The Lucifer Complex

This movie could have been so much better if they would have had the lone survivor discovering that the video he is watching is really the Lucifer Complex and he was in it. Like he was discovering that he was a clone. But as the movie is, it makes little sense of anything.

"An intelligence agent is set off to investigate events surrounding some of the world's leaders and he comes to a shocking discovery. A plot by former Nazi scientists to clone the world's leaders, in order to return the Third Reich to power, has been undertaken and he must try to stop them from completing their evil plans. Tracking down the headquarters of the Nazi scientists brings another surprise to the agent, when he uncovers the madman ultimately behind the sinister plot," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

One of the most boring films every created. Dare an insomniac to stay awake during the first twenty minutes. If you can keep your eyes open, as William Lanning seems strangely able to do, watch for the "Area L7" sign (probably the film's highlight). Then get ready for a spit upon Lesbian prison guard and a few explosions. A not so shocking surprise guest appearance would make the most ardent xenophobe racist swear off holocausts forever, lest they be exposed to more films like "The Lucifer Complex".

* The Lucifer Complex (1978) David L. Hewitt, Kenneth Hartford ~ Robert Vaughn, Merrie Lynn Ross, Keenan Wynn, Aldo Ray

This is a horrible movie. But it is also quite charming in the best bad movie way. What does it have. It has a man living in some mountainous (Scandanavian?) country with the entire knowledge of the earth on crystalline rocks, reviewing the decline of the human race. Interestingly, most of the history is in black and white with projection streaks running through them. The main story, however, involves the rise of the Fourth Reich. It is a convoluted story that really makes no sense. People are being captured and turned into zombie like clones. They then do the bidding of a Herman Goering type leader who sits back and yells out orders. There are women with machine guns that can fire up to 50,000 bullets without loading. The Nazi's are utterly incompetent. They leave a fully loaded tank around that can easily be commandeered by anyone who knows how to run it. What happens is apparently what causes the downfall of civilized society, but I'm not sure why. Keenan Wynn plays an old guy with a Santa Claus beard who rants and raves. We can't tell the clones from the real people and what, exactly, happens at the end. It's just the silliest piece of junk, but those women, running around in their gray prison uniforms, firing machine guns, is quite remarkable.

But it has its moments. Not a great sci-fi flick, but not a total waste of time either. I thought the choreography was poorly done, and certain special effects, principally blowing stuff up, weren't done to well. But Robert Vaughn was, as always, cool. The "Nazi bitch" with the bride of Frankenstien hair style was kind of campy. Aldo Ray, and I've always enjoyed his work, didn't have much of a part or come across that well. The premise is okay but the plot, not to mention the characters, is never really developed. And the guy in the cave, watching all of this via computerized film footage? Well, lots of what he sees, which is what we watch with him, took place behind closed doors and in swamps and ... Who was holding the camera? Ahh, nothings perfect. This is OK sci-fi if you don't set your expectations to high. Its worth a watch.

I was one of the clones! The curly haired guy in a few scenes behind Robert Vaughn. He didn't say much, just smiled and did what he was told. Many of us were acting students from the Lee Strasberg Drama Institute - so much for method acting. It was filmed across the street from Paramount at a small sound stage we entered through a back alley. They feed us from MacDonalds! I never got paid for it, so I guess I might as well not hold my breath anymore. You'll notice there is a strip across where our private parts would be, so you couldn't see our bathing suits or underwear, and we just grabbed the feeding tubes and stuck them in our navels.