kyle_sund The Killer Tomatoes have nothing on the Terrornauts. This could very well be the worst movie ever made. I think among my favorite moments is the flimsy space fortresses appendages flopping all around during the something-less-than-epic space battle. It's also a very well known fact that any good attacking spaceship should have a flip open front end and weak red light as a weapon. Luckily, our intrepid space travelers have their custom swim caps to see them through. Particularly impressive, the aluminum funnel budget. Valuable lessons of science and space to be gleaned from The Terrornauts: Not only does fire burn in space, but the laws of temperature and gravity still apply. Smoke goes up, spaceship parts fall down. Finally, carrying incredible feminist overtones, one learns that a woman is definitely required to properly fire a defensive space missile. Good clean fun for the whole family.

MartianOctocretr5 This is a film great for riffing MST3K style (although I don't believe they ever ran this). It doesn't really seem to be taking itself very seriously, and almost plays like the cast & crew made it as an inside joke.The early part of the story shows some enthusiastic astronomers trying to contact extra terrestrial life with radio signals, and this scene is played straight. When they finally do establish contact with somebody out there, however, things get weird and silly in a hurry. They are abducted to some alien fort long-since abandoned except by a robot that bounces and shakes around a lot when it moves. One of the oddest monsters appears, and it all reminded me of a Dr. Who episode that was on a very low budget. Soon the abductees, including not one but two comedy relief characters, learn that they must save the universe. There is a battle scene that looked almost as real as when two kids play with toy soldiers. If you need a good laugh, see this nonsense.

ShadeGrenade I used to have a schoolfriend named Eddie Donnelly whose favourite programme was 'The Tomorrow People'. After viewing the latest episode, he, along with his sister Esther and younger brother Graham, would retreat to the spare room to continue the adventure. His 'jaunting' belts were bits of string. 'TIM' the super intelligent computer was a broken cassette player, flex twisted round the light fitting. His mother's hairdryer became a ray-gun. 'The Galactric Trig' was the ironing cupboard at the top of the stairs. Eddie would, naturally, be John, the group's leader. A typical session went as follows: "We have a new assignment!", Eddie would say: "We must go to the planet Carlgor-5!". Touching their bits of string, the trio then ran downstairs to the kitchen, and out the back door into the weed-infested garden. This was Eddie's idea of Carlgor-5. As smoke wafted over the fence from next door's bonfire, he said: "We must be careful. The natives here are savage! Come, let us search for the legendary Crystal of Kronos which has mind-bending properties! If the Thargs get to it first, the universe is theirs!". At which point, the chimes of a Mr.Whippy ice cream van could be heard, and Eddie was left to finish the quest alone while the others went to nag their mother for money for cornets.I was reminded of Eddie and his intergalactic exploits while watching 'The Terrornauts' recently. It is a cheap sci-fi movie made by Amicus, the only British studio to rival Hammer in the '60's. After enjoying success with movies based on 'Dr.Who', Milton Subotsky and Max J.Rosenberg purchased the rights to a novel called 'The Wailing Asteroid' by Murray Leinster, hiring sci-fi author John Brunner to adapt it. It opens at the headquarters of 'Project Star Talk', whose purpose is to search for extra-terrestrial beings with a radio telescope. Dr.Joe Burke ( Simon Oates ), the head of the project, is told by his frosty superior ( Max Adrian ) that the funding will soon be stopped unless results are obtained soon. Well, wouldn't you know it, suddenly signals are being picked up from the heavens. A space ship uses a tractor beam to tear the project building out of the ground and transport it through space to an an alien vessel parked on an asteroid. As well as Burke, there is also his girlfriend Sandy ( Zena Marshall, 'Miss Taro' in 'Dr.No' ), another scientist played by Stanley Meadows, and - if you can believe this - Charles Hawtrey as an accountant named Joshua Yellowlees and Patricia Hayes as tea lady Mrs.Jones! The group are subjected to intelligence tests by a robot looking like a cross between a Dalek and an upturned ice cream cone. Passing the tests, they discover the real reason for their abduction - the Earth is about to be attacked by an alien race and only they can stop them! I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. The cast helps, obviously. Oates went on to play 'Dr.John Ridge' in the B.B.C.'s sci-fi drama 'Doomwatch', and in a small role is Richard Carpenter, later to create the classic children's shows 'Catweazle' and 'The Ghosts Of Motley Hall'. The whole thing has an amateur look to it which I found endearing. The Terrornauts themselves are green-skinned creatures whose sense of gallantry is non-existent - as soon as Sandy arrives amongst them, they try and sacrifice her! The alien space fleet looks like a lot of Zoom ice lollies flying about in space. Having sat through umpteen mega-buck Hollywood bores, this unpretentious romp is the ideal antidote. It was directed by Monthgomery Tully, also responsible for another guilty sci-fi pleasure - 'Battle Beneath The Earth' ( 1967 ) in which the Red Chinese attempt to conquer America by means of underground tunnels full of atomic bombs.I don't know if Eddie ever saw this on television but I reckon he and his brother and sister could have pulled off a recreation with remarkable ease.

ClassixFan OK, I am a big Amicus fan and for years, I searched for this film, it was almost like the 'Holy Grail' for me, as far as Amicus films went. Finally, I received a copy of this film and let me just say, it didn't disappoint. The wonderful thing about this film is, it doesn't take itself seriously, it offers the purest form of entertainment and delivers. I do believe when the film began, it was to be a fully serious sci-fi effort, but once the film location changes to space, it's more camp and definitely a lot of fun. I just adore Mrs. Jones and Mr. Yellowlees, they bring a sense of fun to the film that it might never have enjoyed, without their characters. At times, the film has an almost; Dr. Who feel to it, with some of the creatures we see and the colors glow with the 60s look. I can't recommend this film as a serious sci-fi film, but if you're in the mood for innocent and enjoyable fun with a film, this is the film for you!