MURDER IN SPACE

Michael Ironside questions a suspect

MURDER IN SPACE (1985 telefilm). Director: Steven Hilliard Stern.

An international crew is assembled for several months on board a space lab where political intrigue and mixed-up personal relationships are taking a toll. Things get worse when one of the women, Olga, is found murdered -- and she was two months pregnant, meaning her husband back in the USSR couldn't possibly be the father. Suspects include Guy (Timothy Webber), who's having an affair with Domenica (Alberta Watson), and Kurt (Tom Butler), who's having an affair with David (Scot Denton), and even the captain, Neal Braddock (Michael Ironside of Scanners), who's keeping some secrets. More murders follow, with such people on the ground as Dr. MacAllister (Wilford Brimley) and Alexander Rostov (Martin Balsam) worrying about their respective countries' representatives and more. Murder in Space has an intriguing premise and location, but while it holds the attention the solution isn't that satisfying or believable. The cast is quite good for the most part, although the usually intense Ironside seems bored through most of the movie and gives a boring, uninvolved performance, as does Brimley [The China Syndrome], who doesn't really seem to be an actor. Balsam is excellent, as usual, and Nerene Virgin and Wendy Crewson score, respectively, as Dr. Leigh and David's wife, Irene.

Verdict: Comes very close but ultimately misses despite definite entertainment value. **1/2.

V -- THE FINAL BATTLE (1984)

V: THE FINAL BATTLE (1984). Director: Richard T. Heffron.

In this sequel to the original 1983 mini-series, V,  the war continues between human rebels and the invading force of alien Visitors. In this somewhat more entertaining sequel, Willie (Robert Englund), the "nice" alien, is taken captive by the resistance, even as one of their number, annoying young Robin (Blair Tefkin), discovers that she is pregnant with a half-alien baby. There's a nasty young human traitor named Daniel (David Packer). Julie (Faye Grant) is the leader of the resistance, and the scenes when she is taken captive and tortured and brain-washed go beyond the point of tedium. Mike Donovan (Marc Singer), hero of the first installment, is in a private war with his nasty collaborationist step-mother (Neva Patterson). Andrew Prine, Dick Miller, and Michael Ironside all appear, but the most amusing guest-star is Sarah Douglas as an alien commander named -- get this -- Pamela. It's already remarkable that the aliens use their Earth names to refer to one another even in private, but Pamela shows up from deep space sporting a thoroughly English accent [she even says "lefttenant" instead of "Lieutenant"]! This undercuts any seriousness intended by the producers, and the religiosity of the piece is also a bit irritating. There are some good scenes in this but it was all much, much better done in last year's unfortunately canceled ABC series, V, which lasted for two seasons. Jane Badler, who played head alien Diana in the 80's version, guest-starred as a variation of that character in the more recent series.

Verdict: Looks like those visitors are gone for good. **1/2.

THE SHAFT

THE SHAFT (aka Down/2001). Written and directed by Dick Maas.

Writer/director Dick Maas has taken his 1983 dutch thriller The Lift and remade it for the frat boy generation. The premise of the film has one of the elevators in New York's Millennium building acting funny, causing mayhem and then hideous deaths. A repairman, Mark (James Marshall) and a reporter, Jennifer (Naomi Watts) investigate the weird goings-on. More familiar faces in the cast include Dan Hedaya, Ron Perlman, Michael Ironside (as a sort of mad scientist), and Ed Herrmann, who lends some distinction to a film that doesn't deserve him. The film does have some interesting concepts, such as the idea of computer chips reproducing themselves and becoming, in essence, a living thing, but otherwise the script is fashioned not for logic but for coming up with increasingly gross sequences. One scene, when the floor of a high-rise elevator drops out, spilling the passengers into space, is horrifying. The movie will hold your attention, but the characters are unlikable (no one ever expresses the slightest sympathy for all of the innocent victims) and the film is distinctly unpleasant.

Verdict: Slick and cold-blooded moron movie. **1/2.

SCANNERS

SCANNERS (1981). Director: David Cronenberg.

A drug given to pregnant woman has created a group of "scanners," people who have bizarre telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Some of these are good, some bad, and some have been nearly driven crazy by the voices in their heads. Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is one of the latter, and he's taken under the wing of Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan), and teams up with lady scanner Kim Obrist (Jennifer O'Neill). Meanwhile, the bad scanners, led by Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside), as well as others, are running around killing off the good guys. Revok hopes that he and his team of scanners can ultimately rule the planet. At the climax Vale and Revok have a dramatic -- and gruesome -- battle of wills and powers. Okay comic book movie has some decent effects and Dick Smith make up, but twenty-seven years after its release it's been overshadowed by superior movies and more dazzling FX work. But the main problem is that the characters are under-developed and the story doesn't sustain interest. The "big" scene in the movie has Revok blowing up the head of a man in a lecture hall. Lack isn't a very dynamic leading man, but Ironside certainly has a lot of pizazz and charisma.

Verdict: Nothing worth staying home for. **.