‘Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar’ Review #2
Stars: Michael Pare, Sarah French, Anahit Setian, Tyler Gallant, Olivier Gruner, Rachele Brooke Smith, Sadie Katz, Jed Rowen, Elise Muller | Written by Garo Setian, Joe Knetter | Directed by Garo Setian
Spoiler Alert… I f**king loved Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar.
This was quite possibly the most fun I have had watching a sci-fi movie as of late… Any budget! You know you’re in for an absolute ride when in the first 10 minutes the line “I’m going to bathe in your blood and tears” is dropped. Normally a scary thought if it hadn’t been for the massive lava dragon wormy dinosaur thing moments prior.
I will always be a fan of a movie that is fully aware that it maybe doesn’t have the budget it needs to be the movie it wants to be, but does not let that stand in its way of throwing everything (including the kitchen sink) up there for all to see. It’s like the original Star Trek series had some saucy sexy time with Space Truckers, Babylon 5 and of course, the GOAT Star Wars. 9 months later we ended up with Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar. A fun as all hell sci-fi romp around the galaxy with a superb cast that play everything just the right side of straight-up absurd, all the while keeping tongues firmly in cheeks. Let’s jump into this but again [spoiler alert] this is a serious recommendation if you looking for a future cult gem.
Kip Cormac (Micheal Pare) and his daughter Taylor (Sarah French) are a pair of Space Scavengers always looking for the next big score while avoiding all manner of mercenaries, aliens, robots, monsters and straight-up evil bastards. You know, it’s a space adventure on steroids. We follow our Father/Daughter duo as they seek to find a mythical freighter known as the Deepstar.
Let’s start with our heroes, Michael Pare is a name we are very familiar with around these parts but I have to say Kip Cormac is his Han Solo. A role he slots into with ease and helps steer our considerably younger cast. Sarah French is an actress I have known of for a little while due to the serial killer flick Blind (coincidentally written by the same guy Joe Knetter) or the surreal The Special. Here though I feel like we have a strong leading female role where she gets to portray the vulnerable caring side but when the time calls for it she pulls out the Linda Hamilton side and kicks serious ass, looking like a rock star while doing so. Anahit Seitan brings some much-needed comic relief to our team and low-key becomes the heart of the flick.
Then there are our rag-tag mercs. Led by the legendary Olivier Gruner, playing up all the stereotypes of a “B-Movie” dickhead, doing an awesome job too. Tyler Gallant is the brooding muscle of the group who really is not afraid to throw hands. Rachelle Brooke Smith as our badass bitch Nina really brings this team together with a big old helping of insane crazy beautiful punchy kicky shenanigans. A moment of silence for Pretty Boy himself Jed Rowen as Manx (the character, not the actor Rowen is still very much alive) a character we barely knew but loved all the same.
I will say that Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar is not the best movie of all time by a long shot and before folks get all up in their feelings and start tapping the keyboards with comments, I want to make that clear. BUT this is a low-budget independent sci-fi flick that is WAAAAAAY better than I personally thought it had any right to be. The set design is crazy and while some of the green screen is obvious there is also a fair bit of practical set that looks great. The VFX on the monsters and space flying is actually pretty damn good and the score ticks the best beats of the 80s and 90s sci-fi nostalgia bone. All in all it’s a blast from the past and has all the elements you know and love from sci-fi of yesteryear.
I was entertained from start to finish with Space Wars: Quest for the Deepstar. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I bloody loved it!
