 |
| Images courtesy of VCI Entertainment |
Every now and again a film however large or small can and
often does generate a cult following vicariously through another intellectual
property with little to no affiliation to it other than a pictorial or sonic
sample. Particularly with electronic
artists whether it be Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Nine Inch Nails or Meat Beat
Manifesto, there’s usually a sound sample or a picture from some obscure
forgotten cult science-fiction/horror film in the music itself or thematically
there are kindred interests.
Such is the case of the Scottish electronic duo Boards of
Canada and their 1995 debut EP record Twoism which is notable for
featuring on the cover a key image from cult film producer-director-composer
Robert Emenegger and Allan Sandler’s 1980 sci-fi/horror cheapie Killings at
Outpost Zeta. Though the album Twoism
was a success, the project that inspired it still languishes in obscurity
for better or worse depending on your point of view. While not necessarily on par with Planet
of the Vampires or Alien in terms of extraterrestrial monsters
terrorizing a crew of astronauts scaling the planetary surface, its lo-fi
ambience and notable cast members still leaves a sleepily infectious
impression.
In the time-honored tradition of alien horror films ala It!
The Terror from Beyond Outer Space, a rescue team of astronauts organized
by Commander Craig (Paul Comi) is dispatched after several pathfinder teams sent
to investigate the planet Zeta go missing.
The plan is to colonize and cleanse Zeta’s unbreathable atmosphere of sulfuric
gases, but with up to twelve people missing a team comprised of medical doctor
Linda Saunders (Jaqueline Ray), biologist Dr. Carol Sisco (Hildy Brooks), officers
Sigmund (Stanley Wojno) and Gore (Jackson Bostwick) is thrown together replete
with body bags on the chance someone may die on the dangerous mission.
Despite early warning signs including a bloody capsule
imploring any and all turn back, the crew lands on the outpost and discovers
the dead missing pathfinders vampirically drained dry of their blood. Not long after (seen via fish-eye lensed
first person POV shots), the crew is terrorized by an unseen alien creature
which seems to be blending into the rocky terrain of Zeta ala Apollo 18 and
its moon rock monsters. Later in a frank
lift from Forbidden Planet, a protective laser fence is installed to
ward off the alien attackers which we learn were previously a peaceful species
of creature until invasive human expeditions gradually made them hostile.
Pretty much made for easy television exhibition with next to
no gore, no real sex or violence to speak of while still feeling like the
filmmakers walked off the sets of Galaxy of Terror or Forbidden World
with their own costumes and cameras, Killings at Outpost Zeta is the
product of what became known on television as the Sandler/Emenegger team responsible
for such sci-fi oriented fare as the 1974 documentary film UFOs: Past,
Present and Future narrated by none other than Rod Serling.
While clearly cheap and the kind of thing you’d
scroll past on cable TV in the wee hours of the morning, the film as such is
better remembered for its dreamy spacey ambient electronic keyboard soundtrack
by co-director and conceptualist Emenegger which can easily be found
online. Hearing the soundtrack while
glossing through still photos of the film suggest a spacey Delta Space
Mission by way of Rock and Rule sort of starfield phantasmagoria and
sleepy spookiness.
Unfortunately the actual film which did get a standalone VHS
release in both 1987 and 1989 while now being a Tubi and Vudu streaming
exclusive is kind of a sleepy slog.
Though running a brisk ninety-two minutes, Killings at Outpost Zeta tends
to meander and never fully engages as a thriller or science fiction. Still the costumes, set design of the
spaceship and score by Emenegger will invariably draw curious Boards of Canada fans
and cult sci-fi aficionados in for a peek. The film’s cinematography by Jose Luis Mignone
who also worked on the cult horror film Frogs with its orangey surface
photography of desert landscapes with sulfuric smog bubbling out looks fine
enough though the source material remains blurry and damaged.
More of a music video piece with traces of floaty ambient
soundscapes that would grow more prominent with the rise of IDM music in the
1990s than an outright horror film, Killings at Outpost Zeta ostensibly
is a cult project for the works it would later inspire yet sadly the actual
film isn’t all that much to write home about.
Co-producer Ann Spielberg’s brother Steven would go on to do many great
things, but even that association only goes so far. In the scheme of interplanetary monster
movies Killings at Outpost Zeta is one of the weaker ones but if you see
the soundtrack album on vinyl record store shelves, buy it with confidence
immediately!
--Andrew Kotwicki
