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Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone is a 1983 science fiction film. The movie stars Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci, and Michael Ironside. The film's executive producer was Ivan Reitman and it was directed by Lamont Johnson. When the movie came out in theatres, parts of it were shown in 3-D. Plot: - A bounty hunter goes on a mission to rescue three women stranded on a brutal planet, meeting a vagrant teenage girl along the way. It is sometime in the 22nd century. The story begins with the Eridani Princess, a luxury spaceliner drifting near a bright star in the middle of a spiraling cloud of gases. The spectacular view is for the benefit of the passengers, however an unexpected meteor slams into the ship and it begins to break apart. A single escape pod manages to get away before the whole ship explodes. The pod then proceeds automatically to the nearest planet that can support human life. Once it lands, three beautiful women emerge from the pod, but they are quickly accosted by a group of barbaric scavengers (aka "Scavs"). As the Scavs get nearer, they are frightened away by a strange train-like machine that quickly approaches on a railway. The men from the train then capture the women. Elsewhere in space, a small salvage ship is gathering ore in an asteroid field. The owner of the ship, Wolff (Peter Strauss), a bounty hunter and former soldier, is at the controls of the vessel and listening to com messages from Earth; one of which involves a message from his ex-wife demanding her alimony payments and an eviction notice by his landlord for overdue rent payments on his apartment. Wolff then gets a notice about a reward of 50,000 megecredits offered for the safe return of three women, but the transmission becomes garbled and he kicks the console losing the video completely. He awakes Chalmers (Andrea Marcovicci), his female companion and engineer, to fix the system. Chalmers makes the repairs and finds out more about the situation stating the women are believed to be stranded on Terra XI - a failed colony which fell victim to deadly plague and civil warfare. Realizing the reward could solve all his problems, Wolff risks the dangers and sets course to the planet. Wolff sets his ship down on the barren desert world, while Chalmers prepairs a large ATV vehicle called the "Scrambler". They drive away from the ship and activate the ship's thrusters which quickly buries the craft under a pile of dirt to hide it. They soon come upon a battle in progress, spotting the train machine being attacked by other men (the "Zoners") riding road-warrior vehicles. Wolff and Chalmers decide to help out, but are unsure which group to side with until Wolff spots the three women being attacked on the train. Wolff leaps from the Scrambler and makes his way to the train as Chalmers holds the Zoners off with the turret gun. As Wolff battles the Zoners, more of them arrive from the air in jet powered hanggliders called Vultures, and manage to make off with the women. The rest of the Zoners flee as Wolff locates the remaining train survivors. One of them is a delusional elderly man who shouts angrilly at Wolff and calls him "McNab". Two other men, Duster and Jarrett, tend to his woulds and try to convince him that Wolff is not his enemy. Wolff asks questions about this McNab, but Duster and Jarrett show disdain asking why an "Earther" would care. They state that he has no business being here and should leave. Wolff states that he came for the women. The two men then explain that McNab is the "Overdog", the ruler of the Zone, and their enemy who they have sworn to defeat. The Zoners have probably taken the women back to his fortress. Wolff then heads back to the Scrambler but finds that Chalmers has been killed and is revealed that she was actually an android. Wolff is saddened but then activates her self-destruct and watches her body melt away. Wolff then drives off alone. Later, Wolff comes to an abandoned medical depot that was probably set up to develop serums for the plague. He goes inside to look at around finding nothing but dead bodies and scrap metal. Suddenly, he hears the Scrambler's motor start up and sees someone trying to steal it. He climbs aboard and forces open the door finding an angry teenage girl inside (Molly Ringwald). He pulls her out of the vehicle as she threatens that he better not try anything funny. Her brothers are big and tough and will come looking for her. Wolff states, if her family was in the bunker then he regrets to inform her that they've been dead for about ten years. The girl then introduces herself as Niki and asks for food. She realizes why Wolff is here stating that he must be following the Zoners and the three women in the sky. Wolff asks which way they went, but Niki refuses to answer unless Wolff agrees to take her with him. She states The Zone is a dnagerous place and you're good as dead without a skilled tracker. Wolff will never find the Zoner's base without her help. Reluctantly, he lets her come along. Back in the ominous Zone, the Vultures land and the women are taken to see The Chemist (Harant Alianak), the chief henchman of Overdog. The Chemist is delighted but hopes the girls are perfect, with no missing limbs or scars since Overdog is put off by such things. The girls demand to be let go, but the Chemist assures them they will feel at home here, especially after he injects them with passification drugs. Elsewhere, Wolff and Niki have set up camp. After eating, Wolff tries to get some sleep, but he smells something nasty and finds Niki has curled up next to him. Angrilly, he picks her up and tosses her into a nearby pool of