Space Raiders (1983), The Sisterhood (1988), The Zero Boys (1986)

Of the two Corman-produced Star Wars knockoffs, I much prefer Battle Beyond the Stars; Space Raiders comes off as "what if Han Solo had to babysit a 10-year-old?" The plot is distressingly thin: 10 year boy (the same kid from Over the Top!! He's refreshingly innocent here, which is annoying in its own special way) stows away on a stolen cargo ship. The "space raiders" who steal the cargo ship discover him and argue about him fate: do they hold him for ransom? Bring him along? Kill him? The main raider takes a liking to the kid - the only person in the universe, he notes, who doesn't think he's a loser - and makes it a mission to simply return the child.

But of course all hell breaks loose when they park at a space station full of space trash dead set on stealing the kid and selling him or whatever. The raiders all put their lives on the line and prove to be better people than anyone suspected. 

But it's simply not a great movie. It's not entertaining for much of the run, there is little chemistry between anyone, and the script is abysmal. Stick to Battle Beyond the Stars. 

Yet another Mad Max clone from the '80s, with a dash of Conan tossed in for good (bad?) measure. This one is ham-fisted and quite stupid: WWIII breaks out between the USA and USSR, and the USA crumbles into feudal kingdoms of barbarian men, where women are possessions that are traded, bought and sold.

That is - except for the sisterhood! They are a band of psychic women who hold their own against the men and hold periodic raids to free captive women. Eventually a goddess comes to them and teleports them out of danger, chastising them for using weapons other than their psychic powers. 

And... that's it. This movie is paper thin, and the pleasure derived from it can be weighed in ounces. The amazing poster above is the best thing about it. Avoid. 

This one was filmed on the same sets as Friday the 13th Part III ... and it shows. What starts out interestingly - a championship paintball team goes out into the woods with their girlfriends for a good time - becomes a dull by-the-numbers slasher movie, except the killers are given zero motivation or characterization. They just kill because the plot demands it. Despite the cool title and great first ten minutes, this is a dud.