The Plot.

Through a series of coincidences, Carrie, Dan and Dr. Hartmann all fall through a teleporter device Hartmann has invented.

Transported to a what appears to be a prehistoric world in a parallel universe and unable to find the Doctor, Dan and Carrie must figure out a way to get back home.

Before they can do that, however, they must deal with tribes of savage cavemen, as well as brutal warlord named Kleel who has taken a liking to Carrie and seems to be unusually well-supplied with Earth technology.

This is not a horrible movie.

The acting is good and the directing is suitable.

It's easy to watch and you can space out here and there without losing the plot.

It's set in LA but all the cars have their steering wheels on the right side because this was filmed in South Africa where tehy drive the English way.

The movie can't be taken too seriously and frankly I think it was made more as a comedy with sci fi elements rather than in the reverse.

The special effects are horrible. It has the look of Flesh Gordon. Too bad Kay Lenz didn't do some porn in her day.

I liked the movie. It was fun and different. Nothing to write home about but good for a lazy rainy day

The year is 1983. Battlestar Galactica has finished and Richard Hatch is out of work...

"I'll take anything", says Richard, running nervous fingers through his famously luxuriant dark hair, trying to remain in control of his emotions but exuding more than the merest whiff of desperation from his once proud figure. His agent smiles apologetically before stammering his way through the sentence which will ultimately cost him his job. "I, er... have this for you, Richard". He stops for a moment to dab at his forehead with a handkerchief already damp from nervous sweat. "It's called 'Prisoners of the Last, sorry... Lost Universe'. What do you think"? The haggard looking former TV star looks sorrowfully at the script, remembering the good old days of brown uniforms, Dirk Benedict, kissing Jane Seymour, and evading Cylon Centurions blasting him with lasers. Then, after recollecting the state of his dwindling finances, he swallows, closes his eyes and says, "I'll do it. God help me, I'll do it".

And that is how Prisoners of the Lost Universe came to pass (with John Saxon having virtually the same conversation with his soon-to-be- fired agent as well). Probably.

Hatch and cheap Farrah Fawcett-alike Kay Lenz disappear through a mad scientist's inter-dimensional gate into a parallel universe (which isn't all that parallel really) inhabited by mute giants, a green native American (sorry, native Vanyan) a cheery Irish/Scottish/English (depending on whichever line he's speaking at the time) thief, giant gold warriors, megalomaniacal overlords who laugh evilly at everything, and some small, but very angry, stripy pygmies wearing owl masks with flashing red eyes.

Bad actors act badly, bad lines are spoken badly, bad visual effects are used badly (and have not aged at all well), comedy sound effects are employed with completely non-hilarious results and awful bad guys get their painfully convoluted come-uppances. The music score demands special attention, being part Superman, part Shaft. Quite the combination, I can tell you.

A truly terrible film with only one question hanging over it. Why, if it was so utterly awful, did I want to watch it all over again the moment it ended?

If there was a way to vote 0/10 & 10/10 at the same time, I'd do that. Instead, I'll split the difference and give it 5.

Prisoners of the Lost Universe: Science transports a mad scientist, a handyman, and a go get um TV reporter to "The Lost Universe" which turns out to be South African renaissance festival run by John Saxon.

On the plus side, this is no Frankenstein Island. There is some decent acting with actually appealing actors. Richard Hatch was always underutilized but certainly is appealing here. John Saxon is in full John Saxon mode and plays his evil character halfway between Donald Pleasance and Kurtwood Smith. As others certainly have pointed out the real find is Kay Lenz. Well find is a bit of a stretch. She played a hippy chick intertwined with William Holden in the Clint Eastwood lensed Breezy. Having recently watched that film for the first time it is well worth the look and she is fantastic in it. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance (Best New Actress nominee). Kay Lenz is fantastic in her role with great chemistry with Richard Hatch and a sense of spunky fun.

The movie also has some decent ideas wrapped up with some on the spot dialogue. So why am I watching this movie with a Rifftrax soundtrack and comparing it to Frankenstein Island? Well…. Did I mentioned it was filmed in South Africa… in the early Eighties… and they used their entire budget for top name stars like Richard Hatch? Yes, this one had potential but everything else is a pure train wreck. You can't make Lord of the Rings on a 100k budget. It is a combination of LARPers gone wrong and some of the worst, yet strangely creative costumes and makeup ever seen. You have giants, midgets, green people… and sets that would make 60's Star Trek blush.

It's all in good fun and the stars mentioned above make most of this more palatable than it should be. For those times even the charms of Richard Hatch or John Saxon cannot win one over I had the soothing jokes of Rifftrax to see me through. An okay time but don't be surprised if you are confused after fifteen minutes and asleep after forty-five.