The Astro-Zombies

A disgruntled scientist who, having been fired by the space agency, decides to create superhuman monsters from the body parts of innocent murder victims. The creatures eventually escape and go on a killing spree, attracting the attention of both an international spy ring and the CIA.

• Wendell Corey as Holman
• John Carradine as Dr. DeMarco
• Tom Pace as Eric Porter
• Joan Patrick as Janine Norwalk
• Tura Satana as Satana
• Rafael Campos as Juan
• Joseph Hoover as Chuck Edwards
• Victor Izay as Dr. Petrovich
• William Bagdad as Franchot
• Vincent Barbi as Tyros
• Vic Lance as the chauffeur
• Egon Sirany as Sergio Demozhenin
• Rod Wilmoth as Astro-Zombie #1 / Astro Zombie #2

Mikels said he started writing it when he made his first film, Strike Me Deadly. [2]

Produced by Ram Ltd. and Ted V. Mikels Film Production, The Astro-Zombies was filmed on a low budget of $37,000, with $3,000 of the budget used to pay Carradine.[1][3] The film would be Mikels' last collaboration with Wayne M. Rogers (of later M*A*S*H fame), who also co-wrote and co-produced the film.[1][4][5]

Mikels remembers it as "a very easy shoot. I shot half of it myself because I only had money for a crew for two weeks, so I spent two weeks shooting all the stuff around town, all the chases and all that".[2]

The score was written by Nico Karaski, cinematography was handled by Robert Maxwell and editing by Art Names.[1]

The Astro-Zombies was released in May 1968, at a runtime of 94 minutes.[1]

Variety wrote: "There's almost nothing good to say for this horror scifier ... The scifi aspects don't enthrall and the thrill aspects don't shock".[6] Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film the lowest possible rating of "Bomb", calling it "yet another nominee for worst picture of all time".[7] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar called the film "wretched", criticizing the film's messy plot and "talky/dull" scenes.[8] TV Guide called the film "one of the all-time worst sci-fi pictures".[9]

In a retrospective review, David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it the worst film ever made, and criticized the film's acting, its "painful-to-the-eyes production values", and the film's absence of reason.[10]

Nearly 40 years after the film's release, Mikels would direct three low-budget sequels starting with 2004's Mark of the Astro-Zombies, 2010's Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned, and 2012's Astro-Zombies M4: Invaders from Cyberspace. Tura Satana would return for the second and third films but not the fourth.

American horror punk band the Misfits recorded a song titled "Astro Zombies", released on their 1982 album Walk Among Us. The lyrics, by frontman Glenn Danzig, were written from the perspective of mad scientist Dr. DeMarco.[11] The film was spoofed in 2016 by comedians Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy for Rifftrax.[12]

• The Astro-Zombies at IMDb
• The Astro-Zombies on YouTube theatrical trailer
• The Astro-Zombies at Rotten Tomatoes