Laserblast

Trailer—Laserblast

Laserblast (1978) was one of my childhood favorites. I saw a lot of these movies on a small black and white t.v. later Friday or Saturday night. The best of the bunch were bad sci-fi and horror films. Well this one still brings back memories of my youth. The movie is about a young guy who picks up a funky medallion and a ray gun. Then one day he goes berserk and runs amok blasting everything in sight. A sub-plot of the movie is about a couple of creepy looking aliens who speak a dialect that sounds like space-mandarin. The duo spend most of the movie's running time trying to find their lost toy. What will happen to the boy? Will the cheesy looking aliens find their little gizmo? To find out you'll have to watch LASERBLAST!!! The F/X, budget and acting is pure 70's cheese and I like it! and so will you! Recommended for a slow night. Watch it with some friends for total satisfaction!

To my surprise this is actually a Fullmoon movie, the company well known only for cheesy horror films. Apparently they do sci-fi even worse. Laserblast presently sits with a 2.6 rating on IMDB, which is astoundingly low. I didn't think for a second it would be that bad, it actually is. It tells the story of a young man who finds a laser cannon in the desert, after wielding it and the necklace that came with it he is periodically transformed into a creature hellbent on destruction. Looking at the cover you'd think the "Creature" was Gary Busey, in the film it's more an early Romero zombie. The special effects are embarassing even for the time, the plot is riddled with holes and the whole thing comes off amateurish. One of the worst films every made? No. Deserving of 2.6? Absolutely. The Good: Erm..... The Bad: Looks hideous Just can't take it seriously Things I Learnt From This Movie: Aliens are just giant turtles without shells who wear shiney gloves

Teenagers just want to have a little innocent fun, so when one of them comes across and alien weapon, he tries it out on a few people who aren't cool. This excites The Man, who want kids to be miserable. There's some nice stop-motion animation by Harry Walton, who seems to have come up with E.T. before Steven Spielberg thought of it. The other effects are a bit cheesier. Keenan Wynn does no favor to his long career of more than 140 features by appearing in this one.

This movie is seriously confusing, scenes that don't seem to belong together follow each other without transition or explanation. Who are these people? Why are they here? What i going on? No one knows. On top of that, the special effects are laughable, the characters are ill defined and the acting is bad. But, looking beyond all these criticisms, and they are valid, believe me, there is actually a rather watchable movie. We have the story of Billy who is turned into a monster that wanders the streets shooting things with a laser gun. Kind of like a sci-fi version of a werewolf story where the protagonist does not know he is the monster. Not to mention that the aliens that one would naturally assume to be evil, seem to be some kind of police officers chasing down the monster, a fun take on things I say. And of course, the whole thing is really rather campy which is appropriate. An added bonus on my copy were the trailers for several campy looking old movies.

I am one of those few who liked this movie. I was always reluctant to get this on DVD, but during a Full Moon Valentine's Day Sale, I bought it. A solid little cult sci-fi film with some decent special effects. I liked the development of Billy and how he slowly is possessed and driven completely mad. My only gripe with the movie has to do with the storytelling. How did the original alien in the beginning get on earth and why? Also, what was the deal with that alien being wanted from the other space aliens? That is never explained, however, it's easy to not think about it. Too many people take movies seriously these days. Time for people to lighten up and realize that movies don't have to be perfect in order to be fun. Glad Billy blows up a billboard with "Star Wars" on it! Take that Star Wars nerds!

I actually saw this in the theater when it came out. After all these years, I can still say it is the worst movie I have ever seen. And I LIKE campy, cheesy B-Movies! Look out Kraft; you are not the cheesiest. If you think the special effects are bad because the movie is old, think again. Sitting in the movie theater in 1978 my friend and I both thought the effects were the worst we'd ever seen. And the acting. And the plot(?). The filmography sucks. It's not even interesting like a train wreck. It's about as interesting as watching sidewalks crack. Without ants. At night. No moon. I could go on, but I've already put more creativity into this review than the movie had. And I'm not creative. I'd give it negative stars if possible. Ten black holes. I had to give it a one though, and that hurt. Bad movie. Anguishly bad. I still want my money back.

I cannot believe the low rating this film has. First of all, I have to give credit to the stop-motion animation. When I first saw this in 1978 in the theatre, I was impressed, just a touch below Harryhausen quality. Too bad if you disagree! Second, the adolescent setting is just fine. Teen angst, bullying, small-town doldrums in the 1970's. I remember the 70's and it was about this dirt-poor culturally. We didn't have Internet, plasma TV, cell phones, or CD's. We had portable tape players and we used pay phones. Third, you have to love Kim Milford's impression of a cooked Mark Hamill. Come on! Fourth, Eddie Deezen is about as annoying as you've ever seen him. High marks. Fifth, the story is good. Aliens returning for their lost weapon. Gives us all hope. I've seen the movie several times and it's always a satisfying time. 8 of 10