H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come

source: H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come

Trailer—The Shape of Things to Come

The Shape of Things to Come

Lighten up peeps ... this one is a recovered late Seventies Sci-Fi grind house/drive-in gem. Think of it as filmed performance art!

With the names Jack Palance and Carol Lynley above the title, you would think that The Shape of Things to Come (purportedly from the book by HG Wells, although I see little similarity) would be a sci-fi adventure to die for. Well, it is...after watching this for half an hour you realise that yes, you have actually died and gone to hell. The special effects are below average for their time and the cast performs VERY badly. Palance has some interesting moments playing one of his typical evil characters but on the whole is fairly bland. As for Carol Lynley, who I usually adore, Niki is by far her worst performance, mainly due to her monosyllabic delivery. However there are some laugh-out loud moments (unintentional), mainly caused by the cast's feigned fear of the "robots" which are obviously stunt men in cardboard looking costumes who look about as fearsome as a newborn. Don't waste your time with this tripe, watch Star Wars instead.

This film was released in Swiss theatres in 1979. It is probably the worst film I have ever seen in a movie theatre. Terrible story, bad acting, even worse special effects. I have voted on 1718 films in the IMDb and I have given TSoTtC a 2 out of 10 (there are worse films that have been released to video only, like OCTAMAN for example for which I voted with a straight 1 out of 10)

First, I have to start out with how over used the term Star Wars rip off is thrown around. Not every science fiction film that uses space conflict as it's story plot means it's attempting to rip off Star Wars. This film is an absolute joy for fans of Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who and Logans Run. If you enjoy Roger Cormans science fiction films Battle Beyond the Stars or Space Raiders, then you will enjoy this movie. If your a fan of Stuart Gordans Robotjox, you will enjoy this movie. If your coming into this thinking it's going to be based off H. G. Wells novel, then you will be disappointed. It is not, it just borrows the title. The acting is on point, the effects for 70s sci fi fans is on point. Yes if you can only enjoy Star Wars then you will be disappointed. But in no way does this film deserve such a poor rating.

This should be in the top 100 worst movies of all time. Like many cult classics it improves with age as its unintentional hilarity increases with time. I saw Shape of Things to Come on opening night without the benefit of any advance reviews. At the time I felt that my hard earned part-time summer job savings had never been so wasted. However, now I split a gut in Plan 9 fashion with the added benefit of fast forward. Only if bad SciFi amuses you should you give this a try. The special effects are stunningly bad at times. Palance and Lynley mail in their performances (and for Lynley, think worse than Poseidon Adventure - yikes!). I don't know if this was ever on Mystery Science Theater 3000; but that would be the perfect venue for viewing this space junk.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME is a Canadian version of the famous H.G. Wells novel, although other than mankind colonising the Moon it seems to have little to do with that book. Instead it's a cheap and cheesy space opera, one of dozens rushed out in the wake of STAR WARS, and in terms of enjoyability, this can only be classed as so-bad-it's-good entertainment. A bunch of wooden actors work their way through cardboard sets and scenery while cheesy models stand in for space flight and the like. There are dumb robots ripped off from FORBIDDEN PLANET's Robbie and Jack Palance chewing the scenery in his own inimitable way as the villain of the piece. At least 'guest stars' Barry Morse and John Ireland have the grace to look embarrassed by their presence in this trashy, heavily dated production.

The Shape of Things to Come is for sure a bad movie, with mostly bad acting, low budget and so on. But if you got strong nerves (hardened by watching a lot of trash movies and shows) you will find short moments of entertainment and fun. Only recommended for those chosen ones who want to watch every sci-fi movie on this planet before entering the next level of existence and who want to test the strength of their nerves.