water. Niki screams as Wolff forces a handful of soap on her head and grinds it into her scalp. Embarrassed, Niki eventually cleans herself up while Wolff finally gets to see what she looks like with all the grime cleaned away. Niki accuses him of being a pervert, but suddenly a mechanical noise alert both of them. A armored bulldozer-like machine with a menacing plow blade approaches, bellowing thick black smoke and blocking Wolff's path to the Scrambler. Wolff tries to slip past, but the machine tries to run him down. Wolff manages to jump past a boulder as the machine crashes straight into it, dislodging the front plow and griding to a halt. The top hatch flies open an angry man emerges (Ernie Hudson) cussing up a storm. He leaps down from the vehicle and points a rifle at Wolff who is laying face down in the dirt. The man seems to know Wolff ordering him to get up stating he didn't fall for "playing dead" in basic training and he isn't falling for it now. But Wolff remains still. The man leans over really thinking Wolff is hurt, but Wolff spins around and grabs the rifle from his hand. Wolff indeed knows the man, a former partner of his named Washington. Wolff sees he's now a Sector Chief, and states he must be getting old letting his guard down so easily. Wolff knows Washington must have come here for the reward for the girls as well. Washington states the claim is all his, and a freeloader like Wolff isn't entitled to it. Wolff doesn't back down so Washington decides to cut him in the deal instead, 80/20. Niki steps up and says Wolff already has a partner, her. Washington laughs at the idea of Wolff partnering with a Scav "just out her diapers". Wolff wonders why Washington is interested in his help in the first place. He asks his old partner where he got the plow. Washington is hesitant, but then says he traded to some Scavs for his ship. Wolff wonders why he'd do that, but then Washington admits he had "some problems" on entry and he "sort of crashed". Wolff laughs knowing Washington is stuck here and he needs his ship to get off the planet. Wolf instead, tosses Washington's rifle into the pool and leaves him to get his vehicle unstuck on his own. Wolff and Niki continue on but Wolff reminds her that she not his partner. The deal was to get him to the Zone and he'll give her food and that's it. Meanwhile, deep inside the Zone, The Chemist takes the three women to see the Overdog (Michael Ironside). Overdog appears as a hideous cyborg, almost entirely machine, with two metal claws for hands, and moving with the aid of a large mechanical boom. Overdog is pleased with the sexy gifts, and orders The Chemist to leave them. As The Chemist leaves, Overdog orders the guards to undress the girls. The guards begin to strip the women as Overdog leers in delight. After driving around during the day, Wolff finds another abandoned complex and decides to camp there for the night. The building is filled with strange coccoons hanging from the ceiling, but Wolff dismisses them and finds a spot to rest. There, Niki tries to get to know him better. She indicates her nickname is "The Twister", because she can wriggle in and out of tight spaces. He and Niki try to sleep but as night falls they are awakened by strange noises coming from the next room. Wolff believes they should leave, but then strange blobous creatures appear and attack them. Wolff blasts one as it grabs Niki and he takes her hand to lead her out of the structure. They find a cable and slide down to ground level where the Scrambler is waiting. They drive off leaving the strange beings behind and drive the rest of the evening into the Zone. Eventually, they enter another complex which is filled with water. Wolff is hesitant to drive the Scambler through it, but Niki assures him she knows where they are and assures they are safe. She jumps from the vehicle and helps track the Scambler through the water, but suddenly, Niki is pulled below the surface. Alarmed, Wolff jumps out of the vehicle to search for her. He then spots Niki in a net that is being gathered by Amazon-like women. He tries to stop them but comes under attack by a snake-like beast that he quickly blasts with his gun. In the diversion, the women try to pull Niki away but Wolff manages to release her from the net. The women now block the path back to the Scrambler and Wolff and Niki decide to escape up a ladder to a hatch in the ceiling. Wolff and Niki emerge from the hatch finding themselves near a briney reservoir. Wolff is furious with her believeing she really doesn't know anything about the Zone. Since he's met her she's brought nothing but trouble. He lost his Scrambler, been attacked by mutants, Amazons and dragons, and is no closer to finding his quarry. Wolff storms off leaving Niki to follow silently behind. As they walk, Niki still tries to prove her worth. She claims to know exactly where they are but Wolff isn't buying her lies. Eventually, they both become dehydrated and Niki collapses leaving Wolff stuck carrying her. Wolff's condition isn't any better, and he has to put her down. Suddenly, Wolff hears the familiar noise of Washingtion's vehicle approaching and sees his Scrambler behind it in tow. Wolff flags Washington down who eventually stops and emerges from the hatch with a sarcastic smirk on his face. The great bounty hunter and his fearless guide seem to be in a bit of predicament. Wolff tells him to cut the crap and help Niki. She needs water. Washington laughs, since he has plenty of water - especially after his swim to retrieve his rifle and after finding and towing Wolff's Scrambler out of the sewers. Wolff realizes he's stuck without Washington's help and agrees to cut him in on the reward 50/50. That's what