Now this is a very strange film. If you like the sci-fi and Eurosleaze sexploitation genres then you’re in for a treat as this incredibly sleazy and camp film, The Beast in Space, mixes the two-genres like you’ve never seen done before. A quick look at the names associated with this film will give you a very good idea of what to expect. Alfonso Brescia helms the director’s chair for this; a man responsible for several other Italian Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) rip-offs and cash-in such as the hilariously bad War of the Robots (1978). It also stars art-porn ‘actress’ Sirpa Lane, probably best known for her roles in Papaya: Love Goddess Of The Cannibals (Joe D’Amato, 1978) and The Beast (Walerian Borowcyzk,1975) which this film is a unofficial sequel to. Sleaze, stupidity and more sleazy. Sounds like a great film already.
The plot, as one would expect, is very simple indeed. It is so simple in fact that the whole shebang is more or less done in a very tongue-in-cheek style (either that or it was just unintentionally hilarious) especially the final robotic showdown. Then again, if you’re watching this film looking for an interesting, sophisticated plot then you’re, well, as stupid as this film, but possibly not half as much fun. This film makes up for the lightness of the plot with a plethora of sex. There’s sex everywhere - hence the whole ‘sexploitation’ thing. So if you’re watching this film for that then you won’t be disappointed. It’s a sci-fi fan’s dream come true! But what is particularly interesting about this film is the importance and significance given to the idea of forbidden and/or dangerous sex. Sondra (Lane) the female protagonist of this piece explains how she ‘suffers’ from a reoccurring nightmare involving her having sex with a half-man, half-beast creature. Yet as the film progresses and, sure enough, reality becomes more and more similar to her nightmares/dreams the idea of forbidden sex is complicated. Whilst it is clearly ‘wrong’ and prohibited to have it off with the Beast, she is clearly attracted to this idea. Rape fantasy complex? Mmm, maybe. On the topic of ‘the act’ the Shameless version includes scenes which have been removed from the softer versions, most notably (!) the Beast’s large...how shall I say it...wangdoodle. So big in fact it scares Lane’s character off at first.
