Imagine a movie that borders on animated pornography and gonzo horror. Now imagine this movie has some decent sci-fi concepts, a plot that makes zero sense, features ‘80s comedy legend John Candy in multiple voice roles, and was produced by future Ghostbusters maestro Ivan Reitman. That film is Heavy Metal, a sci-fi anthology animated film which hit theaters on August 7, 1981. From an awesome soundtrack to arresting, and sometimes, disturbing imagery, Heavy Metal occupies a strange place in sci-fi cinema history, neither a hidden gem nor something that can be entirely dismissed as complete trash, simply because there’s nothing quite like it.
So, 45 years later, does this cult film hold up? The answer isn’t entirely clear, and it all depends on your patience for a genre of sci-fi and fantasy that essentially doesn’t exist anymore — likely with good reason.
