Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXVII

This 27th compilation of the cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000—known among the cognoscenti as MST3K—follows the longstanding formula of screening really bad movies with snarky commentary delivered by a man and his robot companions imprisoned on a space station. The selections span the long run of MST3K, beginning with an early 1989 installment, in which Joel Hodgson and his ‘bot buddies host the inept 1963 creature-feature The Slime People; surprisingly, the ensemble seems almost shy about interrupting filmmaker Robert Hutton's non-epic, in which spear-carrying, catfish-faced monsters invade a few Los Angeles fields and grocery stores. But in a later episode—after the show was picked up by the then-Sci-Fi Channel—Mike Nelson and his cohorts rip uproariously and nonstop into the 1957 giant-bug spectacle The Deadly Mantis, directed by Nathan Juran. Also included in this set is 1965's Village of the Giants, a high-camp fantasy (helmed by Bert I. Gordon and featuring a young Ron Howard and Beau Bridges) about mutant, oversized teenagers conquering a small town; and Rocket Attack U.S.A., a cheapjack 1958 Cold War quickie from director Barry Mahon based on the premise that the first thing the nasty Soviets do after Sputnik is launch a nuke at New York City. Extras includes a featurette on Mercury Theatre alumnus William Alland, who promoted sci-fi at Universal Pictures in the 1950s, and a where-are-they-now interview with cast member-writer Trace Beaulieu. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady)