Little known SF films

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

Went into Fopp yesterday, ended up buying The Signal (starring L.Fishburne), The Phoenix Incident, Futureworld (sequel to Westworld), and also Monsters, which I suppose is fairly well known.

Tell me what you think of these films, and other minor SF productions. Last week I watched Cypher, which was ok, though the twist was easy to spot.

[Hollow]

The Signal...well I liked it...although I guessed the twist from the moment Larry said 'you've made contact'.

Futureworld...not as good as Westworld but not bad.

Monsters...good for the budget it had...the director is a whizz with special effects on a budget.

Not seen that other one...but I'm going to rectify that, my second favourite genre sci-fi.

[Serge]

I remember 'Futureworld' being pretty bad - the fact that Peter Fonda is the star being a giveaway - with a stupid ending. (

Spoiler alert

I don't remember the exact details, but it involves Fonda and his girlfriend pretending to be robots to get past the security to get back to outside World. But literally as soon as they get through the gate, Fonda turns around and gives the finger to them, which is surely a bad move, as now they know he's not a robot and can grab him before he goes any further? I may have forgotten some minor detail which makes nonsense of this memory....

[close]

)

[Hollow]

Yes well...I haven't actually seen it since I was about ten...so I can't say how good it actually is for sure (Futureworld) it might have been a case of lack of discernment and esteem for the original clouding my young mind.

Spoiler alert

I do remember Fonda flipping the bird however and now you come to mention it...yes...daft.

[close]

[Hollow]

Some of my favourite low spend sci-fi films are....

Dark Star - John Carpenter

A Boy and His Dog - L. Q. Jones

Beyond The Black Rainbow - Panos Cosmatos

The Terminator - James Cameron (totally doesn't count but it's low budget and I LOVE it)

[Eis Nein]

Dark Star also.

The Quiet Earth

The Divide is flawed but I appreciate its grimness.

Dredd3D has superlative chin work, a dealbreaker. Why did nobody pay to see the chin work.

[Puce Moment]

The American Astronaut (2001)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243759/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



An impressively bonkers SF that was made for almost no money.

[Hollow]

Dark Star also.

The Quiet Earth

The Divide is flawed but I appreciate its grimness.

Dredd3D has superlative chin work, a dealbreaker. Why did nobody pay to see the chin work.

It's just you and me liking The Divide then...honestly I love it...you are the first person I've seen to do the same.

Quiet Earth is a trip too...that last shot.

[Hollow]

Do not under any circumstances watch S.E.R.P.

It's a load of shit.

[Blumf]

Do not under any circumstances watch S.E.R.P.

A prequel to Serpico?

[Eis Nein]

Quiet Earth is a trip too...that last shot.

It's the second best end shot in the film.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

Another vote for The Quiet Earth and its marvellous ending.

I've now seen The Signal and I've got 1 puzzle

Spoiler alert

what are we supposed to see in the bit when hr sees the alien in the bushes in the video? Does anyone have a jpeg with arrows and captions?

[close]

[Serge]

Yes well...I haven't actually seen it since I was about ten...so I can't say how good it actually is for sure (Futureworld) it might have been a case of lack of discernment and esteem for the original clouding my young mind.

Ha! To be fair, I think a lot of my feeling of bile towards 'Futureworld' is that I held (and hold) 'Westworld' in such high esteem that it was annoying to think that this was somehow ruining my memory of the original. I was excited that Yul Brynner was back in the sequel, but

Spoiler alert

that was pissed away by having him merely appear in a terrible dream sequence.

[close]

[prwc]

Since I'm fucking lazy I'll quote my own post from a few years ago in a similarly themed topic:

2 great 60s sci-fi films, both concerning identity are Seconds and Face Of Another (Which has a lovely UK Eureka Masters Of Cinema DVD). The Last Frankenstein is a totally underrated gem which is sadly only available through grey market means, it has plot points about suicide as a spreadable disease and mutants in love amid many other interesting and well balanced themes. The Twelve Months of the Summer is a masterful Swedish TV film, again totally obscure and only available via shady avenues, but one of the most subtly effective and disturbing slices of bleak sci-fi I've ever seen. Wax, or the discovery of Television Among the Bees is also worth your time, though it has been quite a while since I saw it. The IMDb links should offer better summaries than I am capable of.