Washington wanted to hear. Wolff, Niki, and Washington find a secluded ravine to talk. Wolff and Washington discuss what they are going to do with their shares of the money, while Niki is curious about her share. Washington butts in and demands to know what she is talking about. Wolff gives her a dirty look and she quickly realizes she won't be cut in the deal and gets upset. "Get them to the Zone and then goodbye Niki!" She goes off to sob, but Wolff tries to console her, offering to give Niki a ride to another planet at least. Before Niki can answer, two motorcycle-like machines approach alerting Wolff and Washington. It is Duster and Jarrett, the men Wolff encountered earlier. They state they seek rest before they enter the Zone. The situation seems uneasy, but Niki asks in "Scav-speak", "What's your brainworking?" (ie. beliefs), they respond "Death to Overdog". Niki assures Wolff and Washington they are on the level and Wolff allows them to stay. As the group settles in they hear strange singing coming from the cliffs above them. Looking up they spot a group of small beings. Niki identifies them as children - mutated by The Chemist's bizarre experiments. Soon the children begin to light molotov cocktails and begin tossing them at the group. Avoiding the firebombs, Wolff and Niki dive into the Scrambler as Washington gets in his vehicle. Duster and Jarret jump on their bikes and the group escapes the ravine. On the way out, the plow on Washington's vehicle gets jammed again and he is forced to stop. The bikers however, leave them behind as Wolff stops to help Washington. After freeing the plow, Wolff, Niki, and Washington finally make it to The Zone where a massive tower and factory complex made of junk dominates the landscape. Wolff and Washington find a way to get inside. Wolff tells Niki to stay with the Scrambler, stating he doesn't want her to get hurt. Niki is surprised by the comment. Once inside, Wolff and Washington manage to kill two guards that approach and steal their outfits. Now in disguise they easily blend in with a gathering crowd who are assembled for some kind of death sport. They stand above a maze filled with deadly traps. A cage holds a number of prisoners who are forced to enter the maze and risk the traps for the amusement of the crowd. Overdog hovers above the maze and starts the games off. Next to him in another cage, Wolff spots the three women. As he devises a plan to get to them, Jarrett runs up. Wolff and Washington grab him and force him into the shadows. In a panic, Jarrett indicates his brother was captured and put in the maze pen. Washington indicates that he will cause a diversion while Jarret fetchs his brother and Wolff will get the women. Meanwhile, an impatient Niki leaves the Scrambler and heads inside where she is quickly accosted by Overdog's henchmen and taken to The Chemist. Niki is forced next into the maze by Overdog's command. Overdog tells her the "rules" - if she survives she will go free. The pen doors open and Niki is pushed into the maze by a sliding spiked wall. As Wolff and Washington rescue the girls, Wolff spots Niki in the maze and decides to help her. Niki manages to show off her "twister" abilities, dodging sweeping saw blades and fireballs. She even makes it over an acid pool as large hammers try to knock her off the balancing beam. Niki is then chased by robotic machine lined with spinning blades. Wolff manages to get close to the machine and drops an explosive to destroy it. As other bombs go off, the crowd runs away in panic. Niki finishes the game to find Overdog waiting at the end. He congradulates Niki for surviving in which she reminds him that she is supposed to be let go. The Overdog then grabs her and says "I lied". Overdog has Niki dragged to his chambers. He tells The Chemist to prepare the "Fusion Tube" and tells Niki she will give him her life essence. Niki is tied to the machine which begins to drain her energy as the Overdog refreshes his power. Soon however, Wolff comes to the rescue, killing The Chemist and shooting the Overdog's power systems. The Overdog seems to overload with energy and begins to smolder. Wolff then releases Niki from the machine, but Overdog's claws emerge from the smoke and grab Wolff. In the struggle to get free, Wolff finds a severed power cable and slams it into one of Overdog's claws. Overdog becomes electrocuted and causes a chain reaction through the fortress. Everything begins to explode around them. As Niki and Wolff make their way out of the complex, Washington's plows bursts through a wall to create an escape route. Jumping in their vehicles, everyone gets out safely as Overdog's fortress crumbles and explodes. Now safely back at Wolff's ship, a celebration is going on, as the girls thank everyone for saving them, including Jarrett and Duster. Niki however has been overlooked and decides to leave, but she finds Wolff heading out to stop her. Upset, Niki says he doesn't need her anymore so she's leaving, but Wolff asks her to stay. She made a good partner. They hug each other, and Wolff realizes he cares about her afterall. The ship lifts off and heads into space.
Notable quotes When Chalmer's fixes the com system: Chalmers: Okay, what did you do to this? Wolff: Emergency repair procedure number one. Chalmers: You kicked it? When Wolff encounters Niki for the first time: Wolff: What the hell are you? Niki: What do you think I am, you scrawny earthbag? I'm a woman! While the Chemist awaits the arrival of the women, he asks his guards: Chemist: Are they missing any limbs? (then to himself) I hate it when they have missing limbs. Bloopers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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