At the beginning of the year, “Independence Day” director Roland Emmerich laid “Moonfall’ a colossal crash landing. The science fiction film, conceived as a global blockbuster, failed mercilessly with both critics and audiences. At the same time, the mockbuster, equipped with at least a rudimentarily similar story, was released “Moon Crash” for US home theaters.
It is not known how many viewers stayed away from the German filmmaker’s screen spectacle because they fell for “Moon Crash”. With regard to the cost/income calculation, his studio, the trash experts The Asylum (“Sharknado”, “Jurassic Domination”), should certainly have made a far better cut than the big competition. Because obviously the film was only made for a tiny fraction of the budget (approx. 150 million dollars) by “Moonfall” produced.
“But why should I watch the trashy cheap version of an already lousy Hollywood original?”, is surely asking one or the other uninitiated when it comes to mockbusters. The answer of fans of such concoctions is usually: “Because these movies are so bad they’re hilarious again!”
The interplay of awful special effects, bungling performances and an outrageous plot can actually offer a certain entertainment value. Anyone who thinks they have this kind of humor should just give it a try. This works best with good-humoured friends with a good amount of popcorn or chips and maybe a beer or two.
And if you’re already crouching so happily together, you can make a double feature out of it – like earlier on Friday evening in the blessed art house around the corner. Because after “Moon Crash” runs along “War Of The Worlds: The Annihilation“ another German free TV premiere!
The alien invasion thriller didn’t have a brand-new counterpart in the cinema when it was released in the US, but it is at least vaguely based on HG Wells’ literary classic “War of the Worlds”. After all, this has already been filmed by Steven Spielberg, among others. Tom Cruise stood in front of the camera for the master director in 2005. In the reinterpretation from 2021, also produced by The Asylum, it was only enough for a now apparently completely worn-out William Baldwin (“Backdraft”, “Flatliners”) as the biggest name in the cast…
“Moon Crash” will air today, August 30, 2022 at 8:15 p.m. on Tele 5. “War Of The Worlds: The Destruction” will follow directly afterwards from 10:15 p.m. on the same channel. If the dates don’t suit you, that’s no problem. Both titles can be streamed free of charge from the Tele 5 media library until the end of September 2022. They are also available for purchase from the usual online retailers as Blu-ray or DVD:
» “Moon Crash” on Blu-ray/DVD at Amazon*
» “War Of The Worlds: The Annihilation” on Blu-ray/DVD at Amazon*
In “Moon Crash” a mining company cooperates with a space company to mine raw materials on the moon. Both sides are already rubbing their hands with relish, after all the venture promises to yield colossal profits. But then a devastating accident while drilling leads to the fact that, in addition to thousands of smaller pieces, a gigantic chunk breaks out of the mass of the Earth’s satellite and races straight towards our planet…
In “War Of The Worlds: The Annihilation” extraterrestrials apparently want to take over the earth as their new habitat. After the devastating alien invasion, the future of our species is at stake. Because most of the military has been knocked out by toxic gas released by meteorites. Suddenly, the hopes of mankind rest on a young mother who really only wants to save her little son…
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
