Ernie Hudson And Molly Ringwald's Forgotten Sci-Fi Bounty Hunter Movie Is Streaming For Free

Ernie Hudson is sci-fi royalty thanks to his turn as Winston Zeddemore, one of the most iconic characters in "Ghostbusters." Meanwhile, Molly Ringwald rose to fame with movies like "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink," which are coming-of-age classics. Any film featuring both actors should command some attention, yet Lamont Johnson's "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" is a footnote in their respective careers. However, the film is currently streaming for free on Tubi if anyone wants to check it out.

"Spacehunter: Adventure in the Forbidden Zone" follows Wolff (Peter Krauss), a mercenary who sets out to defeat an evil warlord (Michael Ironside) on a dangerous planet. Ringwald plays Niki, a young scavenger who helps lead Wolff through the titular Forbidden Zone. Hudson, meanwhile, is Washington, one of Wolff's old military buddies who wants to rescue the warlord's kidnap victims. Cue a story about overcoming tyranny in outer space.

"Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" isn't particularly original. It was envisioned as a post-apocalyptic story in the vein of "Mad Max" and "Escape from New York," but producer Ivan Reitman added the space twist later. However, fans of dark sci-fi universes and space operas will have fun with it, even though the film failed to capture any significant attention following its release.

"Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" was an attempt to cash in on the '80s blossoming 3-D craze — a reaction to the success of "Comin' At Ya" in 1981. However, the gimmick proved to be more trouble than it was worth here, as "Spacehunter" didn't meet Ivan Reitman's expectations from a quality standpoint — and bringing the 3-D to life was a nightmare.

"We had to have two cameras," Reitman recalled in an interview with Slate. "We just shot it in what is now called 'native' 3-D, and it was hell. And there were no screens that you could show it in. That was not really a practical idea in 1981."

In the same interview, Reitman described the film as terrible — but he doesn't give it enough credit. "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" is derivative of better movies, sure, but fans of "Mad Max" and "Star Wars" will be seduced by its charms. Don't go into it expecting one of the all-time great sci-fi movies, but you can look forward to having a good time.