10 Films That Wanted To Be Alien

9. Galaxy Of Terror

Shortly before getting his first directing gig on Piranha II: The Spawning (1981), James Cameron worked as production designer on this low-rent cheapie, and if you didn’t know it was a Roger Corman production you’d be able to guess by all the sleaze.

Set mostly on a spaceship, Galaxy Of Terror still finds room for a gratuitous shower sequence and as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a scene where a female crew member is stripped and raped by a giant maggot-like creature. Having previously ripped off Alien with Humanoids Of The Deep’s climactic birth sequence, the economy-loving Corman must’ve figured the formula wasn’t broke so why fix it.

As well as Cameron’s involvement, the movie’s worth seeing for a cast that includes a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund, Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects) and Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks). At 81 minutes, this cult oddity hardly outstays its welcome.

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Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'