Moontrap

While on a routine space mission, two astronauts (Walter Koenig and Bruce Campbell) encounter an ancient space ship, derelict, with the remains of a humanoid lifeform soon startling them. On board the ship, Koenig removes an alloy-based "cocoon" which we later observe holds a robotic entity that can take spare parts (mechanical or human) and build itself into a killer machine of enormous strength with laser weaponry quite dangerous tohuman civilization. There seems to be only malicious intent; this is proven when a NASA scientist attempts to communicate and reason with it. A moon mission is soon on the horizon after NASA soldiers do battle with the killer robot (Koenig eventually travels in a crawlspace above it to blast its head apart with a shotgun, ending the shootout), and Koenig and Campbell will finally be able to complete the astronaut dream. Both the ship and lifeform were 1400 years old!
***½

 

To me, the 1989 sci-fi thriller Moontrap is one of those little movies that could. It certainly allowed me to get one of those NASAgasms while watching it. I could watch the fictional (but imaginative, even if scientists/astronauts might poke holes in the scenes where Koenig and Campbell move a bit to fluidly and quickly while on the lunar surface) Moontrap alongside For All Mankind and feel quite satisfied. You get all the goodies expected while watching NASA astronauts on the moon, with the added delight of them contending with robotic dangers. The shuttle, orbiter, rover, and lunar lander, the NASA eye candy a fan comes to expect (and hope shows up) all make their appearance, and the plot uses them to take us into an elaborate story regarding an ancient civilization centuries previous who had machines, ship, and astronauts…a bit wild, but at least its unique and different. You have this large base and ceremonial hall (this seemed to me to be inspired by ancient Egypt) on the moon; hell, even humanoid skulls (reminded me of those animal skulls often found in the desert) are discovered by Koenig and Campbell. There’s an enclosed structure surrounded by skeletal remains, a hand-print device that opens it, and a type of hyperbaric chamber inside containing a humanoid woman, alive and well for centuries. I guess nitpicky folks might dispute how this wouldn’t have been spotted by others prior to Koenig and Campbell’s trip to the moon, but I’m willing to cut those who wrote the plot some slack because I just think the idea of an ancient civilization on the moon is rather nifty. Leigh Lombardi was the female humanoid from the past that falls in love (and vice versa) with Koenig. When Campbell is attacked by one of two gigantic killer robots on the moon, it will be up to Koenig to get him and Lombardi off the moon…they will get that when two of the robots takes them off to their repaired ship housing a mechanized attack force heading towards Earth (the lunar lander was the final addition to their ship needed to make it totally operational…this could be Koenig’s key to stopping them since it has an auto destruct mechanism). You might say, “Well that is convenient for them.” Well, the reason these two were taken to the ship were because their intended purpose was to function as “spare parts”!

A trip to the moon, an ancient civilization that once occupied the moon, robotic villains, and Walter Koenig as the film’s hero…what else do you need? For a small movie, this has an epic storyline to it, and I think the special effects are rather pleasantly surprising. I think this could be a real treat for those who have never seen it. It was for many of us in the early 90s when it hit home video. I can actually remember my first feeling when I rented it on VHS as a teen kid. It was Koenig’s name on the box that drew interest; that, and the plot involving the moon. I have been to the Huntsville Space Center twice in my life; once as a child, the second when I was in my twenties, and those unique feelings of eyeballing space history have never left me. I know it’s sentimental, nostalgic cliché, but when I watch Moontrap, I become a kid…or the kid in me comes alive and I get a thrill at what independent filmmakers can do, even with minuscule funds. It is so rare to see Koenig in such a substantial role, so this film has that for extra intrigue. A young Bruce Campbell, cocky and energetic as ever, in support of Koenig (this film is really a two-character film for the most part), also gives Moontrap leverage in the cult department.

 

This is an adult film. With plentiful profanity and even some tits, Moontrap isn’t altogether a kiddie film, but I can recall how marketable such a film is to teenage sci-fi geeks like I once was…and still am. See, I wrote a recent article on my blog regarding the decline and slow death of the Brick and Mortar Rental Store, and Moontrap and its ilk is the reason why. I can just remember the first time I saw the VHS box of The Quiet Earth, jonesing on just if the film could come close to what the poster art had to offer. Moontrap was the case where the film was even better than what I had anticipated. I know other 30/40 year olds who had the same experiences I did, with some films not able to live up to the VHS box, while others surpass expectations. I think Moontrap has remained with me because it was a prime example of that film that did surpass expectations. If you can get a copy of the film (it’s easier to do so more than ever before), I suggest giving it a shot…particularly if you like late 80s/early 90s sci-fi.