Metalstorm vs. Spacehunter


I always get these two movies confused. Both have a similar aesthetic ["Mad Max" in space]. Both pair the hero with a teenage girl who would go on to become a star [Kelly Preston in "Metalstorm" and Molly Ringwald in "Spacehunter"]. Both were released in 1983. And the piz de resistance, they were both in 3D!

For those of you not familiar with "Spacehunter".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacehunter:_Adventures_in_the_Forbidden_ Zone

Both became Cinemax staples in the mid 80's, and while I wouldn't call either of them a classic, I do have a certain nostalgia attached to them.

’Cause there’s thunder in your heart... Every move is like lightning!

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I was into both films in the early 1980s also. I haven't seen Space Hunter since I was quite young, but am very familiar with Metalstorm. All I remember about Space Hunter is the cool opening sequence with the exploding spacecruiser, the garbage collection job that the guy had, the girls being gang-collected and Michael Ironside being a real nasty guy. Oh, and some long shot of a missle being fired into a structure. Hope to see it again one day.

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I have been on a "Cheesy 1980s Sci-Fi" kick lately, and have seen both movies via Netflix. Spacehunter is easily the better of the two. Metalstorm is so incoherent I had to go on Wikipedia after I watched it to figure out what was going on. I read the plot description and thought "wow, that sounds like an okay movie. I wish the one I actually saw made that much sense."

"These corporate bag munchers owe me $630 for my goddamn flex account!"

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Massive fan of Spacehunter here, so my comments will naturally be a bit biassed, but...

I can see how people may confuse the two, if they only saw each once a very long time ago.

There is an apocalyptic aspect, the music has a very similar basic structure (marching bass) and a few other very minor details... Oh, and yeah it was also done in 3D.
But therein the similarity ends.

For one, Spacehunter has quality actors. Maybe not the biggest stars ever, but those who have all gone on to very respectable careers. You look at the first four stars and all are household names.

Secondly, the budget - I'm guessing Metalstorm was around $2-3 million. Spacehunter had $14M and it really shows.

You look at the production crew - Fantasy II was the company who did the effects for things like Terminator 2. Ivan Reitman went on to things like Ghostbusters (taking Ernie Hudson with him). Don Carmody, Jack DeGovia, Tom Burman. This was intended as a big film and has only been dumped in the bin thanks to some really bad decisions enforced by the studio.

I first watched Metalstorm because a lot of people kept mentioning it in the same breath as Spacehunter. Both films appealed to me when I was seven, but only Spacehunter had enough appeal to remain particularly memorable.


The Spacehunter Forum:
http://spacehunter.phpbbhosts.co.uk/

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I always enjoyed SPACEHUNTER despite those ragged junk-mobile vehicles. Molly was hot and so were the captured girls who were stripped "slowwwww...lyyy...."

Sure, the action, creatures and props were nonsense, but the flick was fun and adventurous.

I saw the ads for METALSTORM and thought to see it, but it disappeared from theaters so fast I never had a chance -- and it never showed up on VHS or late-night TV anywhere I could see it.

Thanks to NETFLIX, I've finally been able to waste 2 hours and destroy brain cells that should have died decades ago. Perhaps my migraines will stop now?

Don't forget STARCRASH and BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS in your B-Movie blowout weekend!

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