Everything Action Theater: Galaxy of Terror (1981)
Coming out in 1981, Galaxy of Terror was clearly trying to drift off the success of Alien in 1979, but it would help bring Aliens into existence by giving James Cameron and Bill Paxton some of their first jobs in Hollywood. Produced by the late, great Roger Corman, Galaxy of Terror follows the crew of the spaceship Quest, who are dispatched to a remote planet by the mysterious “Planet Master” on a rescue mission but find themselves stranded and facing all kinds of terrible threats based on their primal fears. Future horror icons Sid Haig and Robert Englund co-star with Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, and Taaffe O’Connell. James Cameron worked on the film as Production Designer and Second Unit Director and honed his filmmaking and special effects techniques. Galaxy of Terror is also where Cameron met Bill Paxton, who was working as a set dresser on the film. Galaxy of Terror may have also been one of the inspirations for Paul WS Anderson’s Event Horizon. You can watch Galaxy of Terror below, thanks to the Internet Archive.
