What happens when Star Trek meets Evil Dead? Well...
It's not this Movie- but that is a good tagline for a Poster.
This is Moontrap, a 1989 Sci-Fi Thriller that happens to Star Walter Koenig and Bruce Campbell.
To be fair, my comparison is slightly apt, since the Director- Robert Dyke- did work on Evil Dead 2- with Bruce.
What inspired me to pick this one? I already bought the Comic Adaptation from a 99 cent bin.
Hopefully I get my money's worth. You'll likely find out soon.
The Plot involves some strange tech being found near the Moon. When it creates a killer robot, they realize that they must return to the Moon- remember that this is 1989- to find the source and stop it.
How well does that work out?
To find out, read on...
In the Intro, we see weird tech activating on the Moon.
After that, we meet a pair of Astronauts- Campbell and Koenig- who are flying around in the Shuttle.
They come across a big piece of debris...which turns out to be a Spaceship.
This was the same Decade that brought us the Naked Lady Space Vampire, so why not go inside?
They find a withered body and a red, egg-looking thing.
No Space Eggs- dammit!
It's actually not an egg, but an outer shell for some tech that scans its surroundings and makes a robot body.
Say- this is a great image to use for the Comic's Cover!
They manage to stop it from destroying the NASA Base when Koenig gets above it and blows it up.
You just had to shoot it there- so simple.
This- and some Western Jingoism- gets the duo a trip to the Moon.
Koenig finally lives out his dream- being in charge on a ship.
Also going to the Moon.
The duo are led to strange building and find a lady in some sort of coma.
They wake her up, but are then attacked by another robot!
They defeat the robot, but sadly Bruce's Character is killed.
It's not the last we see of his face though (for context, see the Stinger).
The woman is finally able to speak and explains that she is from another Planet!
She was sent to warn the Earth about the alien threat, but things didn't go well.
On the Moon, the aliens take the scrap from the lander- stranding the pair- and prepare to make an escape ship.
They capture the duo, but Koenig rigs the lander to blow up!
In the aftermath, Koenig is now living with the Alien Lady.
They tease a Sequel, which was planned in 1990...and then 2011...and then 2014...and finally happened in 2017.
The End (until I watch the Sequel on Tubi).
A fun, if not all that great Film.
The Plot is nothing amazing. Aliens are real and we have to stop them.
The hook here is the Body Horror aspect in which the Aliens merge dead flesh and machines to make the robots. The Film doesn't *quite* nail the potential here.
The Budget is a notable thing here, as it uses lots and lots of miniatures- especially once they go to the Moon.
Guess what Mr. Dyke did for Evil Dead 2.
Is the Film worth watching to see Bruce Campbell? Obviously, yes.
If that's not your thing, well, I don't want to know you.
The Film definitely fights to reach its potential and I'm curious to see if it was achieved in the Sequel. Just no Bruce- oh well!
Next time, it's October, so let's see if I can dredge up some scares, spooks and gore. Let's start with something from my digital collection. Stay tuned...
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