(NOTE: The capsule version of the review is available here.)
More experienced fans of science fiction cinema tend to know how certain movie would turn out based on the titles. Generally, movies with words that end with "-or" or "-er" tend to have very little with science fiction and instead offer display of poor special effects, inept acting and abysmal storytelling. However, even the most hardened veterans aren't likely to be prepared for such horrendous experience like Star Hunter, straight-to-video SF horror directed by Cole S. McKay and Fred Olen Ray.
Plot of the film deal with a race of rather nasty aliens whose idea of fun involves hunting and killing helpless creatures. One night group of high school football players and their cheerleaders return home from the lost game. Their bus makes a wrong turn and ends in the bad section of town, almost completely abandoned by their previous habitants. The only person they encounter is unusual looking gentleman by the name of Reicher (played by Roddy McDowall) who doesn't offer any help. Instead, he leads them to star hunter - space monster who wants to kill helpless humans one by one.
The special effects in this film are completely unconvincing, the dialogue is wooden and the protagonists so annoyingly one- dimensional and stupid that the viewers are going to start cheering for alien villain to finish them quickly and thus spare the audience of its misery. Alas, Cole S. McKay and Fred Olen Ray decided to take the more conventional route and even added completely unnecessary subplots involving some kind of good aliens whose effects are never to be seen in the film. Perhaps the idea was to have some kind of parody of Predator, but the moviemakers' ingenuity and sense of humour matched their low budget. Perhaps through its sheer badness Star Hunter could earn something of a cult status in the distant future. Until that time, the only way to enjoy this film is to consume mind-altering substances beforehand and in quantities that would seriously jeopardise someone's health. Star Hunter is simply not worthy of such risk.
RATING: 1/10 (--)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 18th 2002)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/29891-star-hunter?language=en-US
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