematography and color. This is one of those popcorn and coke matinee films which i saw a zillion times when it ran on WGN and WKBD in syndication. The film features well known actors. In another version i thought I read CHRISTOPHER LEE says his lines. There may have been another version. STARSHIP INVASIONS came out as a "b" movie yet garnered a cult following on tv. It also was one of those post star wars films that capitalized off ufo myths tied in with ancient astronaughts like HANGAR 18. All of this makes for a fun story and has been fodder for years for writers searching for fiction story material. With some revamping the film could have been better. I sense budgetary constraints. As a boy I liked it and loved the escapism. Fans of older science fiction will enjoy this piece for a fun afternoon or evening. Fans of LARENCE OF ARABIA don't expect DAVID LEAN quality here. Expect escapism.