Star Hunter

{{distinguish|Starhunter}} {{Infobox film | name = Star Hunter | image = Cover of Star Hunter a 1998 movie.jpg | caption = | alt = Star Hunter cover | director = Cole S. McKay Fred Olen Ray | producer = Sam Newfield Raymond Reynolds | screenplay = M.B. Dick Mark Litton R.J. Robertson | starring = Roddy McDowall Stella Stevens | cinematography = Gary Graver Mark Melville | editing = Robert L. Goodman Vaniak Monadian | studio = Concorde-New Horizons | released = {{Film date|1996| | |Spain|1998|02|17|U.S.}} | runtime = 89 minutes | country = United States | language = English }}

'''''Star Hunter''''' is a 1996 science fiction film directed by Cole S. McKay and Fred Olen Ray, and starring Roddy McDowall and Stella Stevens. The eponymous character is an alien who travels through space seeking species to hunt for pleasure. He arrives on Earth, landing in Los Angeles, and is soon in pursuit of a teacher and her students, whose bus broke down on the way home from a football game.

==Plot==

Two aliens escape from prison and begin traveling throughout the galaxy, hunting species on different planets for fun. The hunters set up on Earth, and begin terrorizing a group of high school students whose bus has broken down after a school football game. The aliens set up a force field around the area to prevent the teens and their chaperone (Stella Stevens) from receiving any outside aid.

The students seek safety in the house of a blind man (Roddy McDowall), who, unknown to them, is actually one of the hunters. The aliens force the teens to fight a robot, named Star Hunter. The students improvise weapons, but these prove ineffective against Star Hunter.

Officers from the alien prison arrive; known as trackers, they are in pursuit of the escapees. They attempt to help the teens. One tracker takes control of a student, but the alien is hindered by his unfamiliarity with human emotions.<ref>Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition</ref>

==Cast== * Roddy McDowall as Riecher * Stella Stevens as Mrs. March * Rebecca Budig as Carrie * Kenn Scott as Pichel * Zack Ward as Cooper * Sean P. Donahue as Spivak (credited as Sean Donahue) * Alexander Keith as Leslie (credited as Wendy Schumacher) * Gregg Brazzel as Star Hunter * Fred Olen Ray as Tracker * Steve Barkett as Street Bum * Tripp Reed as Junkie * Ted Monte as Kyle * Bob Bragg as Cop * John Brandon as John Taylor * Hoke Howell as Jack Turner

==Production==

Fred Olen Ray reshot half an hour of the film for $11,000.<ref>{{cite podcast|url=http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/special-mark-productions/the-spoiler-room/e/fred-olen-ray-interview-37707249|title=Fred Olen Ray Interview|website=The Spoiler Room Podcast|date=21 April 2015}}</ref>

Stella Stevens was proud of having worked with Roddy McDowall.<ref>Weaver, T. (February 1996) Purdy Lady Starlog #223 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114529/externalsites?ref_=tt_ql_rel_2</ref>

==Reception==

This movie has no score on Rotten Tomatoes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Star Hunter |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_hunter |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media}}</ref> It also received one star from Creature Feature, which liked the movie’s premise, but called its execution hokey and amateurish. Moria gave the movie a rating of zero.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moriareviews.com/sciencefiction/star-hunter-1995.htm|title=Star Hunter (1995)|date=17 August 2002}}</ref>

==Home release==

As of November 2020, the movie as available on Amazon Prime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Star-Hunter-Roddy-McDowall/dp/B07JHNJV1B|title=Watch Star Hunter | Prime Video|website=Amazon}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/andre-norton/star-hunter}} * {{IMDb title|tt0114529}}

Category:1996 science fiction films Category:1996 films Category:Films about death games Category:Films set in Los Angeles Category:Films directed by Fred Olen Ray Category:1996 English-language films Category:English-language science fiction films