Laserblast | |
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Directed by | Michael Rae |
Written by |
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Produced by | Charles Band |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Terry Bowen |
Edited by | Jodie Copelan |
Music by | |
Production company | Charles Band Productions |
Distributed by | Irwin Yablans Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Laserblast is a 1978 American independent science fiction film directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, widely known for producing B movies. Starring Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith and Gianni Russo, featuring Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall, and marking the screen debut of Eddie Deezen, the plot follows an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him.
The reptilian alien creatures in the film were works of stop motion animation by animator David W. Allen, beginning a decades-long collaboration between Allen and Band. The featured alien spacecraft model was designed and built by Greg Jein in two weeks, and the musical score was written in five days by Joel Goldsmith and Richard Band, the first film score for both composers.
Laserblast has received overwhelmingly negative reviews and consistently ranks among the Bottom 100 list of films on the Internet Movie Database. Many critical reviews, however, cited Allen's stop motion animation as one of its only redeeming qualities. A sequel was planned for 1988, but was ultimately abandoned due to financial difficulties. Laserblast was featured in the seventh season finale of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, marking the show's final episode on Comedy Central before the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel.