Outland gets a terrible reputation in many circles. Either these people haven’t rewatched it or simply go by someone else’s critique.

I’ve recently rewatched after a few decades (!) and found it entertaining. Yes, it’s High Noon in space but it’s shot quite well and the production design has that “worn future” that both Alien, Silent running, and star wars masterfully did.

Sean Connery carries the entire flick as the stoic marshal of a mining colony in Io, a moon of Jupiter. Peter Boyle doesn’t get much time but you feel icky on how much of a slime ball his character is. We all have met people in power like him.

Action is sparse, as this is also a bit of a plot boiler story with plenty of quiet moments in the low lit facility. The 4k edition from arrow, which I bought right away, is perfect for Peter Hyams, who loves darkness and faint glimmers of light on all his movies.

Jerry Goldsmith creates a terrifying score, which does reuse a few ideas from Alien, fueling the fan theory that both movies share the same universe. I’m choosing the main title as it’s a great track.

-Sam J Valdés López