In the early stages of his career, James Cameron worked on Galaxy of Terror, a science fiction horror movie, released five years before he served as director of his legendary 1986 horror movie, Aliens. James Cameron began his career in the movie industry in 1978, directing the short movie, Xenogenesis, and as a production ᴀssistant and in special effects for movies, including Rock’ n’ Roll High School (1979) and Escape from New York (1981). He made his feature movie directorial debut in 1982, directing the monster horror movie Piranha II: The Spawning, the sequel to the 1978 movie, Piranha.

Cameron has since been recognized as one of the most successful movie directors of all time, with his 1997 movie, тιтanic, being one of the most Oscar-nominated movies in history, with 11 wins out of 14 nominations, and his Avatar franchise being ranked as one of the highest-grossing sci-fi movie franchises ever made. His upcoming movie, Fire and Ash (2025), the third Avatar movie, marks another first in James Cameron’s career as his first movie threequel as a director. James Cameron’s movies have grossed more than $8 billion and his work on a 1981 Alien ripoff helped launch his career.

James Cameron Worked As Designer And Second Unit Director On Galaxy Of Terror

Galaxy Of Terror Was Directed By Bruce D. Clark

In 1981, James Cameron signed on as Production Designer and Second Unit Director for the sci-fi horror movie, Galaxy of Terror. Directed by Bruce D. Clark, the movie is set in a dystopian future and follows a space crew, led by Captain Trantor (Grace Zabriskie), crash-landing on a distant planet while on a rescue mission. Upon entering a mysterious pyramid on the planet run by The Master, each crew member begins to die at the hands of their darkest fears, until only space veteran, Cabran (Edward Albert) and technical officer, Ranger (Robert Englund), are left alive.

Galaxy of Terror was filmed on a тιԍнт budget of just under $2 million, which meant the team had to be creative with production. During one scene, where the character Quuhod (Sid Haig) cuts his arm off, maggots form around the severed limb. To make the scene look as realistic as possible, James Cameron placed the maggots on a metal plate and ran an electrical current underneath during filming to make the maggots wriggle around on cue. Cameron’s efforts worked, and Quuhod’s maggot scene has been described as one of Galaxy of Terror’s most disturbing scenes (via Collider).

Cameron’s Work On Galaxy Of Terror Allowed Him To Move Into Other Movies

The Movie Helped Launch His Career As A Movie Director

While it wasn’t well-received when it was initially released, Galaxy of Terror was financially successful and has since gained a cult following as the best Alien ripoff movie, because of its unusual monster sequences, overly dramatic performances and production. James Cameron was highly praised for his production and design skills by both critics and the movie’s crew. During the shooting of Quuhod’s death scene, James Cameron’s ingenuity and creativity impressed two of the producers of Piranha II: The Spawning, who signed Cameron to serve as the director once filming of Galaxy of Terror had completed.

Following Piranha II, James Cameron signed on as director of Aliens, which many consider to be the best sci-fi sequel ever made. Cameron was greatly influenced by his experience working on Galaxy of Terror and incorporated aspects of the movie into Aliens (via Bold Entrance). While it is certainly not ranked as one of the best movies of his career, James Cameron’s work on Galaxy of Terror undoubtedly helped him establish himself as a producer and director and eventually led to him becoming one of the most critically and financially successful movie directors in history.

Sources: Collider, Bold Entrance