Stranded (Roger Christian, 2013)

Roger Christian. The man that gave us the hilarious 100 million dollar scifi sitcom Battlefield Earth – but also the masterful and intelligent 1982 classic The Sender, he’s back in business – probably with a lot of subliminal Scientology brainwashing – with a  bizarrely 90’s retro DTV production, a title - Stranded - only missing the name of Roger Corman before the title. It looks like the 90’s and it feels like the 90’s – my boyfriend thought it was a movie from the 90’s, it’s just that I was released this year.

I mean, I love stuff like this. For me it’s the ultimate DTV (= direct to video) art. It’s hardly original and more or less a mix between a lot of other classics in the genre, but still… dammit, it kinda works. It kinda works a lot better than it should. Maybe it’s because of the professionalism by Christian – or just that it rarely gets boring with a good old Alien-rip off!

Ark, a slightly rundown lunar base run by the edgy Col. Gerard Brauchman (Christian Slater), is suddenly hit by a meteorite shower! It fucks up the station badly and soon the air is running out! Within a couple of hours they will be dead and now they need to solve the situation! BUT… one of the meteorites has brought some evil, evil, EVIL spores aboard and they impregnate one character… and soon there’s a monster on the loose!

Stranded is a very generic and unoriginal slice of b-movie, but at the same time it feels refreshing that it dares to go so basic in the year 2013. It often looks very good – but cheap, the miniatures aren’t the best I’ve seen and the sets feel a bit wobbly – and they’ve done the atmosphere the right way. Imagine the paranoia of Carpenter’s The Thing, the basic story of Ridley Scott’s Alien, a dash of Roger Corman, a piece of the earlier movie titled Stranded (I’ve of course reviewed it!) and something that might an upcoming rip-off of Species 2.

How’s the gore then? It’s not much at all. It’s mostly bloody, but the effects are cool anyway – very rubbery, very practical (personally I don’t care if they’re CG or practical, but it’s always fun to see a movie that looks a lot older than it is). The ending sets up for a sequel – and it’s not even a hint, there must be a sequel! That one could be cool because the last visible version of the monster looks quite bizarre in a fleshy, slimy human-esque way.

Stranded is a movie for us who wants to relax, who wants to lean back and not think too much – but still prefer our exploitation a bit cheaper than the usual blockbusters. This is no Pandorum (a personal favorite), but a nice addition to the grotesque collection of generic DTV genre movies I have in my collection!

Comments

[Megatron]

"Roger Christian. The man that gave us the hilarious 100 million dollar scifi sitcom Battlefield Earth – but also the masterful and intelligent 1982 classic The Sender"

I haven´t seen any of those two yet, but of course I heard of Battlefield Earth(2000).

"It looks like the 90’s and it feels like the 90’s"

When I saw the trailer, I was thinking of a movie you love, Fred......Inseminoid(1981).

"Imagine the paranoia of Carpenter’s The Thing, the basic story of Ridley Scott’s Alien, a dash of Roger Corman, a piece of the earlier movie titled Stranded (I’ve of course reviewed it!) and something that might an upcoming rip-off of Species 2."

Some more Species sequels would be welcomed.

"This is no Pandorum (a personal favorite), but a nice addition to the grotesque collection of generic DTV genre movies I have in my collection!"

Try Eden Log(2007)as well, Fred, I think you will like it.

Good review and thanks.

[Fred Anderson]

I own Eden Log, but I never managed to watch through the first 10-15 minutes. Is it worth it?

Yeah, exactly! Inseminoid was a movie I also thought of when I saw Stranded :)

[Megatron]

Fred: Yes and no.....give it a shot, there are parts of this film that are similar to Pandorum(2009), but somehow I prefer Eden Log(2007), uneven but has that 1970´s (a little bit of a Soylent Green (1973) twist)thing going on.

Ah.....well....I haven´t seen Stranded (2013) yet, but something in the trailer.....reminded me of Inseminoid(1981).

[tobe]

One things for sure Inseminoid(1981)is way batter than this. Whats up with Christian Slaters career? No Mob Movies around? I feel sorry for him.

[Fred Anderson]

I think he has a good career. He works steadily, seems to feel good. That's the most important thing I guess.