Cave Women on Mars (2008) User Reviews

It's not a spoof... that would be more fun.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 22 December 2017]

The year is 1987: mankind has conquered space, launching the first manned mission to Mars. On reaching the red planet, the two man crew-Captain Jackson (Josh Craig) and Lieutenant Elliot (Daniel Sjerven)-encounter two tribes of warrior women, neither of which hold men in very high regard.

Writer/director Christopher R. Mihm's Cave Women On Mars is a low-budget homage to z-grade sci-fi trash of the 1950s, and in that it largely succeeds, meaning that it too is hard to sit through in its entirety. Mihm is clearly a man who knows his stuff, effectively replicating the mundanity of many a '50s clunker, but quite why anyone would choose to painstakingly ape some of the worst films that genre and era had to offer doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me: the real McCoy is bad enough, let alone a modern day mimic.

4/10-I would have liked to have seen more tongue-in-cheek humour (but a little less of the Shatnerisms).

Just missed but good 50's concept.

[nenms11 · 5/10 · 16 March 2021]

Interestingly I found this good in a bad way. Mars as we all know is not habitable. In 1950's we all wanted a neighbor. So we invented humans and beasts.

maybe the worst movie ever!

[jerrytubb · 4/10 · 16 January 2021]

Perhaps the worst movie ever made. not just sci-fi, but any genre. not even bad-funny, just totally bland cardboard. makes Plan 9 look epic!

Cracking Family Friendly Fun

[Greyism · 16 April 2010]

Mihm's films are of surprisingly high quality and the love and heart put into their crafting are evident. The reviewer who gave it one star missed the point and content of this film by such a vastly wide margin I think he himself has never read the illustrious authors he name-dropped or love sci/fi that much if he can't embrace it's shaky beginnings in cinema.

This is not a spoof, a satire, bash or a serious modern science fiction film dealing with complex metaphysical matters. This is a loving homage to classic science fiction from the cheesy golden era (the 50's), rich with subtle references as wide ranging as Star Trek and Lovecraft. Made by a family man, using his family for key roles, this is a great film for your family to enjoy together.

Bad actors hanging out in the woods

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 10 January 2018]

CAVE WOMEN ON MARS is another ultra-cheap and campy indie comedy. The twist is that it's supposedly a 1950s movie set in the future of 1987 with all of the retro stylings you'd expect from a film of that ilk. The film plays out as a tribute of sorts to the 'outer space women' sub-genre of movie-making popular in the 1950s in titles such as CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON, but it's that cheap that it mainly consists of bad actors hanging around in the woods playing dress up. There's too much romantic stuff going on here and very little that's actually humorous.

You're missing the point.

[berg-74532 · 7/10 · 24 August 2019]

This and all Mihm movies are a farce they are purposely cheap looking and over acted. But unlike say an Ed Wood film this movie is self-aware and has an understanding that like most 50s sci fi films the science put forth is ridiculous. The fact that a reviewer calls this a farce not realizing that is exactly that says more about the reviewer then the movie. I have made this same comment about Mihm movies before and a response to my comment are that I must have been part of the film in some way and no thats not it at all. I do enjoy them and my only gripe with bad reviews is that the typical bad review always rips it for doing the exact thing it is intending. Ripping a movie for fulfilling its intent makes no sense. If you think it is bad fine but complaining it's bad and not realizing it's supposed to be bad is your fault. One last point Plan 9 was produced with a production company (a bad one) but had difficulty finding a distribution deal and took private financing and is considered by many to be worst film ever made but was intended as a real sci fi/ horror movie was produced for the equivalent in 2019 of $450,000. This was intended to make fun of movies like Plan 9 and was made in 2009 for $10000. If that in it self doesn't give you at least a grudging respect for this movie and all Mihm movies you have a fundamental lack of understanding of sarcasm and parody.

Just ridiculous. Enough said.

[mrtraska · 1/10 · 25 March 2010]

This isn't science fiction, it's camp masquerading as farce. Nothing whatsoever to DO with science fiction: bad fantasy at best. Just made for bashing on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Might even qualify for cheap satire. But sci-fi??? It's annoying enough that some databases and bookstores lump science fiction, fantasy and horror together as if they were similar. They're NOT. Science fiction requires that a real scientific idea, theory, principle or a reasonable extrapolation from same be at the heart of the plot; in short, it can be improbable, fine, but not impossible. This film is so far from meeting that criterion it's absurd. Can anyone who's read the likes of Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, Gregory Benford, Robert J. Sawyer, or Joe Haldeman put this garbage in the same category?? Oh, hell no. Skip this film if you're looking for sci-fi -- that's the best advice you can get. But if you want cheesy camp in a ridiculous 1950s-throwback style, maybe this is for you after all ...

