Starship Invasions (1977)

Director: Ed Hunt

Starring: Robert Vaughn, Christopher Lee, Daniel Pilon, Tiiu Leek, Helen Shaver, Henry Ramer, Victoria Johnson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: We know they are there - advanced beyond our imagination. Why have they come?

Plot: Captain Rameses and his Legion of the Winged Serpent brigade are out to claim Earth for their dying race. Out to save Earth is an alien guard patrol located in the Bermuda Triangle, the League of Races. LOR leaders warn Rameses that he's breaking galactic treaty rules. The alien villain responds by launching an invasion which telepathically drives Earthlings to suicide. The LOR implore UFO expert Professor Duncan to help them. Eventually, the two alien forces battle. Will the Earth be saved?

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? Nope.

#22 on SCI-FI TRAILERS VOLUME 9 & 10 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)


MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!! Yes, the Earth will be saved. END OF SPOILERS!!!


The screenshots suggest a fun, cheesy sci-fi flick but when the images move in front of your eyes you're in disbelief that this was made and released (or did it escape?). Clearly there wasn't much of a budget. I give them points for doing what they could with the special effects but the alien costumes are juvenile and silly.


Gil Melle's score sounds like it was written for a made-for-TV movie which made me think, judging by the costumes and budget, that this was a TV movie. I was stunned to see afterward that it wasn't but Melle was almost exclusively a TV composer. Writer/Director Hunt did a few things including something I'm about to watch right now called, FLYING SAUCERS ARE REAL! (1979). I just LOVE 70s documentaries about silly things like this. Can...not...wait to finish writing this so I can watch it.


I'll give Hunt some credit for STARSHIP because it feels earnest and that he's trying to make a good, modern alien invasion flick but so many of the film's elements fall short which makes the picture as a whole, uh, not so good. I was expecting another typical Robert Vaughn performance but he's just enough on this side of relaxed that I kind of liked him for a change. He's usually an arrogant asshole but he's like a regular nice guy in this picture. Christopher Lee...wow.


His look there pretty much sums it up. I'd love to find out the circumstances of his involvement in this picture. Was it the money? Was it the chance to do some sci-fi? STAR WARS was released less than 5 months before this one so they were probably filming this a little earlier than that. Maybe it was rushed once SW started kicking box office ass. Beats me. All I know is I won't get my 89 minutes back. It's really cheesy and sometimes boring but I think watching this with a fun group of friends might do it better justice. 1970s UFO documentary, here I come!