Review of Saturn 3 (1980) by Jeff B — 07 Jan 2015

Ive never understood the reason people dont rate this movie. The movie is really a psychological thriller about a sociopath given too much power over a couple in a remote location, but set in space. effects wise, the movie goes for an update of the 1970s b movie genre and manages to create a sinister oppressive feel to the environment that adds to the overall isolation.

Terrible editing and not enough pacing ruin the first half of the movie with conversations being dubbed badly and edited to move them along, stealing impact from the dramatic overtones of the first meeting between the scientists and Captain Benson, but its the Frankenstein monster robot, Hector, that makes this movie.

for 1980, the only comparable movie effect of its type was Alien. the 9 foot robot is particularly menacing at times, learning from the sociapathic tendencies of Harvey Kietel as he lust after Farah Fawcett and ends up giving Hector a murderous streak that leads to Benson's death.

All in all, I found it a rare gem in a time period that was filled with many b movies which fared better (Battle beyond the Stars, Battlestar Galactica, etc...) At least this was an attempt at making something much more original for the time whilest most film companies were responding to Star Wars by releasing any old tripe.