Laserblast

Laserblast is a 1978 American science fiction film about an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him. The low-budget film was directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, who is widely known for producing B movies. Starring Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith, and Gianni Russo, the film features notable cameo appearances by Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall, and marked the screen debut of actor Eddie Deezen.

The script by Frank Ray Perilli and Franne Schacht was heavily influenced by science fiction films like Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). The reptilian alien creatures in the film were works of stop motion animation by animator David W. Allen, marking the first chapter in a decades-long history of collaboration between Allen and Band. The alien spacecraft model featured in Laserblast was designed and built by Greg Jein in two weeks, and the musical score was written in five days by Joel Goldsmith and Richard Band, the first film scores for both composers.

Laserblast has received overwhelmingly negative reviews and consistently ranks among the Bottom 100 list of films on the Internet Movie Database. Even many critical reviews, however, cited Allen's stop motion animation as one of the film's only redeeming qualities. A 1988 sequel was planned, but ultimately abandoned due to financial difficulties. Laserblast was featured in the seventh season finale of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, marking the show's final episode on Comedy Central before the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel.