Yeah, Jim Wynorski definitely wrote this. It's amusing, but his sense of humor comes across better in movies he directs. It's actually a pretty entertaining b-movie, but following on the heels of the amazing Corman production 'Galaxy of Terror', this is a bit of a letdown.<br /><br />The "'Alien' rip-off" label is a bit of a misnomer, since 'Alien' is itself a rip-off of 'Planet of the Vampires', but accurate in that yes, the plot is basically the same, the setting being a genetic research station on a planet that just happens to also have the exact same rock formation that Captain Kirk fought the Gorn on in the classic 'Star Trek' episode 'Arena'! If that doesn't excite you...<br /><br />...This might. Dawn Dunlap and June Chadwick play really hot scientists and they get naked... a lot. They bathe each other in some weird, psychedelic shower scene, at one point. Actually, these scenes are really the highlight of the film. The smaller scale effects actually look good as well, and some cool death sequences result, but the large scale creature is pretty hilarious. The exterior visual effects are well done, too. The dialogue is good for a laugh or three. It sometimes comes off as parody or schtick, which is what Jim Wynorski usually goes for, and director Allan Holtzman seems to be playing along occasionally, but he could have tried a little harder to be either scarier or funnier. A couple of familiar faces in the cast... The doctor is played by Fox Harris, from 'Repo Man', and the guy that dies first in this movie was the first to die in another 80's cult classic, "Night of the Comet". Jesse Vint is the bland, but okay protagonist, always scoping for some space booty.<br /><br />The score was great. It's similar to the other 80's synthesizer scores Jim Wynorski used in 'Chopping Mall' and his classic remake of 'Not of This Earth'.<br /><br />It's worth a watch if you're an 80's b-movie fan. It's a pretty fun schlock film, but Jim Wynorski's humor doesn't convey as well as it usually does whenever he's directing.