''Ravager'' is a 1997

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

written and directed by James D. Deck and starring

Bruce Payne Bruce Martyn Payne (born 22 November 1958) is an English actor, producer, screenwriter, film director and theatre director. Payne is best known for portraying villains, such as Charles Rane in ''Passenger 57'', Jacob Kell in '' Highlander: End ...

, Yancy Butler,

Juliet Landau Juliet Rose Landau (born March 30, 1965) is an American actress, director, producer, and ballerina best known for her role as Drusilla on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spinoff show ''Angel'', the latter appearance earning her a Sat ...

and

Robin Sachs Robin Sachs (5 February 1951 – 1 February 2013) was an English actor, active in the theatre, television and films. He was also known for his voice-over work in films and video games. Born to a theatrical family, Sachs studied at the Royal Acad ...

Plot

There was no way for Avedon Hammond ( Yancy Butler) to foresee the impending crisis. As command pilot of the I/P/T transport ship Armstrong, a space-weary NASA discard now used routinely in sub-orbital transport runs, the attractive, highly proficient pilot has her hands full. Upon entering the ship to prepare for liftoff, she's chagrined to find that her flight has been reassigned to another command pilot, Cooper Wayne (

), a daredevil she knows all too well—as an ex-lover from whom she just had to walk away. Avedon is further annoyed to find that the flight is another "mystery run," no paperwork, no flight plan, and a handful of passengers on what should be a cargo carrier. The eclectic riffraff of passengers includes Lazarus (Salvator Xuereb), a two-bit hustler; Dr. Shephard (

), a skilled former micro-surgeon now addicted to his own self-prescribed medications; Cade (David Stratton), an edgy young man obsessed with finding the wife who deserted him; and Sarra (

), a flawlessly beautiful young woman with a mysterious past. About the only "stand-up guy" aboard is chief engineer Mick 'Clean' McClean (

Stanley Kamel Stanley Kamel (January 1, 1943 – April 8, 2008) was an American actor. From 2002 until his death in 2008, he played Dr. Charles Kroger on the American television series ''Monk''. Biography Kamel was born to a Jewish family and raised in Sou ...

), a technical genius who's called upon regularly to repair just about every system on board the tired ship. After takeoff, two booster rockets become obstructed and the Avedon is forced to crash land in a desolate, uncharted region of the South Asian desert wracked by seismic tremors. While trying to recover tridymite to fabricate new flight data circuit boards, the crew stumbles upon an underground military depository for advanced biological weapons. One of the passengers gets infected by the weapons and turns into a zombie with murderous proclivities. Avedon and Cooper attempt to protect the other passengers and get the plane repaired and to safety as soon as is possible.

Cast

as Cooper Wayne * Yancy Butler as Avedon Hammond *

as Sarra *

as Clean *

as Dr. Shepard *Salvator Xuereb as Lazarus *

Stuart Cornfeld Stuart Cornfeld (November 13, 1952 – June 26, 2020) was an American film producer. He was business partners with Ben Stiller in the company Red Hour Productions. Biography Cornfeld was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended the Universi ...

as Doctor *Momo Yashima as Nurse *

Diane Pershing Diane Pershing is an American voice actress, film critic, and novelist. She began her singing career as a back-up singer for Johnny Mathis and went on to appear in the show group, The Establishment, on tour and on TV. She also voiced Poison Ivy ...

as Des (voice)

Reception

The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' described the film as

Outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

'' meets '' Alien'' and stated that it was 'a competently made and acted science-fiction thriller'. John Stanley stated that the interactions between Butler's character and Payne's and Landau's characters "provide more substance than usual". Tim Gross described the film as a 'fun mid 90s low budget sci-fi flick'. In contrast, Fraser Sherman described the film as 'boring'.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0119984, Ravager 1997 films 1997 horror films 1990s English-language films English-language horror films