Throwback Thursday: Laserblast (1978)

“Billy, why can’t you be more ordinary?”

A teenage loner stumbles upon a powerful laser cannon in the desert and becomes possessed by it in 1978’s Laserblast. The film was directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band. It starred Kim Milford as Billy, Cheryl Smith as Kathy, Roddy McDowall in a small role as Dr. Mellon and a ton of strong character actors at different stages in their career. It also featured makeup by Steve Neill and stop-motion animation by David W. Allen, a longtime effects man for Charles Band.

In the film, an unnamed man is being hunted by a pair of aliens. He is in possession of a laser cannon and has taken on a monstrous appearance. The man is killed by the aliens when they catch up to him in the desert. After killing him, the aliens leave the planet. They also leave behind the laser cannon. After having a really bad day, Billy stumbles upon the cannon in the desert, places it on his arm, and begins to pretend firing it. He also finds an amulet that when worn by the person holding the cannon, he discovers, fires strong laser blasts. From there, Billy slowly begins to transform into a monstrous being like the man at the beginning of the film and he and the laser go on a rampage of revenge against those that have done Billy wrong. The aliens return to Earth to stop Billy and collect the cannon and a federal agent and Billy’s girlfriend also go on the hunt. Can Billy be stopped? Watch Laserblast to find out!

I wasn’t aware of this film until I heard about it on a recent episode of the Pop Ninja Podcast. I decided to give it a shot. It’s not completely terrible but it won’t win any major awards, either. Kim Milford seems to be going through the motions in the film. As he spirals into insanity, his behavior becomes more erratic. He also likes to shake his fists and growl at the sky for some odd reason. As far as the rest of the cast is concerned, they aren’t all that bad. Cheryl Smith does a decent job as Billy’s girlfriend, Kathy. Gianni Russo plays the federal agent, Tony Craig, straight and to the point. Roddy McDowall does just fine as the doctor. The rest of the cast is stacked with amazing characters actors. The film is Eddie Deezen’s screen debut. Most people will know him from films like Grease, Critters 2: The Main Course, and WarGames. Keenan Wynn portrayed Colonel Farley. He was a prolific character actor with over 250 acting credits. Of the rest of the supporting cast, Dennis Burkley is perhaps the most recognizable. He’s appeared in over 135 films and television shows. He primarily appeared as mechanics, bikers, bartenders, dirty cops, and blue collar workers.

The special effects are television movie quality at best. The makeup is okay. The real gem is the stop-motion animation by David W. Allen. The alien creatures look like tortoises without their shells. They move about a bit sluggishly and aren’t the brightest beings in the galaxy, but they look great. The direction by Rae is sufficient. He wouldn’t direct again until 2005, when he would helm two films, Imago and Aliens Gone Wild. Charles Band has produced over 350 films, directed over eighty films, and written over sixty films. Some of the best known projects that he has been a part of include Trancers, Puppet Master, Fists Of Fury, and Mandroid. While he and Rae definitely made the film with a minimal budget, Allen lifted it up to another level.

Is Laserblast worth checking out at least one time? Sure. Some folks will appreciate the stop-motion animation and others will love seeing so many brilliant character actors in the same film. Overall, however, Laserblast is just okay.

Thanks for checking out my post. See you again real soon!