Cult-Tastic: Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman

In episode one of Roger and Julie Corman’s Cult-tastic!, there are seven featured films that revolve around the common theme of “future worlds.” First, there is Battle Beyond The Stars directed by Roger Corman and Jimmy T. Murakami. It features actors Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard and John Saxon. An interesting bit about Battle Beyond The Stars is that James Cameron, who had hitch-hiked from Arizona with no previous Hollywood experience, was promoted to head special effects for the picture after the original special effects specialist was fired. The episode also includes the film Galaxy of Terror directed by Bruce D. Clark, and the cast consists of Edward Albert, Erin Moran and Ray Walston. War of the Satellites is another film mentioned in this episode, and it was directed by Roger Corman. The cast combines Dick Miller, Susan Cabot and Richard Devon. The picture was released 60 days after Russia put the first satellite in space and was therefore representative of the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dead Space directed by Fred Gallo was also discussed, and it emphasized humor when cast members Marc Singer and Laura Tate were tasked with taking down a metamorphic virus in space. Death Sport directed by Roger Corman and Allan Arkush was another impressive film brought up in episode one, and its cast included stars like Claudia Jennings and David Carradine. There was an incident on set where a gun was held to Jennings’ head, and Corman described how he had to help deescalate the situation. Nightfall directed by Paul Mayersberg was an intriguing story about a world where darkness only occurs every 2500 years. Lastly, Star Crash directed by Luigi Cozzo comprised an international cast such as Caroline Munro, Marjoe Gortner and Christopher Plummer for an exciting futuristic action film.