Saturn 3 (1980)

 

In the wake of the success of 'Star Wars', of course there were a ton of films in the genre that were suddenly released with at least a decent budget. But very often, they had this nasty twinge. This is not a reflection of the quality, more of the overall atmosphere. And 'Saturn 3' does feel like a rather disconcerting film and that's even before you have seen Kirk Douglas' naked backside. 

Of course I jest, but the man, legend though he was, was a bit too old for the part he plays here. 

The Earth is overpopulated and everywhere scientists are struggling to figure out a way to improve food production. The same goes for Douglas and Fawcett, two scientists on a remote base on one of the moons orbiting Saturn. They are also lovers. Not absolutely unbelievable, but still a little far-fetched. But then again, when you're stuck on a remote base with only one other person, who knows what might happen? 

They are visited by an outside officer who isn't who he appears to be. This of course is Harvey Keitel's character, who is simply put an absolute psycho and a total arsehat as well, who instantly wants to fuck Farah Fawcett and makes no qualms about telling her that repeatedly. 

Look, I get it: miss Fawcett was absolutely gorgeous, but I would be a little more subdued about my personal desire to shag the everliving brains out of her after seeing her for five minutes. Call it courtesy.

Anyway... 

Keitel comes with the latest in robot technology, a hulking machine called Hector, who has a living brain and who learns through a mindlink with Keitel. You see where this is heading? Of course the robot takes on his psycho traits and now also desires miss Fawcett. And naturally, the robot decides he is far superior to both the other alpha males on base and wants her for himself. 

But can Douglas and Fawcett escape the metallic clutches of this vile menace? 

Don't be fooled by the opening shot, which is more than a tribute to the opening of 'Star Wars', i.e. it is a total ripoff. The rest of the film is bleak, dark and uncomfortable. It has this depressing atmosphere that it can't shake off. Maybe it's the sets, maybe it's the dialogue or just maybe, it's the open hostility the characters display to one another that becomes quite grating. Hector looks the part, but the animatronic is a bit too bulky to feel like a real threat and his minuscule eyes on a little swivelhead make him look just a bit too silly. The fact that they clearly dubbed over Harvey Keitel with a rather monotone British accent doesn't help things either. 

And yet, 'Saturn 3' has its merits. The set design is pretty cool in that weird early 80s sensibility and it's hard to argue that the depressing atmosphere and chilling events don't have their impact. The film could have benefitted from a tighter script and better dialogue, though. It is rather hokey and stilted in places, which distracts from the thriller aspect of this one.

In the end, 'Saturn 3' is a bit of a mixed bag. It's not horrendous by any stretch of the imagination and it isn't really good either. It is one of those sci-fi flicks the fans of the genre need to see at least once, but most people can happily pass this by without losing one night of sleep.