The planet Porno (in the serial: Mongo) and major characters are suggestive innuendos: the hero Flesh Gordon (Flash Gordon); his love interest Dale Ardor (Dale Arden); the evil Emperor Wang the Perverted (Ming the Merciless); scientist Dr. Flexi Jerkoff (Dr. Alexi Zarkov); seductive Amora, queen of Magic (Ming's daughter Aura); and gay Prince Precious (Prince Barin).

The film features production values comparable to the original serial, but with stop-motion animation of creatures, frequent use of gratuitous nudity, and brief sex scenes.

Distinguished Professor Gordon explains that Earth is being tormented by periodic "sex rays", which send people into a sexual frenzy.

When one of the rays hits the passenger aircraft carrying Flesh Gordon and Dale Ardor, the pilots abandon the controls and everyone aboard has manic sex.

They travel to the planet Porno aboard Jerkoff's phallic rocket ship, and are briefly hit by a sex ray, resulting in a frantic three-way orgy.

Flesh Gordon employed special effects artists who later gained Hollywood fame, including Mike Minor, Greg Jein, and Rick Baker.

Established effects artists Jim Danforth (listed backward in the credits as Mij Htrofnad) and Dave Allen also worked on the film.

[citation needed] Other Los Angeles-area science fiction fans worked, at times, in various capacities on the film, including science fiction and fantasy artist George Barr who designed and illustrated the theatrical release poster, and Cornelius Cole III, who animated the opening title credits sequence.

Longtime fan and science fiction and fantasy writer Tom Reamy served in the art department as the production's property master.

He tracked down many of the screen-used props, including authentic, full-sized Ford Trimotor wicker passenger seats (matching the film's Tri-Motor aircraft miniature) used in an early scene.

"[6] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "What wit the film posseses had gone into the physical production [...] The acting is broad, which may be as it should be, although it quickly becomes monotonous unless you have a high tolerance for contemporary camp.

By attempting to combine sexplicity and low-level camp, pic emerges as an expensive-looking mish-mash of obvious double-entendres, idiotic characterizations and dull situations.