I was adding a few Star Wars parodies / tributes and rip-off threads to the ‘An Index Thread for General Star Wars Discussion…’ the other day, and there were a fair few releases with their own threads on here. Shockingly, the much under-rated Gremloids / Hyperspace didn’t have it’s own thread - and so I decided to remedy this cruel injustice, hence…
Behold, puny earthlings… the film ‘Gremloids’ - aka Hyperspace - or Gremlords
Director and writer Todd Durham, in his first feature length film, gives us a bizarrely yet joyful mega-budget adventure straight out of the growing Star Wars enthused parody collection. Actors Chris Elliott and Paula Poundstone are joined by Lord Buckethead himself to star in this manly Earth-based 1984 sci-fi romp - firmly in the curiosity / ‘so bad it’s good’ / I’ve just wasted 90 mins of my life on this category.
Think ‘Vader & Jawas are teamed up to take over the universe’ - and film’s tagline of ‘The Fate of Mankind Hangs in the Balance’… gives it a far more grandiose plan than the story (and budget) delivers.
The artwork and soundtrack (both below) are probably a little better than the film itself likely deserves…
In the US it was known as ‘Hyperspace’, in the UK ‘Gremloids’, and apparently in Germany it was known as ‘Gremlords’.
Gremlords / Hyperspace - Trailer (in German) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArbABgA40Pc
Film plot / synopsis (from wikipedia):-
'Princess Serina has stolen vital radio transmissions from an evil Galactic Alliance. The Darth Vader-like villain, Lord Buckethead, pursues Serina, but, due to an error in navigation, instead lands on Earth.
Lord Buckethead then leads his Jawa-like minions into the nearby suburban town while none the wiser of his blunder. He immediately mistakes town folk such as Chester, the local baker, for a galactic hero called Captain Starfighter; and again later Karen, an employee at a local transmission repair shop, for Princess Serina, whom he promptly abducts for interrogation.’
Some more info on the Gremloids film:-
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141270/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperspace_(film)
https://letterboxd.com/film/hyperspace-1984/
http://www.videocollector.co.uk/gremloids/16101
A few reviews of the film…
‘The Original Star Wars Parody - Hyperspace (1984) aka Gremloids; VideoCrap Movie Review’
https://cyborgcity3000.com/2017/07/19/gremloids-aka-hyperspace/
http://microbrewreviews.blogspot.com/2017/03/youtube-finds-when-worlds-skid-and.html
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141270/reviews
Some film trivia…
“Lord Buckethead attempted to promote his movie in the UK by standing as a prospective MP for Parliament in both the 1987 and 1992 General Elections. Representing the “Gremloid” party (by which this movie is known in the UK) he stood against Margaret Thatcher in her Finchley constituency and somehow got 131 votes. Five years later in 1992 he stood against the then PM John Major in Huntingdon and got 107 votes. In 2017, 25 years later, he stood again against then PM Theresa May in Maidenhead and got 249 votes.” - imdb. (more info below)
Apparently there’s even an ‘Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ knocking around the internet:-
www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/34925/HYPERSPACE-1000-EDITION
The film itself is apparently freely available on YouTube… (as well as similar other video sites, and on ebay and amazon etc in VHS, Betamax, and DVD formats).
Some info on the star of the show… Lord Buckethead:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Buckethead
https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Lord_Buckethead
https://twitter.com/LordBuckethead
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBgM8Esoy99vDtfbNPC2peA/videos (Lord Buckethead’s YouTube channel)
https://www.buckethead4maidenhead.com/
A few articles on Lord Buckethead:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/40217791/who-is-lord-buckethead-the-man-who-stood-against-theresa-may
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/09/lord-buckethead-elmo-and-mr-fish-finger-a-very-british-election
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/real-lord-buckethead-cult-sci-fi-film-inspired-theresa-mays/
https://www.thewrap.com/lord-buckethead-black-clad-villain-ran-british-pms-seat/
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lord-buckethead
Lord Buckehead’s Christmas Song video - ‘A Bucketful of Happiness’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebzooSdAbGE
Lord Buckethead’s Christmas Message - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6siUaw_NKU
His appearance on John Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eQ0s4SBefU
His appearance at Glastonbury - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp_05wC1sMY
Hopefully there’ll be a sequel or reboot to ‘Gremloids’ someday soon? (maybe even a crowdfunded project, perhaps?)
