Little known SF films

[billtheburger]

This is a great Donald Cammell magick spell.

[billtheburger]

Android:


This used to be among the videos back in the mid eighties when I was still a little nipper, but it never had an age certificate, so I managed top blag it out when we had my cousin babysitting.

It's not for kids & it holds a special place in my heart.

[billtheburger]

I have mentioned this one before, but it's my favorite Macedonian film.
Goodbye 20th Century:

[GeeWhiz]

Thanks for recommending this, tell the truth on this first watch I didn't really enjoy it, though it's definitely a strange film and I couldn't possibly imagine the mind that conjured it up, which is good I suppose, no idea where it was going. And yeah, Lord Lucan def looks like Freddie Mercury.

I think it has a really nice sense of erosion to it; all those train tracks and power plants, the crumbling house and the sightly ratty technology they use to perform the process. Plus, I've an unfortunate crush on the mum.

[great_badir]

Loosely on the afore-mentions of The Quiet Earth, I recommend As Time Goes By (which also stars Bruno Lawrence).  Used to be shown on BBC2 quite a lot in the early 90s, but I've not seen a breath of it since.

[Steven]

I think it has a really nice sense of erosion to it; all those train tracks and power plants, the crumbling house and the sightly ratty technology they use to perform the process. Plus, I've an unfortunate crush on the mum.

Every time The Colonel was onscreen I kept thinking 'Is that Julian Barratt? No, hmm, might be, looks a bit like him..' and that was an added annoyance.

[Dr Rock]

I'm sure you are all familiar with this. Starring Lemmy and Carl McCoy out of Fields Of The Nephilim. PIL on the soundtrack. Something about a killer robot, ripped off from a 2000ad story. Haven't seen it since it came out, it's never on the telly anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88KidjFph-8

[Blumf]

Always meant to watch this, but...

it's never on the telly anyway.

Is it worth the effort to dig it out?

[Dr Rock]

I'd say yes. I'm going to try and track it down for a rewatch. It's pretty low-budget and rough round the edges, but if a knock-off Mad Max Terminator cyber-punk Iggy Pop as 'Angry Bob' sounds appealing, that's what it is.

[Blumf]

I would give you karma, but I don't want to mess that number up.

[Dr Rock]

I do like it as it is.

[billtheburger]

We could neg bomb him 34 times for ultimate evil

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

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.

I didn't know that Noel Gallagher had made a low-budget SF film.

[Famous Mortimer]

I'd say yes. I'm going to try and track it down for a rewatch. It's pretty low-budget and rough round the edges, but if a knock-off Mad Max Terminator cyber-punk Iggy Pop as 'Angry Bob' sounds appealing, that's what it is.

It's got a pretty good start, but the low budget really lets it down for me. Too few locations, too little happening. Although it's certainly an interesting idea and done differently to your average sci-fi movie.

[Operty1]

Pretty decent effects for the budget. Also

[Blumf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rny_fHjmjA&t=142

[ajsmith]

Space Station 76 (2014) is an odd Sci-fi comedy that's on Netflix just now. Very unusual retrofitted mash up of Abigails Party and Space: 1999. Goes from farcical to grim to wondrous a few times over. Very far from the broad spoof it appears to be at first glance.

[billtheburger]

Are any of you watching KOSMOS? - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4136764/

It's an online TV series, but you have to wait for a certain number of viewers before the next episode is unlocked. It has Virginia Hey from Mad Max in it.

enterkosmos.com

[studpuppet]

I'll echo Blodwyn's Sexmission - still one of the best foreign films I've seen, and I think it's still the highest grossing Polish film in history[nb]This may be bollocks, though[/nb]. My other favourite is the only Michael Moorcock[nb]"you fervently moan"[/nb] book ever to be turned into a movie, The Final Programme (The Last Days Of man On Earth if you're a yank).

Review here: http://www.tvcream.co.uk/?p=11678

Film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24J9bx3sDuk

[Blumf]

Space Station 76 (2014) is an odd Sci-fi comedy that's on Netflix just now. Very unusual retrofitted mash up of Abigails Party and Space: 1999. Goes from farcical to grim to wondrous a few times over. Very far from the broad spoof it appears to be at first glance.

I found it a little disappointing. Sets were wonderful, but the story and characters were a little flat. There's gentle comedy and then there's limp comedy. Also, not sure if some of the sexual politics they're playing with are as progressive as they think they are. (roughly: female sexuality == bad, motherhood == good, very narrow and conservative viewpoint I'd think)

Still, love that this can exist.

[WesterlyWinds]

I don't know if these count as 'little known' as they are both on Netflix at the moment, but most recently I have really enjoyed Primer and Coherence.

Primer is about two mates who accidentally invent a time machine and all the shenanigans that follow. I don't want to go into too much detail because that'll spoil it, but it's one of those films that about halfway through you realise everything is not quite as it seems and the insanity suddenly ramps up to such an amazing and inconceivable level that you are left just about holding onto what's happening until the end when you spend about 30 minutes trying to work out what the fuck happened. You inevitably fail at this and then scour the internet for other people's hard work and diagrams that make things seem a little more understandable but still mind-boggling. Either that or I am an intellectual midget, who knows?

Coherence is in a similar vein in terms of confusion and multiple interpretations, utilising an incredibly intricate and layered form of storytelling. This time the story is about a group of friends at a dinner party[nb]Depending on your cynicism, the first 20-30 minutes could be excruciating but it's worth getting past the build up. Honest.[/nb] as a comet passes overhead. Once again I won't explain any more, but the central concept builds slowly until you find yourself far deeper into the rabbit hole than you expected.

Both very low budget films, too, which proves you can produce intelligent and thought provoking sci-fi without the stupid budgets that films like The Martian have.

[Paaaaul]

Coherence is in a similar vein in terms of confusion and multiple interpretations, utilising an incredibly intricate and layered form of storytelling. This time the story is about a group of friends at a dinner party[nb]Depending on your cynicism, the first 20-30 minutes could be excruciating but it's worth getting past the build up. Honest.[/nb] as a comet passes overhead. Once again I won't explain any more, but the central concept builds slowly until you find yourself far deeper into the rabbit hole than you expected.

As I mentioned on another thread recently, Coherence does the same thing as two other films

Spoiler alert

Timecrimes and Triangle 

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but not quite as well as either. Definitely check them out if you liked Coherence.

[Zetetic]

I don't know if these count as 'little known' as they are both on Netflix at the moment, but most recently I have really enjoyed Primer

Upstream Color, by the same bloke, is also worth a watch then.

It's a much less difficult, in the ways that Primer is difficult, and it possibly exposes his weaknesses more clearly for that. It's held me, both while watching it and for quite a while afterwards, quite a lot.

[Steven]

Triangle

This was good, there's quite a lot of it you can see coming, but also they obfuscate what kind of timeline dynamics are really going on that you can't predict a lot of bits and pieces.

Watched Coherence a couple of months ago and like most decent low-budget movies it obsesses over the mental concepts realised in character's dialogue to pad out that it's just people bickering in one room, but that's that smart way to do low budget. Back in the day we just had Steptoe & Son arguing about khazees and poofs, but that was good too in its way.

[Famous Mortimer]

Oh, that reminds me:

Travelling Salesman

Five chaps who've invented the ultimate computer thing sit and argue in a room with a representative of the Government who wants it to do evil with. I've deliberately described it in a stupid way because it's quite a clever film, even if the characters are sort of dumb.

[Hollow]

Triangle is a good film, solid all the way through...starring the delectable Melissa George who can actually act as well as being a 100% sexpot.

Brilliant ending.

[Puce Moment]

Interesting - there does seem to be a weird sub-genre of mind-bending SF leaning films that are not quite Puzzle Films necessarily. Triangle seems to be the most satisfying and well-written of the lot - although going down the more horror route I would put a vote in for Session 9.

I love the whole section in Triangle when they get on the boat -

Spoiler alert

but for me that scene with all the dead bodies stacked up surrounded by seagulls is completely brilliant

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.

[Hollow]

Session 9 used to be my go to horror/psychological horror film...I've sort of worn it out...Mullan is a colossus in that, even Caruso does a good turn.

I love the ambiguity of it all...atmosphere to die for.

Brad Anderson showed so much promise once...gone into the mainstream now...I blame the curse of Anakin.

[Puce Moment]

Yeah, the tone of it is so intriguing and unsettling. Caruso does a great job I think - he could have completely derailed the film but somehow his manic, arch and mannered way of acting really plays off against the dourness of the other performances.

[Hollow]

I like that the

Spoiler alert

demon/dark side in all of us is called Simon...which is my name. :)

Not enough cool Simon's in film.

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