Not very interesting

[gjv-60919 · 3/10 · 8 January 2020]

It does make me want to convert my basement into a movie studio, too. I have some old cell phones lying around I could use as cameras. Raid my parents garage for props.

The acting and dialog are painful and the plot is... a plot, I guess.

I tend to enjoy the old crappy movies but I couldn't watch this for long so maybe it gets better

It's a bore

[Rickapolis · 1/10 · 6 May 2020]

Oh, what we will stoop to on a rainy quarantined afternoon. Bad sets, worse dialogue, and production values that would embarrass Roger Corman. This one should have stayed on Mars. I know it is supposed to be satire, but satire has standards and this fails on all counts. This is the kind of movie you'd watch during your college years with a bong at your side. Stay away.

Jackson's back!

[mobrecht · 10/10 · 20 April 2008]

I was introduced to the films of Christopher Mihm last year at the Big Damn Film Festival here in Omaha. After the "big Omaha" film, Mihm's film Monster of Phantom Lake was shown to a small audience. I was fortunate to be among them.

When its sequel, It Came From Another World, was released, I had to buy the DVD as soon as I could.

And now comes the third in the series, and technically the best of the lot.

Set in the far-off future of 1987, the film introduces a new duo of heroes, Captain Jackson (son of Professor Jackson, star of the first two movies, also played by Josh Craig) and Lieutenant Elliott, played by newcomer (to this series) Daniel Sjerven.

On a side note, while the previous films have been populated by campy, fun actors, Sjerven brings a whole new level into it. I was reminded of the recent Clerks II film, where we have a group of fun actors we've enjoyed for the past several movies and suddenly there's Rosario Dawson bringing major acting chops to the film.

Jackson and Elliott are on a spaceship traveling from Earth to Mars, the first Earth ship to ever reach that distant planet. When they arrive, instead of finding a dead world, they discover the possibility of life.

After landing, they split up to more quickly survey the planet. While Jackson finds himself without much to look at, Elliott finds the source of those life form readings. It seems the planet is indeed populated. There are two tribes, both ruled by women, and both of them think the strange man is a spy from the opposing tribe.

Through the character interactions, we see the differences - and similarities - in the tribes, and just how far they're willing to go to prove their side is the only "right" side.

(side note, how fun was it to see "Amy" from Phantom Lake fighting against William Shatner's girlfriend from Invasion: Iowa?) In talking with Brooke, she revealed this is only the first part of a possible trilogy featuring the Cave Women characters. If the others do come to pass, I'll be there ... and hopefully first in line.

You can get your own copy on DVD by going to their website (click on "Official site" above).

If you have Netflix, you can get both Monster of Phantom Lake and the second movie, It Came From Another World. Try them ... you just might like them.

I sure do!

Tales of past future

[Paul_Cowan · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

We are our of dumb 1950s films so we have to make more. This guy is out doing Corman, with a new film every year.

Follow the Minh universe!

[Mikeelliott58 · 10/10 · 2 December 2019]

This series of movies is not a parody they are a homage to the fifties cheap movies.

These movies are self aware of this to the extreme people giving them low ratings just don't get it.

There is a tread that runs through them.

I'm not a smart man

[buddha-144-525401 · 10/10 · 6 March 2021]

I enjoyed the movie tremendously but I do think I feel a little bit dumber for watching it LOL

"You Worthless, Electronic Monstrosity!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 8 May 2021]

In CAVE WOMEN ON MARS, Director Christopher R. Mihm takes us to... well, Mars. It's 1987, and the spaceship Mars 1 has landed on the mysterious red planet. Shockingly, in addition to desert wastes, there's also an abundance of Earth-like plant and animal life!

Explorers, Captain Jackson and Lt. Elliott (Josh Craig and Daniel Sjerven) go on to discover two warring, female tribes. Adventure, abduction, romance, and overall silliness ensue. There's a go-rilla monster to worry about as well, and Stephanie Mihm plays a mystical high priestess.

Like most of Mihm's epics, CWOM is fun, though it does feel a bit more drawn out than some of his best films. Let's just say there's a lot of tromping through the "Martian" woods, and some unnecessary static. It helps if you're already a big fan of the Director's other 1950's sci-fi homage movies...