Plot: What’s it about?
As the evil Bantor (Ross Hagen) attempts to crush a planet under his might, a battle rages to prevent such an event. Bantor leads a cruel government sponsored crusade to conquer & control, but a rebellion has started to hold some ground. One of those in the rebellion is Taura (Sandy Brooke), a beautiful and very determined young woman. After a run in with Bantor however, she is sent off to a women’s prison facility, where she has to serve hard time. At first, her cellmates have no faith in her, but when she starts to prove herself, it seems like she might become a leader within the institution. Once she has earned their respect and trust, she formulates an escape plan that just might work, but it will be most dangerous, to be sure. Taura must evade the sadistic & horny Warden Exene (Marya Grant), as well as robotic rats and various other lethal opponents. As Taura and her new soldiers plunge into the war, will they be able to make an impact and change the course of their fates, or simply be trampled under the feet of Bantor’s soldiers?
Untamed, uncaged, and unleashed…in space! This is the main tagline for Star Slammer, a low rent “babes in space” picture by veteran low budget director Fred Olen Ray. Also well known as Prison Ship, this movie packs a wealth of beauties, but is it fun to watch? The cover makes us think there’s the potential for tons of bad special effects and naked chicks, which is just what I wanted from Star Slammer. In the end, it does have plentiful bad special effects, borrowed sets, and recycled shots, but I was still somewhat let down here. As this is a “babes in space” flick, I wanted to see eons of breasts and such, but Star Slammer doesn’t deliver in that area. Yes, some clothes hit the floor at times, but for a movie that should be packed to the gills with skin, this one is a little tame in regard to the female form. So you have to really enjoy train wrecks to like Star Slammer, since that pretty much nails just what this picture is, a train wreck. As per usual, Ray puts too much dialogue in and it’s poorly written, so the pace drags at times. I still think this one is worth a rental to those interested, but I think it lacks the volume of flesh it seems to promise.
I wanted to like Star Slammer, but unlike some of his pictures, director Fred Olen Ray wasn’t able to make his low budget work here. He includes some humorous jabs at sci/fi movies that spice it up, but in a movie like this, two elements work better than story & characters. Yes, nudity and violence would have made Star Slammer much more tolerable and perhaps even fun to watch, but as it stands, neither is here is mass amounts. Ray always seem to overuse dialogue and since he’s not good with words, it never works and here is no exception. I don’t really know why Ray made Star Slammer how he did, but if you ask me, it is a real let down in all respects. Other films directed by Ray include Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Evil Spawn, Sideshow, Bad Girls from Mars, Evil Toons, and Beverly Hills Vamp. The cast here includes Sandy Brooke (Nightmare Sisters, Crazed Cop), Susan Stokey (The Phantom Empire, The Power), and Marya Grant (Cannibal Hookers).
Video: How does it look?
Star Slammer is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. I was quite pleased with the presentation here, as it looks terrific and surpassed all of my expectations. The low budget origins are evident due to the grain haze at times, but on the whole, this is a clean, very impressive visual effort. Aside from the grain, the print looks cleaner it should with such a low budget, as only minor flecks & debris are present. The colors look bright and never bleed in the least, while flesh tones are natural as well. No errors in contrast, as black levels are deep & rich and leave no room for complaints. This might be a low rent flick from 1988, but it looks almost brand new here, thanks to a great new anamorphic transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included 2.0 surround option is good, but as this movie didn’t have a lot of cash for sound design, don’t expect too much. I found the surround use to be gimmicky, but that fits in with the nature of the feature, so no real issues there. In the end, the sound effects and music sound better than expected, which is good enough in this case. As far as dialogue, I heard no flaws to discuss here at all, a more than competent mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains no bonus materials. I would have enjoyed an audio commentary by Fred Olen Ray or perhaps a trailer, but no such luck.
