Laserblast (film)

Laserblast
Year	1978
Directed by	Michael Rae
Produced by	Charles Band J. Larry Carroll
Written by	Franne Schacht Frank Ray Perilli
Studio	Charles Band Productions Selected Pictures
Cast	Kim Milford Cheryl Smith Gianni Russo Eddie Deezen Keenan Wynn Roddy McDowall
Run time	85 minutes

For the episode, see MST3K 706 - Laserblast.

Laserblast is a 1978 science fiction film directed by Michael Rae.

Plot

A green-skinned man wanders through the desert with a laser cannon attached to his arm. A spaceship lands and two aliens emerge, one of whom shoots the man, which disintegrates his body. The aliens depart on their spaceship, leaving behind the laser cannon and a metallic pendant the man was wearing.

An alien from Laserblast

Teenager Billy Duncan wakes up and learns his single mother is leaving for a vacation without him. He goes to visit his girlfriend Kathy, but her deranged grandfather Colonel Farley makes him leave before he can see her. As Billy drives around town, he is harassed by bullies Chuck Boran and Froggy, and by two police deputies who give him a speeding ticket.

Billy wanders into the desert and discovers the laser cannon and pendant. He starts playing with the cannon, pretending to shoot things, then realizes he can fire the weapon while wearing the pendant. Meanwhile, on the alien spacecraft, the two aliens converse with their leader who shows them footage of Billy using the cannon, prompting the aliens to turn their ship around to head back to Earth.

Billy uses the laser cannon

Later that night, Billy and Kathy attend a party where Chuck and Froggy attempt to rape Kathy. When Billy discovers them, a fight breaks out. Later that night, Billy uses the laser cannon to make Chuck's car explode, and Chuck and Froggy barely escape the explosion. Government official Tony Craig arrives to investigate both the explosion and the desert where Billy found the cannon. Tony informs the local sheriff that the town must be sealed off.

Feeling sick due to an unusual growth on his body, Billy visits Dr. Mellon, who surgically removes a metallic disc from Billy's chest. Mellon calls the police laboratory technician Mike London to arrange for the disc to be investigated. That night, Billy (whose skin has turned green) opens fire on Mellon's car, killing him in an explosion. The next day, Tony investigates the wreckage and recovers unusual material, which he brings to Mike London, who concludes it is of alien origins and cannot be destroyed. That night, Billy goes to a gas station and kills the two deputies that had bullied him.

The next day, Kathy puts the pendant on Billy's chest while they are laying together outside. Billy immediately wakes up with green skin and deformed teeth and attacks Kathy. Billy goes on a rampage, shooting random objects with the laser cannon. Law enforcement officials shoot at Billy from an aircraft, but Billy destroys the aircraft with the cannon. He later kills Chuck and Froggy by blowing up their new car.

While Tony questions Colonel Farley and Kathy about Billy, the two aliens land on Earth and begin searching for Billy. After killing a man and stealing his van, Billy travels into a city where he randomly fires at his surroundings. Kathy and Tony arrive in the city and locate Billy, as the aliens spot Billy from atop a building and shoot him, killing Billy and destroying the laser cannon. The aliens depart in their spacecraft and Kathy cries over Billy's corpse.[1]

Cast

• Kim Milford as Billy
• Cheryl Smith as Cathy
• Gianni Russo as Tony
• Mike Bobenko as Chuck
• Eddie Deezen as Froggy
• Ron Masak as the Sheriff
• Keenan Wynn as Colonel Farley
• Roddy McDowall as Dr. Mellon

Notes

Roddy McDowall in Laserblast

• Roddy McDowall's name is misspelled in the ending credits as "Roddy McDowell".
• This is the only film wherein Eddie Deezen plays a bully. In every other film he plays a (usually picked-on) nerdy character.
• Alien conversation from the movie is used in the opening of "A Dios Alma Perdida" by Static-X.
• Billy Duncan, armed with the laser cannon, blows up a Star Wars billboard late in the film.
• The "East Coast, Southern California" town depicted in the final scene is a leftover 1920's Chicago set. An "S.M.C. Cartage Co." building is visible in the background after Billy gets killed. The infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in the S.M.C. Cartage Company garage, Chicago 1929.
• This is the first film to feature the stop-motion animation of Dave Allen, which was the only praise (along with the make-up) offered by most critics.
• This is the only film Michael Rae has ever directed.
• This was the debut film for composers Richard Band and Joel Goldsmith (son of Jerry Goldsmith).
• Keenan Wynn's scenes were shot in one day.
• An early promotional article on the film misspelled the title "Laser Blast", whereas the films official title is spelled as one word.
• Steve Neill, who was makeup artist on the film, designed and created the alien ray gun and the pendant. He also plays the alien who is killed in the opening scene.
• The music from this was lifted and used in Robot Holocaust.
• Though this is a relatively recent film, both of the young actors who played the lead characters are deceased. Kim Milford (Billy) died of heart failure following open-heart surgery in 1988. Cheryl Smith (Kathy) passed away in 2002 from hepatitis and liver failure due to long-term heroin use.

MST3K Connections

• Cheryl Smith also portrayed a model in The Incredible Melting Man.
• Keenan Wynn also portrayed Jake Noble in Parts: The Clonus Horror.
• Actor, makeup designer, and special effects props designer Steve Neill (first humanoid alien) was also story writer and producer for The Day Time Ended.
• Producer Charles Band was also executive producer for Robot Holocaust and The Day Time Ended as well as producer and story writer for Robot Wars and Doctor Mordrid (for which he was also director).
• Producer J. Larry Carrell was also also writer for The Day Time Ended.
• Composer Richard Band was also stock music composer for Robot Holocaust and composer for Being from Another Planet, The Day Time Ended, and Doctor Mordrid.
• Composer Joel Goldsmith was stock music composer for Robot Holocaust and sound mixer for The Day Time Ended.
• Special effects technician Harry Woolman also did special effects for Hangar 18, The Slime People, The Incredible Melting Man, and Agent for H.A.R.M..
• Visual effects artist David Allen also did dimensional animation and technical advising for The Day Time Ended, effects supervision and stop motion animation for Robot Wars, and animation for Doctor Mordrid.
• Still photographer and laser effects technician Paul Gentry was also associate producer, director of special effects, and special sound effects supervisor for The Day Time Ended.
• Spacecraft designer Gregory Jein was also model constructor for The Day Time Ended.
• Assistant film editor Richard Ross was also assistant editor for The Day Time Ended.
• Producer's assistant Bennah Burton-Burtt was also production secretary for The Day Time Ended and producer's assistant for Doctor Mordrid.

Critical Response

• Michael Weldon wrote in The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film: "The best part of this teen-revenge film are the turtle-headed aliens animated by David Allen ... Roddy McDowall and Keenan Wynn put in typical brief cameos. Aimed at '70s junior high school students. With Cheryl Smith."
• Received nominations in the 1978 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Director and Worst Actor (Kim Milford), as well as Dishonorable Mentions for Worst Picture and Worst Supporting Actor (Eddie Deezen).
• Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two-and-a-half stars ... David Allen’s stop-motion effects are a highlight."