Remember when the future was going to look exactly like the 1980s? The makers of Arena did--which is probably not terribly shocking, considering the film was made in 1989. In fact, you might say that Empire Pictures was already on the cutting edge of retro-'80s chic: Arena completely fails to acknowledge the coming of a new decade and wallows in big poofy hair, big poofy shoulder pads, and big poofy monster make up. It's terrible, of course, but enjoyable nonetheless, especially if you pay close attention and pick up on the various movie references laced throughout the script. Besides ripping off Star Wars endlessly, Arena also works in a reference to This Island Earth (the interocitor seems to have survived the crash landing of Exeter's spaceship), and the Marx Brothers' secret Horse Feathers password, 'swordfish', is here, too. In short, it's a kitsch delight for those who enjoy extraterrestrial camp.
