Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		1.0
Audio		1.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Moontrap Blu-ray Movie Review

Poor A/V quality hinders a trip down memory lane.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 21, 2014

It's been almost a decade since Blu-ray made its debut, but it has just now officially arrived with the release of Moontrap, perhaps the poster child for obscure genre cinema. It's a film some may remember playing late-nights on HBO waaaaay back in the day, or maybe on a cruddy old six-hour VHS tape sandwiched between recordings of The Package and Short Time (talk about a movie that needs a release). Olive Films has released the old favorite, no doubt unseen by many fans with fond memories for some years now, onto Blu-ray with a remastered transfer. The bad news is that despite the "remastered" billing the movie looks (and sounds) bad. The good news is that, other than its widescreen formatting, it looks pretty much like it did on that well-loved VHS tape from decades past. Score one for nostalgia. Make that two points, because this Blu-ray release of Moontrap needs all the loving it can get.

"Guns on the moon."

While in space, Astronauts Jason Grant (Walter Koenig) and Ray Tanner (Bruce Campbell) make a startling discovery: a centuries-old derelict spacecraft and a human being's decomposed body. They return the body and a mysterious alien orb back to Earth for study. Analysis shows the body to be 14,000 years old. Suddenly, the alien probe awakens and, using the materials around it -- including the body -- it creates a dangerous cyborg that attempts to kill any humans that get in its way. Fortunately, it's destroyed before it can cause too much damage. Grant and Tanner, now heavily armed, are ordered back to the moon where they make additional discoveries and unravel an alien plot to invade Earth.

Moontrap won't be remembered for much of anything beyond starring two cult-favorite standouts of the Horror and Science Fiction genres. Bruce Campbell, known worldwide for his portrayal of "Ash" in the Evil Dead franchise, and Walter Koenig, one of the faces of the original television and film Star Trek bridge crew, play side-by-side as astronauts forced into the dangerous business of fighting off ancient aliens from the moon. Sometimes, a little star power can go a long way. Campbell and Koenig share a fun, believable screen chemistry, throwing verbal jabs like old brothers but sharing a bond formed of shared experiences and sights unseen by most every other human who ever lived, or who ever lived in the last 14,000 years. Their parts don't stretch them particularly far, but they do handle the somewhat diverse story requirements well, from general astronaut business to that familiar ribbing, from wielding guns on the moon to studying unbelievable artifacts and making startling discoveries. The movie has a lot to offer, perhaps none of it particularly invigorating, but it's a solid, workmanlike Science Fiction film that does its best with the scripted material and visual resources at its disposal.

Certainly, the film has its moments, many of which are cheesy (childhood memories really don't tell the whole tale, do they?) but some of which remain fairly impressive for a low-budget genre flick. The movie features endless examples of spartan, practically nondescript sets on Earth but does manage a little more in the way of impressive interior and exterior lunar set pieces, even considering what is generally a fairly bland, flat gray backdrop. More impressive are the alien robots, created both on Earth and on the moon out of, essentially, spare parts with a football-like egg serving as a command center. Human ribcages and dangly flesh are surrounded by some impressive hodgepodge robotics and various odds and ends that make a menacing monster that looks so good the movie is worth pausing to identify all the pieces and the care with which they've been assembled (too bad the Blu-ray picture quality isn't up to the challenge of revealing every nook and cranny!). Nowadays, the movie would undoubtedly be thrown together on-the-cheap with some pitiful low-rent CGI, Asylum-style, completely eliminating any charm or visual punch. Indeed, were Moontrap made today, there's no doubt it would be a miserable experience, and with the deluge of bottom-feeding titles on the market, there's no way the filmmakers would have gotten two rock-solid actors, in their primes, no less, to fill the lead roles. That's not to say Moontrap isn't a problem-laden film. It is. The pacing is questionable in the second half and there's a sense of repetitiveness as it moves through its second and third acts (the movie is at its unquestionable best on Earth) but it's a solid entertainer, a victim of overzealous nostalgia in hindsight but a good little genre picture that should please Sci-Fi fans even today.

