Look, the 1980s were weird. We all know that. But even by the standards of a decade that gave us neon leg warmers and Max Headroom, The Voyage of the Rock Aliens is a special kind of bizarre. Released in 1984, this movie isn't just a film; it’s a time capsule of an era where "more is more" wasn't a suggestion, it was the law.
If you haven't seen it, the plot—if you can call it that—involves a group of extraterrestrials traveling the cosmos in a guitar-shaped spaceship. They’re looking for the source of rock and roll. Naturally, they find their way to a town called Speelburgh. It stars Pia Zadora. It has a giant octopus. There’s a robot named 1359. Honestly, it’s a lot.
What Actually Is The Voyage of the Rock Aliens?
At its core, this is a sci-fi musical comedy. It was directed by James Fargo, who, interestingly enough, also directed Clint Eastwood in The Enforcer and Every Which Way But Loose. Talk about a career pivot. The movie was basically a vehicle for Pia Zadora, who played Dee Dee, a girl stuck in a town obsessed with a safe, 1950s version of rock, while she yearned for something... alien.
The "aliens" are led by ABCD, played by Craig Sheffer. He looks like he wandered off the set of a Duran Duran music video. They land, they get into trouble with a local gang called the "Pack," and everything eventually dissolves into a series of synth-pop performances. It’s colorful. It’s loud. It makes almost zero sense if you try to apply logic to it.
People often confuse this with a parody. It’s not. Or at least, it doesn't feel like it’s in on the joke. It has that sincere, high-budget gloss that only the early 80s could produce. The budget was reportedly around $7 million, which wasn't pennies back then. You can see the money on the screen in the practical effects and the lighting, even if the script feels like it was written on a napkin during a lunch break at a New Wave club.
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The Pia Zadora Factor
You can't talk about The Voyage of the Rock Aliens without talking about Pia Zadora. Her career is one of the strangest footnotes in Hollywood history. Backed by her wealthy husband, Meshulam Riklis, she was pushed as a major star. The controversy surrounding her Golden Globe win for Butterfly (1982) still gets brought up by film historians as a "pay-for-play" scandal.
In this film, though, she’s actually kind of charming. She’s a great singer. The soundtrack features "When the Rain Begins to Fall," her duet with Jermaine Jackson. That song was a massive hit in Europe, topping charts in Germany, France, and the Netherlands, even though it barely made a dent in the US.
Why the Cult Following is Growing Now
Why do we care about a movie that mostly flopped 40 years ago? For one, the aesthetics are impeccable. If you’re into the "Retrowave" or "Synthwave" look, this movie is your holy grail. Every frame is drenched in primary colors and fog machines.
- The soundtrack is a legitimate banger. It’s peak 80s synth-pop.
- The practical effects are hilarious but weirdly creative. That guitar spaceship? Iconic.
- It’s a "party movie." It’s meant to be watched with friends while you collectively wonder what everyone was smoking.
The film has seen a resurgence thanks to boutique labels like Vinegar Syndrome, who gave it a 2K restoration a few years back. Before that, you could only find grainy VHS rips on YouTube. Now, you can see every sequin on Zadora’s outfits in high definition. It’s glorious.
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The Speelburgh Setting
The town name is an obvious nod to Steven Spielberg, which tells you everything you need to know about the film's ambitions. It wanted to capture that E.T. or Close Encounters magic but through the lens of an MTV music video. Most of the movie was actually filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. If you look closely at some of the outdoor scenes, you can catch glimpses of 1980s ATL before it became the "Hollywood of the South."
The local "villain" is a guy named "Control," played by Michael Berryman. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s a horror legend, most famous for The Hills Have Eyes. Seeing him in a goofy sci-fi musical is one of those "only in the 80s" moments. He plays a chainsaw-wielding lunatic who lives in an asylum but also happens to be a high school student? Don't ask. Just go with it.
The Legacy of Jermaine Jackson and the Music
While Zadora is the face of the film, the music is the backbone. "When the Rain Begins to Fall" is the standout. The music video for that song actually serves as a sort of "mini-sequel" or companion piece to the movie. It’s got a weirdly high production value. Jermaine Jackson was at the height of his post-Jackson 5 solo success, and his involvement gave the project a level of musical credibility it probably didn't deserve.
The band in the movie, "The Real Life," were an actual group. They had a hit with "Send Me an Angel," which is a quintessential 80s track. Their presence gives the "alien" band scenes a bit of actual rock-star energy. They weren't just actors holding instruments wrong; they knew what they were doing.
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The Weirdness of 1359
We need to talk about the robot. 1359 is a small, bleeping droid that feels like a low-rent R2-D2. But he’s weirdly foul-mouthed (in beeps) and has a strange obsession with human women. It’s a bizarre character choice that adds to the film's "fever dream" quality. One minute you're watching a dance number, the next, a robot is peeping into a locker room. It’s uncomfortable, sure, but it’s part of the unfiltered, un-PC chaos of the era.
Critical Reception vs. Modern Reality
When it came out, critics hated it. They trashed it. It was nominated for several Golden Raspberry Awards. But critics in 1984 were looking for "cinema." They weren't looking for a 90-minute music video.
Today, we view The Voyage of the Rock Aliens through a different lens. We value it for its sincerity. There isn't a cynical bone in this movie's body. It’s trying so hard to be cool, and that effort is endearing. It’s a snapshot of a time before the internet, when you could spend millions of dollars on a guitar-shaped spaceship and no one would stop you to ask "why?"
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you’re looking to dive into the world of Speelburgh and guitar-shaped spaceships, don't just settle for a clip on TikTok. To get the full experience, follow these steps.
- Track down the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray. The restoration is the only way to appreciate the cinematography. The colors pop in a way that the old VHS tapes simply can't reproduce.
- Listen to the full soundtrack. Beyond the main hits, there are some deep-cut synth tracks that are perfect for any 80s-themed playlist.
- Watch the music video for "When the Rain Begins to Fall" separately. It’s its own masterpiece of 80s absurdity and features some truly wild fashion choices from Jermaine Jackson.
- Check out the "making of" lore. Reading about Pia Zadora's career provides necessary context for why this movie exists in the first place. It was a vanity project that somehow became a cult classic.
The film serves as a reminder that entertainment doesn't always have to be "good" to be valuable. Sometimes, being incredibly, unapologetically weird is enough to earn a spot in history. It captures the transition from the disco era to the synth-pop explosion perfectly. Whether you're a fan of campy sci-fi or a student of 80s pop culture, this voyage is one worth taking at least once. Just don't expect it to make sense. That’s not what rock and roll is about anyway.