The Killings at Outpost Zeta, Rock Monsters Shred Earthlings

How, oh how did this 1980 film not make MST3K?  Even without Joel and the bots, this is a fun one.  We have a space crew from Earth landing on an alien world and bringing with them incompetence and stupidity.  Okay, NASA is alive and well in these scifi films, too.  Fortunately we do have a sultry space-babe that will need hunks to rescue her.  Today we look at "The Killings at Outpost Zeta," directed by Robert Emenegger and Allan Sandler.

The previous several missions to Outpost Zeta (an alien world at the edge of the galaxy) ended horribly. They all seemed to be doing well then suddenly all contact was lost with them. Earth sends up a rescue team commanded by Cpt. Young (Gordon De Vol). He's a hunk...not a very good skipper, I'm afraid. His right hand man sounds just like Clu Gulager, Gore (Jackson Bostwick). The doctor on board is the sultry space-babe Linda (Jacqueline Ray). She'll eventually suck face with the skipper. Carol, a grouchy and not too pretty woman, is also on board. When she's mangled and shredded we don't shed a tear.  Then a couple more hunks. They land and find Outpost Zeta.  The place is a mess...like a war was fought there. There is even an overturned table. Linda goes through journals and Gore and the skipper grunt...a lot like Clu Gulager would.

Okay, it appears the previous team found something. Rocks!  But, if the rocks come into contact with human blood they grow into monsters. That team probably worked for Pfizer.  Now monsters are teeming this barren and remote planet.  The rescue crew must fight for their lives. Linda looks really great and cries and screams nicely.  The skipper consoles her nicely. Clu Gulager, I mean Gore, comes up with really stupid plans to defeat the monsters and survive.  Now, in addition to the monsters on the outside, rocks in the inside appear to be ready to grow.  Now Gore better come up with a good plan or all might die.

If the monsters capture Linda, what will they do to her?  Will Gore ever stop mumbling and come up with a plan that has purpose and at least some chance of success?  Is the NASA moon mission slated for 2024 (yeah, right!) headed for a similar fate?  One will pretend they are Tom Servo or Crow while watching this film.  For a lot of fun, MST3K style, see "The Killings at Outpost Zeta."