Prison Ship
Prison Ship, also known as Star Slammer, is a 1986 American science fiction film directed by Fred Olen Ray. It is also known as Starslammer: The Escape and Prison Ship Star Slammer.
| Prison Ship | |
|---|---|
_Film_Poster.jpg.webp) | |
| Directed by | Fred Olen Ray |
| Produced by | Fred Olen Ray Jack H. Harris |
| Written by | Miriam L. Preissel & Michael Sonye and Fred Olen Ray (original story) Michael Sonye (screenplay by) |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Anthony Harris |
| Cinematography | Paul Elliott |
| Edited by | Miriam L. Preissel |
Production company | Viking International Pictures Worldwide Entertainment Corporation |
| Distributed by | Jack H. Harris Enterprises |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $175,000[1] |
Plot
On the planet Arous, the miner Taura is forced to defend herself against the marauding starship captain, Bantor. During their struggle, Taura causes Bantor to lose his hand in a volcanic acid plume. Taura is subsequently sentenced to a term aboard the prison ship, Vehemence, under the sadistic female warden, Exene. She finds life amid the other female inmates tough, but soon, gains their respect, making a friend in Mike. Bantor then comes aboard Vehemence, now deranged as a result of losing his hand, seeking to obtain a mind control process that reduces the prisoners to zombies. His arrival proves to be Taura’s chance to escape the prison ship or "star slammer" and return to home planet of Arous. [2]
Cast
- Sandy Brooke as Taura
- Susan Stokey as Mike
- Marya Gant as Warden Exene
- Ross Hagen as Bantor
- Dawn Wildsmith as Muffin
- Richard Alan Hench as Garth
- Michael D. Sonye as Krago
- Mimi Monaco as Squeeker
- Jade Barrett as Dr Po
- Lindy Skyles as The Sovereign
- Johnny Legend as Zaal
- Aldo Ray as The Inquisitor
- John Carradine as The Judge
Production
The film was shot at Roger Corman's New World studio on Main Street in Venice, California. Fred Olen Ray rented the studio for two weekends (four days). One day he spent shooting scenes for his film Biohazard. The other three days were spent filming footage for Prison Ship. Ray says he was inspired by Roger Corman making The Terror using left over sets from The Raven. Aldo Ray was hired for one day's work. Ray then used this footage to raise money to complete the picture. Funds were raised from Jack H. Harris.[1] The film has a scene,with the monster of "The Deadly Spawn".[3] The film is divided into chapters.
Reception
In Creature Feature, the movie received one out of five stars, calling the movie "hilariously bad," citing the script as the main problem[4] Austin Trunick writing for the website "Under the Radar" stated: "Star Slammer was shot quickly and on the cheap, but has far better production values than similar, bottom shelf sci-fi or women in prison flicks from the era. It hits most of the notes you’d expect from the genres – extraterrestrial dwarfs, robots, cat fights, a sadistic (female) warden, and forced combat".[5]
References
- Fred Olen Ray, The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors, McFarland 1991 p 180-183
- http://www.moriareviews.com/sciencefiction/adventures-of-taura-prison-ship-star-slammer-1986.htm
- Star Slammer reuses the many-toothed monster from The Deadly Spawn (1982).
- Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: Third Edition
- Trunick, Austin. "Star Slammer". Under the Radar. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
External links
- Prison Ship at IMDb
- Review of film at Moria