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| Images courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome |
Second unit assistant director James Fargo who worked on
everything from The Andromeda Strain to Duel and several Clint
Eastwood westerns got his first big break with his directorial debut of Eastwood’s
Dirty Harry film The Enforcer before trying his hand at the big
screen epic spectacle Caravans and serving up the goofy Eastwood comedy Every
Which Way but Loose. A director with
a checkered career that segued with Chuck Norris and eventually veered towards
music videos and television, in 1984 the stock trade film worker tried his hand
at maybe the wackiest yet most enjoyable film of his career, When the Rain
Begins to Fall or as it is more commonly known Voyage of the Rock Aliens.
In deep space, a team of aliens (comprised of the band RHEMA)
are combing the corners of the universe trying to locate the origins of the
so-called term “Rock n’ Roll”. Zeroing in
on free spirited glam high school singer DeeDee (Pia Zadora) and her hotheaded
greaser boyfriend Frankie (Craig Sheffer) who are clamoring to become the top
rock sensation of their small town of Speelburgh (get it, Spielberg?), the
aliens land and begin rolling out their own brand of New Age synth infused rock
upon the townsfolk. Somehow or another,
the alien presence and battles between their music and the greaser rockabilly 1950s
styled bands sets off a bizarre chain of events including but not limited to
chainsaw wielding asylum inmates running amok, musical numbers that take place
in bathrooms and a horny old sheriff on the hunt for UFOs.
A film that provided a redemption arc for Pia Zadora who
went from being a “bad actress” starring in tawdry movies like Butterfly and
The Lonely Lady to gifted singer and musical performer as well as featuring
an inspired goofy Greaser performance from Craig Sheffer and unlikely cameos from
The Hills Have Eyes icon Michael Berryman and Oscar winner Ruth Gordon, Voyage
of the Rock Aliens is at once high camp and a nostalgic time capsule
parodying Grease with the synthetic sound of the future ala Electric Dreams. Immediately not taking
itself seriously with imagery such as a spaceship shaped like a guitar drifts
through the vastness of space while the title track by Pia Zadora and
songwriter Jermaine Jackson blares on the soundtrack, the film is ostensibly a
sci-fi musical comedy with its tongue firmly planted in cheek.
While not nearly as bonkers as the Cannon Films’ vehicle The Apple, at times this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink romp tightrope walking
1950s and 1980s styles of music comes pretty close to rivaling Golan-Globus’
insanity. Replete with a giant octopus
that engulfs the high school shown as a cheesy inflatable prop, ridiculous
costumes that feel loosely inspired by Michael Jackson by way of Devo, and a
catchy soundtrack featuring needle drops by Neil Sedaka, Jimmy & the
Mustangs, Mark Spiro and more, Voyage of the Rock Aliens is the Casio
keyboard definition of a beer and pizza film.
A spoof as well as a gonzo cult film with structural leanings towards
the plot free musical comedy exercises Forbidden Zone and UHF, this
is truly a one-of-a-kind exercise in the campy batshit musical.
Firstly, the film for being a low budget camp comedy musical
is lensed by none other than the legendary British cinematographer Gilbert
Taylor who shot everything from Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove to
Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night, giving the production a certain
pedigree not enjoyed by other like-minded pictures. The soundtrack by German music producer Jack
White (not the one you’re thinking of) offers up serviceable interspersal
between the main musical numbers which are performed by the aforementioned
bands.
Pia Zadora whose name and reputation got dragged through the
mud by her husband’s soft-porn dramas Butterfly and The Lonely Lady in
one fell swoop dusts herself off and proceeds to overcome her stigma with
confidence. Not to say she’s a terrific
actress or anything but she more than makes you forget about those misbegotten
iterations. Craig Sheffer in his first
alien movie (the other being Fire in the Sky) gives a delightfully hammy
performance as the greaser boyfriend seeing his girl drift away from him for a
new extraterrestrial beau. Tom Nolan
from Fast Times at Ridgemont High plays the main alien captain Absid who
begins to fall for DeeDee and he makes the pink costumed alien into a hilariously
otherworldly creature who doesn’t quite understand humanity but is eager to
learn.
Hastily tested in theaters in the US before appearing on VHS
while Europe got a full-blown theatrical release, the film amassed cult revival
viewings via platforms such as HBO. None
of the releases on home video were considered watchable but as always the dedicated
folks at Vinegar Syndrome have souped up this underrated gem with a new 2K scan
of the 35mm interpositive and a slightly upgraded 5.1 mix (listed as 2.0 stereo
on the box). Remaining as difficult to pin
down now as it was when unsuspecting audiences and cable subscribers first got
wind of it, Voyage of the Rock Aliens is a time capsule, a goofy yet
effects heavy riff on the camp sci-fi musical and a vehicle for Pia Zadora to truly
shine onscreen. Hard to not have silly
fun with this one.
--Andrew Kotwicki
