Cosmic Sin (Saban Films, 2021), Empire of the Apes (Polonia Brothers
Entertainment, 2013), and Dune Drifter (4Digital Media, 2020)

This is Part III of a new, 20-film marathon. The rules:

Must include aliens
Cannot take place on Earth
I haven’t seen it before
Free to stream

Cosmic Sin (2021) Netflix

Aliens? Alien… zombies…? Not sure.

CGI heavy? Plenty, with varying degrees of success.

Any good? A bit of a disappointment, really. I loved Bruce Willis once upon a time. Loved him I tells you. So it’s doubly sad to see him limp through the last decade or so, phoning in performances and generally not having a good time.

This film is no exception, but Bruce is the least of its problems — there’s the germ of a great idea about genocide and first contact, but the film doesn’t deliver, instead falling back on Frank Grillo scowling his way through some firefights.

Speaking of which, I really can’t stand sci-fi films set so far in the future (400 years in this case), where everyone still drives trucks and uses bullets. The Fifth Element (set in 2263) depicts a much more believable future, and a much more jovial Bruce. Oh well, I hope his patio extension was worth it.

Space score: 5/10

Empire of the Apes (2013) Tubi

Aliens? Some arseholes in ape masks and trench coats.

CGI heavy? Mostly practical.

Any good? Just when I thought Savage Planet was as bad as it gets, this steaming pile turns up. Shot on the cheapest camcorder they could find, featuring no one who can act, special effects so bad they border on pastiche, rubbish script, terrible costumes, awful sound design. I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with at least one positive thing to say, but I can’t.

Utter dog shit.

Space score: 0/10

Dune Drifter (2020) Tubi

Aliens? Big bug things and humanoid baddies called Drekks.

CGI heavy? Lots, plus miniatures, and all well done.

Any good? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you have to dig through a lot of crap to find the gold, but patience can be rewarding.

The director, Marc Price, is known for micro-budget horror movies (see Colin), but he is given a bit more money to play with with here, and he puts it all onscreen. He wears his fanboy badges proudly, kicking off with a great Star Warsy first act, before dipping a toe into Enemy Mine territory, and the lead, Phoebe Sparrow, is fantastic.

A highlight was the sound design, really good stuff, and there were even shades of No Man’s Sky through the ever present HUD voice helpfully reminding the protagonist what trouble she’s in. The third act peters out a bit, and a bit more cash might have resulted in more interesting alien antagonists, but on the whole, a solid bit of sci- fi.

Space score: 8/10

Cat-Women of the Moon (Astor Pictures, 1953)

Cat-Women of the Moon (1953) Tubi

Aliens? Cat-women, giant hairy Uni-spiders.

CGI heavy? Heck no — some lovely matte paintings though.

Any good? An early-fifties B-movie full of dubious science? A concept as daft as a bag of badgers? This can’t be any good, can it?

Surprise, surprise, it’s great! The script is actually pretty good, everyone is committed to their roles, and it’s great to have a female lead that isn’t totally helpless.

I dug it.

Space score: 7/10

Sol Invictus (Event Horizon Entertainment, 2021) and Screamers (Triumph Films, 1995)

Sol Invictus (2021) Prime

Aliens? Space-scorpions, space-octopus

CGI heavy? Yep, mainly just for the creatures.

Any good? Almost. The filmmakers did what they could with a micro-budget and some empty beaches in North Carolina. The story follows a group of teenage boys marooned on an alien planet during a futuristic tournament, and having to survive against the elements and each other. So far, so Lord of the Flies, but there are a couple of interesting ideas in the mix.

Unfortunately, the acting isn’t great, and the editing is a bit off, and I found myself looking at my phone more than once.

Space score: 6/10

Screamers (1995) Prime

Aliens? Sentient robot arseholes, rock bugs.

CGI heavy? No, but some great miniatures, matte paintings and stop-motion!

Any good? I wanted to end the watch-a-thon on a high note and with something shot on film featuring established actors, so this hits the spot. Peter Weller in a Dan O’Bannon scripted sci-fi horror is an intoxicating idea, and for the most part, it delivers.

There’s a few too many one dimensional characters in it (Roy Dubois chews more scenery than the killer robots), but the effects are solid, it all looks good and the score is great. A fun way to conclude what has ultimately been a bit of a disappointing project.

Space score: 8/10

Previous Murkey Movie surveys from Neil Baker include:

Alien Overlords, Part I
Alien Overlords, Part II
Biggus Footus
I Like Big Bugs and I Cannot Lie
The Weird, Weird West
Warrior Women Watch-a-thon

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Neil Baker’s last article for us was Part II of Alien Overlords. Neil spends his days watching dodgy movies, most of them terrible, in the hope that you might be inspired to watch them too. He is often asked why he doesn’t watch ‘proper’ films, and he honestly doesn’t have a good answer. He is an author, illustrator, outdoor educator and owner of April Moon Books (AprilMoonBooks.com).