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Chekov’s performance in Star Trek was far from Walter Koenig’s only contribution to the science fiction genre. Sadly, Koenig, the original Chekov on “Star Trek,” has died at the age of 90. While we’ll always remember him for what he did to the landscape of that franchise, he really touched the genre elsewhere. “Babylon 5” is the best example. But in the late 80s, he starred alongside another genre icon in a forgotten sci-fi film.
Directed by Robert Dake, 1989’s Moon Crash starred Koenig as an astronaut, co-starring none other than Evil Dead franchise star Bruce Campbell. One sci-fi icon and one horror icon combine for one of the often-forgotten relics of genre filmmaking.
The film is about astronauts (Koenig and Campbell) who are sent to the moon to investigate what are the signs of life. They reanimate the body of a woman (Lee Lombardi), who warns them that the moon is under the control of a race of alien cyborgs waiting for an opportunity to invade Earth. They understand that desperate measures must be taken to keep the cyborgs from leaving the moon
The premise is intriguing and its stars seem like they’d make a fun match. However, while there are plenty of ’80s sci-fi movies that deserve more attention, the consensus seems to be that this isn’t one of them.
Moontrap is a forgotten relic of low-budget sci-fi from the 80s
“Moon Trap” was a relatively low-budget affair and went straight to video. It also came out at a unique time for both its lead stars.
Walter Koenig was in the thick of the post-Chekov era, with this film coming out right between Star Trek IV: Voyage Home and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. This was when the OG crew of the Enterprise was starting to run out of steam. William Shatter has apologized for “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” because it is not very well reviewed. The bottom line is, as much as Trekkies love “The Voyage Home,” it could be considered the last hurrah of the franchise’s original cinematography.
As for Bruce Campbell, he was firmly a B-movie actor at this point. Not yet a legend and still a working man’s actor, he wasn’t exactly in a position to play choice roles. The Maniac Cop trilogy was ahead of its time, and Campbell was in those movies at the time, but they weren’t mainstream hits. He also starred in the underrated slasher Intruder in ’89, which, again, wasn’t a blockbuster.
There is very little critical opinion available online when it comes to The Moon Trap, but it has a not-so-good 27% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. More than anything else, it’s a forgotten relic of ’80s sci-fi that largely existed thanks to the advent of VHS and the home video market. Here and now, it’ll probably be a direct release on Shudder or something along those lines.
You can pick up “Moontrap” on DVD from Amazon if you’re interested.
