Deep Space is a 1988 sci-fi horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray, starring Charles Napier, Ann Turkel and Bo Svenson. Napier stars as a cop trying to stop the murderous rampage of an escaped creature engineered by the government.

A team working on a U.S.military satellite program under the direction of head scientist Forsythe loses control of a precious satellite. They realize that they can not prevent its crash on earth within the next two hours. Upon impact, the satellite breaks open, but its contents remain inert. Forsythe informs the officer in charge, General Randolph, of the situation. The satellite contains a biological weapon of a whole new genre, an actual sentient creature nicknamed "Sentar". Randolph wants the beast destroyed via its remote emergency system, but Forsythe is reluctant and minimizes the risks, arguing that there is little risk that it will wake up. However, a couple passing by disturbs the creature's sleep, and get killed after setting it loose.

The monster escapes towards Los Angeles and begins to terrorize the citizens. Meanwhile, veteran police lieutenant Ian McLemore is introduced to a newly transferred colleague from Atlanta, Carla Sandbourn, with whom he sympathizes. Their superior, Captain Robertson, attempts to dissuade Sandbourn from working with McLemore, as the latter has the reputation of getting involved in dangerous situations from which he always seems to come out unscathed, while his partners seldom live to tell the tale. McLemore is informed of an incoming call from a woman who claims to be a psychic and needs to talk to him, but refuses to take it. Instead he leaves for Innsmouth Road, where a double homicide scene has been discovered, with his regular partner Jerry Merris. There, they find a large pod that seems to be made of a hard, yet organic material, as well as several similar but smaller objects.

McLemore insists that he and Jerry steal two of the smaller pods and take them home to investigate further, as he fears a cover-up is afoot. Meanwhile the large one is taken to the local forensics lab, but during the night, the examiner, Rogers, is hacked to pieces by an unknown force. Testing also reveals that fragments of an unknown metal retrieved from the crime scene do not match any known material. When they attempt to return to the crime scene, McLemore and Merris are barred from entering by Military Police members, led by a mysterious suit who points his gun at them. Later, they see the same man exiting Robertson's office, who soon after informs them that the deaths have been ruled accidental, despite blatant evidence of the contrary. Back at his home, McLemore receives another call from the psychic who had earlier tried to contact him at the police station. The woman, named Lady Elaine Wentworth, claims to known what happened the previous night.

Sanbourn joins McLemore and they enjoy a date. McLemore remembers his pod and the two go to an entomologist that McLemore knew from a previous encounter, taking the pod. The pod is drilled open and hatches, with the creature inside attacking the entomologist and Sanbourn. The creature is destroyed in a terrarium filled with a gas. After the entomologist is wheeled away by the paramedics, McLemore recalls Merris' pod. He and Sanbourn go to Merris' home, to find that the pod has hatched and Merris has been killed. A chase ensues and the second creature is finally killed.

Lady Elaine calls Merris' home to tell McLemore where the original creature is. McLemore and Sandbourn find the location, and Sanbourn calls for backup. The creature eventually fights McLemore, and is winning until Sanbourn and Robertson, who has just arrived, attack. The distraction allows McLemore to decapitate the creature with a chainsaw.

The film was originally going to be a sequel to William Malone's minor 1985 hit Creature, but director Fred Olen Ray hated the script and suggested filming one of his own instead. The director just happened to have an alien story written six years prior laying in his personal archive. The main character was originally the same as the one in Bulletproof, with the story written around him later tweaked to meet the needs of that film's producer. True to his habit, Ray peppered the film with short appearances by veteran character players. When he reached out to Anthony Eisley, the actor was shocked to learn that B-movie connoisseur Ray had cast him because he had loved him in The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals, which he considered one of his worst films.

Filming started on April 20, 1987. After principal photography, Trans World executives called for reshoots. While they pushed for more similarities with Alien in some areas, they also ordered the addition of a military conspiracy against Ray's wishes, making the monster a man-engineered bioweapon rather than an actual extraterrestrial, as was the case in the original screenplay. The additional sessions took seven days and required building new sets, as well as filming five different endings that the producers could choose from, which the notoriously frugal helmer regarded as needless spending. The film ended up costing more than $1.5 million or closer to $2 million, depending on estimates.