Slater, who first rose to fame in the 1988 dark comedy Heathers, gives a solid performance in the nearly forgotten 2013 film. Unfortunately, the 80s/90s film star wasn’t enough to save this movie from being panned by critics, overlooked by audiences, and from being cast off to teeter on the brink of total obscurity.
Critics both in 2013 and today remark that Stranded bore an eerie similarity to Ridley Scott’s Alien, which is probably no coincidence. Roger Christian, who both directed and co-wrote Stranded, brought a great amount of experience to the table when it comes to science fiction films. Prior to being at the helm of this movie flop, Christian worked as a set and art director for Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope (1977) and Alien (1979), earning an Academy Award nomination for both endeavors and winning for his work on the first of the Star Wars films.