Wow. Somewhere I read that this movie was an absorbing example of the sci-fi genre. Now I know why they say "don't believe everything you read." I rented it solely on this basis, and I feel as though Harlan Ellison (who wrote the original story) must be crying head-in-hands somewhere.
Don Johnson (AKA the "boy," though he was 26 at the time playing a tender 18) gives a dreary performance, foreshadowing the lifeless screeching that passed as acting on "Miami Vice" a decade later. The dog (couldn't the director find a more appropriate breed than this Benji lookalike?) actually out-acts Johnson, even saddled by a goofy voiceover that is supposed to give the animal a "learned" demeanor. Yes, the dog talks. Which is more than I can say for Don's slurry gibbering.
Aside from the shoddy production values, crappy set design, bad acting and lack of narrative energy, the film does have a funny cameo role by Jason Robards. Otherwise, it's too bad to be good and not bad enough to be good ala "Showgirls." Avoid it like the plague unless you are a diehard sci-fi freak.
Don Johnson (AKA the "boy," though he was 26 at the time playing a tender 18) gives a dreary performance, foreshadowing the lifeless screeching that passed as acting on "Miami Vice" a decade later. The dog (couldn't the director find a more appropriate breed than this Benji lookalike?) actually out-acts Johnson, even saddled by a goofy voiceover that is supposed to give the animal a "learned" demeanor. Yes, the dog talks. Which is more than I can say for Don's slurry gibbering.
Aside from the shoddy production values, crappy set design, bad acting and lack of narrative energy, the film does have a funny cameo role by Jason Robards. Otherwise, it's too bad to be good and not bad enough to be good ala "Showgirls." Avoid it like the plague unless you are a diehard sci-fi freak.