Gefangene im Weltraum (1986)

Gefangene im Weltraum: Directed by Fred Olen Ray. With Sandy Brooke, Suzy Stokey, Ross Hagen, Marya Gant. Two women who have been unjustly confined to a prison planet plot their escape, all the while having to put up with lesbian guards, crazed wardens and mutant rodents.

“The appealing Sandy Brooke plays Taura, an Amazonian miner who is targeted by a bad guy named Bantor (Ross Hagen), a sadistic government agent. She is sentenced by a judge (John Carradine, in a VERY quick cameo) to prison time on a spaceship, the u0026quot;Star Slammeru0026quot; of the title. She earns the respect of fellow inmates such as u0026quot;Mikeu0026quot; (Suzy Stokey), and gets on the bad side of the kinky warden (Marya Gant) and her eyepatch wearing henchwoman u0026quot;Muffinu0026quot; (Dawn Wildsmith).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s definitely something to be said for movies by the likes of Fred Olen Ray, the director here. Thereu0026#39;s a complete lack of pretension, as Ray seeks to do no more than entertain the viewers, albeit in a low budget, cheesy way. Heu0026#39;s essentially doing a W.I.P. (Women In Prison) exploitation feature, transposed to a science-fiction environment. Thereu0026#39;s unfortunately no shower scene, but there are the expected catfights, and the attractive female cast shows some of the goods while dressed in stylized, skimpy costumes. The gore and creature effects are wonderfully tacky; be on the lookout for a cameo by the monster in u0026quot;The Deadly Spawnu0026quot;. Sets, special effects and music all do a suitable job of maintaining interest for a cult-movie loving crowd. Also look for a quick shot from John Carpentersu0026#39; u0026quot;Dark Staru0026quot; and space battle footage bodily lifted from u0026quot;Battle Beyond the Starsu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStokey (who does her own harmonica playing at one point) and Brooke are engaging heroines, while Hagen, Gant, and Wildsmith all relish the chance to tear into the scenery. Aldo Ray is kind of wasted as a mutated sadist dubbed The Inquisitor, but at least he gets more screen time than Carradine. Screenwriter Michael Sonye (a.k.a. Dukey Flyswatter) also plays the supporting role of Bantorsu0026#39; flunky Krago. Johnny Legend gives a positively goofy performance as the wandering priest Zaal. Director Ray and Jack H. Harris, who produced the picture with him, have voice-only cameos.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile not one of Raysu0026#39; best, u0026quot;Star Slammeru0026quot; (a.k.a. u0026quot;The Adventures of Taura: Prison Ship Star Slammeru0026quot;) shows fans of schlock a good time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSeven out of 10.”