Space Rage

Two centuries in the future, a dangerous lunatic named Grange (Paré) is sentenced to a penal colony, Botany Bay, on the planet Proxima Centauri 3. There, a bounty hunter (Laughlin) and an ex-policeman (Farnsworth) team up to prevent him from escaping.^[5]

The film was the brainchild of Beverly Hills psychologist Morton Reed. During a luncheon with film industry friends Roger Corman and Elliott Slutzky, he heard them complain about how hard it was to make films based on fresh concepts. Reed, who had moonlighted as a writer, told them on a dare that he could easily come up with an exciting movie.^[6] He formed his own company Morton Reed Productions^[7] and found a partner in Vestron, a distributor of genre films looking to branch out into production.^[8][9] His project was the most expensive of Vestron's initial three-picture slate, which also comprised two chillers from Friday the 13th producer Steve Minasian, the compilation film Don't Scream, It's Only a Movie! and April Fool's Day (later renamed Slaughter High).^[2] The film's budget was initially estimated between $3.2 million and $3.5 million.^[2][3] It was helmed by stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano, in his main unit directorial debut.

Filming began on January 26, 1985.^[10] During a promotional appearance for a prior feature in early March, Farnsworth confirmed he had just completed principal photography on the picture, which was shot under the title A Dollar A Day.^[11] Shortly after however, it had been re-titled to Trackers: 2180 or just Trackers.^[2][6] Some sources mention another considered title, The Last Frontier.^[7] Farnsworth, who was contemplating retirement, expressed satisfaction with the shoot, on which he felt more at ease than on the troubled equestrian drama Sylvester.^[11] Reed conceded that he had been surprised by the demands of filmmaking, saying: "It's incredible, such hard hours, that I don't think there can be a really, totally bad filmmaker in the world. If you finish, you're a hero. No matter how you did it, it's incredible."^[6]

Following test screenings however, the result of Reed's work was deemed unsatisfactory and the movie was ordered to undergo reshoots, which were directed by production executive Peter McCarthy.^[10]

Theatrical

The film received a theatrical premiere in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of production company Vestron, on Christmas 1985.^[10] At that time, it was still being promoted as Trackers: 2180.^[12] It was then shelved and retooled before its actual release in Ohio, starting on November 21, 1986.^[1] However, unlike some other Vestron releases that used a touring regional model, no information could be found about the film being shown in other markets.

Home media

The film was released on Betamax and VHS cassettes via Vestron subsidiary Lightning Video on July 21, 1987.^[13]

The Variety reviewer identified as Lor. was negative, opining: "there is almost no futurism to the picture's design, an instant disappointment for sci-fi fans. A good cast is wasted, particularly Lee Purcell [...]". Leonard Maltin wrote that Farnsworth "should've turned [his laser-beam six-shooter] on the negative of this bomb."^[14] TV Guide rated it two out of four stars and called it "an uneasy blend of science fiction and western", though it praised the unconventional casting of Paré as a villain.^[15] Bantam Books' Movies on TV and Videocassette felt that the film's "futuristic trappings fail to enliven this tired shoot-'em-up."^[16]

The soundtrack includes song by alternative rock bands The Spikes, The Screaming Believers, Exploding White Mice, Dream Syndicate and Blood Money.

• Space Rage at IMDb