Moontrap Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No two ways about it: Moontrap looks terrible on Blu-ray, at times dipping down to VHS level of terrible. First, the good. There's a picture, it's in color, and it's formatted at 1.78:1 rather than 4x3. Now, on to the bad. The first thing viewers will likely notice is the opening title wobble and the accompanying pale black levels, the latter of which lurks for the entire movie and occasionally pushes to a shade of red, green, or purple. In one early shot featuring the space shuttle set against the blackness of space, where part of the wing is shadowed, the wing literally disappears, leaving its tip floating in space by itself, evidence of crush even under these conditions. The early cockpit interior shots range from bad to miserable. Definition falls to almost zero in some shots where smeary details, pasty and lifeless faces, and flat uniforms and instrument clusters are the norm. Even rough textures seen later in the movie -- the football-like alien pod, the dusty lunar surface, and robotics -- appear terribly flat and devoid of all but the most basic textures. Colors fare slightly -- slightly -- better. The light blue NASA uniforms and the red, white, and blue American flag seen on the moon look good enough but lack that nuance, that vibrance one would associate with a better film-quality image. Blockiness and banding are frequent unwanted guests, and evidence of noise reduction abounds. At its best, Moontrap's Blu-ray might be mistaken for a DVD. Fans, and the movie, deserve better in high definition.

Moontrap Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Moontrap's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack fares almost no better than the crummy picture quality. There's almost zero range; the material plays cramped up around the middle and fails to ignite the aural senses with a more dynamic front stage. Clarity is muddy at best, lacking nuance in every occurrence. Music is cramped and poorly defined throughout the garbled range, whether orchestral score or synth beats. Most any sort of action sound effects lack punch or authority, discounting the deliberately silent gunshots on the moon. Crashing glass, for example, barely registers. Gunfire is wimpy and poorly defined. Explosions and other rumbles are little more than a muddled glob of low-volume sound. Dialogue is fortunately intelligible but lacks clarity and natural accuracy. Overall, this is a major disappointment of a soundtrack from Olive Films.

Moontrap Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Moontrap contains two interviews and an audio commentary track.

• Interview with Bruce Campbell (1080p, 21:04): The fan-favorite actor discusses his involvement in the film, including its production history, his character, behind-the-scenes stories, building a low-budget film back when the movie was crafted, working with Walter Koenig, the film's legacy, his take on technology, his work schedule at the time Moontrap was made, and more.
• Interview with Walter Koenig (1080p, 32:45): The actor recounts the plot, working outside of Star Trek, shooting a sex scene, his character, life on the set, working around a limited budget, differences and similarities in working on Moontrap and Star Trek, real space travel, thoughts on The Evil Dead, Moontrap's costuming, shooting various scenes, working with Director Robert Dyke, visual effects, and wishes for people watching the film.
• Audio Commentary: Producer/Director Robert Dyke and Writer Tex Ragsdale speak a quarter-century following the film's release. They chat about cast and characters, the film's music, the plot and story, shooting locations and anecdotes, different cuts in different regions, visual effects, scientific authenticity, challenges posed by the spacesuits in the shoot, and much more.

Moontrap Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Moontrap is a welcome addition to the Blu-ray family, a somewhat obscure little old title from back in time that hasn't aged well but still plays with a fun, carefree cadence. Unfortunately, its visuals haven't aged well, either, at least in terms of the transfer Olive Films has plopped onto the Blu-ray. It's borderline VHS territory in places, and at its it best it might pass for a poor quality DVD. Audio is almost no better. Fortunately, fans have something to enjoy in the the way of a new audio commentary track and a pair of talent interviews that run almost an hour together. This release comes cautiously recommended to anyone looking for a little nostalgia, but buyers are encouraged to wait until the price drops to bargain territory, a price better befitting the presentation's bargain quality.