Star Crystal (1986)

Interesting facts

Star Crystal is a 1986 American horror science fiction film directed by Lance Lindsay. The film stars C. Juston Campbell and Faye Bolt as a pair of astronauts who must survive against a mysterious alien lifeform seeking to kill them, while also facing dwindling supplies aboard their damaged shuttlecraft.

Production

Star Crystal marked Eric Woster's first time working as an independent producer after serving as a production assistant on The Shining and the Cheech & Chong films Nice Dreams and Things Are Tough All Over. The film was designed to be mash-up of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Alien that would be done on a frugal budget in order to appeal to New World Pictures once filming had wrapped. Production began in 1983.

Director Lance Lindsay called the film "the worst nightmare I've ever gone through" citing a myriad of production problems that affected Star Crystal such as Woster needing to edit the film himself due to the Newport Beach based investors refusing to sink anymore money into the production, one of the leading men being stricken with severe fever that lost seven of the planned twelve shooting days, and one actor developing ego problems and refusing…

According to Abernathy, the initial storyboard storyboards depicting the space station called for an elaborate design resembling a Bicycle wheel, but as a convincing effect would've called for a mixture of models needed for wide shots and close-ups, Abernathy instead jerry rigged a model out of a Sparkletts water bottle and a piece of PVC pipe which he then convinced a friend to detail for $200.

The creature was built by Woster in his bedroom using BFGoodrich material and condoms for the creature's irises. Lindsay was dissatisfied with the end result of the creature describing the final model as resembling a "melted candle". The creature had 27 separate head movements and required 14 operators to work it.

Abernathy stated the effects in the film cost approximately $5,000, but Woster contradicted this statement stating the cost was $10,000.

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