u/byOlaf

So we recently watched Eliminators for Bad Movie Night, and in doing a little digging on the director, we came across a trailer for Arena, also directed by that same director, the fun to say Peter Manoogian. Like so many 80's action flicks it stars a charisma-free lump of hunky man-meat, this one by the name of Paul Satterfield, who kinda looks like Christoper Reeve from a certain angle.

But the real fun comes in the rest of the cast, with Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5), Armin Shimmerman (Quark of DS9) and Mark Alaimo (Gul Dukat of DS9) in prominent roles. They are all doing a great job, as is Hamilton Camp (Gizmoduck from Ducktales and about two hundred other small roles) as a four-armed alien!

I don't know how Empire did it, but they somehow scared up 20 million bucks for this B movie with a plot as thin as a pancake. So the effects look absolutely unbelievable. Some of the best suit and puppet work you've ever seen, every creature that enters the ring is more impressive than the last. The sets are great too, and really varied for this kind of movie. There's underground lairs, bars, a futuristic garden with a plexiglass water fountain, and each one looks terrific and memorable.

The script kinda drags towards the end, and there are some genuinely bad performances, (mostly from our lead hero!) but it's overall a really fun time. And the suits, puppets, and effects are truly top notch. John Carl Beuchler (Reanimator, Cyborg 3, Carnasaur, Ghoulies) leads a team of people having a heck of a time making outlandish creatures. And Screaming Mad George and his crew had an uncredited hand in it somewhere too. So watch it for the monsters, try not to predict the plot, and stay for Horn - who screams his name like a Pokemon for the last ten minutes of the movie. It was really a fun time, strong recommend for movie night.

What does the pepper mill say?

Neat interview with an Aussie Metal Guy