[Eis Nein]

I echo the shout for Seconds, which I watched after reading Edgar Wright's 24 hour horror thing on the AV Club.

[Serge]

Ah yeah, 'Seconds' is amazing. In fact, you've reminded me that that's something that's a gap in my DVD collection - I must get around to rectifying that. Astonishingly bleak.

[BlodwynPig]

Dark Star also.

The Quiet Earth

The Divide is flawed but I appreciate its grimness.

Dredd3D has superlative chin work, a dealbreaker. Why did nobody pay to see the chin work.

The Quiet Earth is a wonderful wonderful film. I always dreamt of being able to give Hitler-type speeches whilst dressed in a silk slip...and my fantasy became "reality" in that once scene.

[BlodwynPig]

[Gulftastic]

Best Red Triangle film Channel 4 ever showed.

[Dr Rock]

From Beyond (1986)

I'm sure it's pretty well known amongst you lot, but largely not in the real world, even compared to superteam Director Stuart Gordon and SFX Legend Brian Yuzna's Re-Animator. They are both barely sci-fi I suppose, definitely as much horror, though From Beyond's story involves a SCIENTIST, PARALLEL DIMENSIONS, AN INVENTION, AND GLANDS. So that makes it sci-fi.

[BlodwynPig]

Best Red Triangle film Channel 4 ever showed.

he he... i remember sneaking into the spare bedroom at the back of the house and watching it on an old black and white dial tv. Don't remember wanking, but certainly was the nascent moment in which lady-lady love became a particular fantasy.

[Hollow]

From Beyond (1986)

I'm sure it's pretty well known amongst you lot, but largely not in the real world, even compared to superteam Director Stuart Gordon and SFX Legend Brian Yuzna's Re-Animator. They are both barely sci-fi I suppose, definitely as much horror, though From Beyond's story involves a SCIENTIST, PARALLEL DIMENSIONS, AN INVENTION, AND GLANDS. So that makes it sci-fi.

You've really got to wonder why Lovecraft hasn't been plundered more...maybe the idea of beings beyond imagination rules it out.

You've got this...In the Mouth of Madness (heavily inspired by anyway, maybe The Thing too)...Re-animator...that's about it.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Best Red Triangle film Channel 4 ever showed.

A friend of mine saw that when it aired and didn't stop talking about it for ages, and over the last couple of decades it came up a lot as well. Finally managed to track down a copy a few months back and it is a really great film, but as far a nudity goes it's not sexy at all so I was obviously greatly disappointed!

[Blumf]

Similar to From Beyond, being more horror than sci-fi:

Society (1989)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098354/

Been meaning to watch it again because I haven't seen it since it's Moviedrome run in ~1997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5dJaeP5Dk

[Hollow]

Similar to From Beyond, being more horror than sci-fi:

Society (1989)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098354/

Been meaning to watch it again because I haven't seen it since it's Moviedrome run in ~1997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr5dJaeP5Dk

Great film...more social satire than horror...if you discount the final ten minutes anyway.

Not at all unknown but They Live ploughs a similar furrow.

[phes]

It warms my heart that whenever The Quiet Earth is mentioned on here always at least 2 or 3 posters will enthuse, especially because i've never spoken to anyone who's seen it

My facebook cover picture (Spoiler):

http://i59.tinypic.com/331hc1u.jpg

[Paaaaul]

From Beyond appeared on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.
The only other film that I think does a good job of Lovecraft is Stuart Gordon's Dagon, which is actually an adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

[Hollow]

From Beyond appeared on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.
The only other film that I think does a good job of Lovecraft is Stuart Gordon's Dagon, which is actually an adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Wow...really?...that's very interesting.

Karma for you.

[Paaaaul]

You've really got to wonder why Lovecraft hasn't been plundered more...maybe the idea of beings beyond imagination rules it out.

You've got this...In the Mouth of Madness (heavily inspired by anyway, maybe The Thing too)...Re-animator...that's about it.

Castle Freak
The Dunwich Horror
The Call Of Cthulhu
Dreams In The Witch House
Dagon, as I mentioned above.
Necronomicon.
...

There have been loads, but they're nearly all dreadful.

[Hollow]

I've still got to watch them though...got to.

There's something dark and compelling about Lovecraft's writing...sterile and austere yet quite mind expanding to read.

Are any of those adaptations period pieces or do they as Gordon's films do, place them in a modern setting? Something gets lost in that I feel.