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Favorite Obscure Science Fiction/Horror Movies!

  • Mar 1, 2010
  • by
We've all heard the good news about Blade Runner, Alien and Avatar.  I'm tossing out a list of what I think are worthwhile unsung SF flicks, in no particular order - rate and share your thoughts with the rest of us!
1
Alphaville
Alphaville
It's French New Wave, it's got a talking computer, and cool cinematography. Way dated, but what the heck.
2
Solaris
Solaris
I like this mostly because it's as good a cinematic realization of the novel as you'll ever see - vivid images, captures the waking dream quality of the story effectively.
3
Night Watch
Night Watch
Not precisely science fiction, but certainly horror, with a little magical time-travel thrown in for kicks. When it gets creepy, the pictures stick in your head.
4
Primer
Primer
It's intelligent, unconventional, and has the same kind of intense inter-character tension as the Coen Brother's "Blood Simple" or Danny Boyle's "Shallow Grave".
5
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Classic stuff, some of the best film Hollywood ever committed to science fiction, without benefit of CGI. It gets all philosophical, too.
6
Gattaca
Gattaca
Serious fare with serious actors, who don't act particularly well. It's not brilliant, but it does manage to confront a possible dark future while conveying an effective message about the problems of any society based on a rigidly determined class structure.
7
Ghost in the Shell (original movie)
2-disc DTS edition
Elegant animation compliments a well-told science fiction story in the Japanese style.
8
Brazil (movie)
Brazil
Terry Gilliam. 'Nuff said.
9
The Prestige
The Prestige
Nicola Tesla, teleportation, steampunk, etc.
10
Charisma
Charisma
Japanese ecological sci-fi horror, where the main threat is a, well, tree.
11
A Clockwork Orange
Movie poster
Not obscure, but it somehow misses the popular best sci-fi lists.
12
The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant
Where Brad Bird, of "The Incredibles" fame, made his debut. And it's got a giant robot.
13
Pi
Pi
Visually compelling, realistic enough to be creepy. Who wants numbers in their heads anyway?
14
Sleeper
Sleeper
This requires no justification - it's just fun.
15
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Sometimes Hollywood slips in some quiet, intelligent science fiction by the back door. Well-acted and written.
16
Tetsuo
Tetsuo
Prepare to have your mind blown. This is a deeply disturbing piece of cinema - the relentless transformation of a man into a scrap-metal cyborg at his own delusional choosing. Not for those seeking linear plot or engaging dialogue.
17
The Fountain
The Fountain
Just a beautiful movie - ignore the dreadful Rachel Weisz pathos.
18
Repo Man
Repo Man
A cult favorite, for good reason. I blame society!
19
Mad Max
Movie poster
For post-Apocalypse lovers, with a hefty helping of ultra-violence.
20
Cube
Cube
I generally hate gore-for-the-sake-of-gore movies like "Saw" -but this is the thinking person's version.
21
Dark City (1998 film)
DVD front
Can't say enough about the imagery. The story is scattershot, but held together by a good acting turn from Kiefer Sutherland
22
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Widescreen
HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE THIS MOVIE??? It's got robots and spaceships and a Fu Manchu-style plot to take over the world! And a design sensibility that makes you wish they had CGI in the 1930's.
23
Godzilla: The Uncut Original!
Because.
24
The Tenth Victim (La decima vittima)
The Tenth Victim (La decima vittima)
It's hip for the 1960's, it's got Ursula Andress, and it's a science-fiction caper movie.
25
Slaughterhouse Five (movie)
Slaughterhouse Five
About as good a film as you'll ever get out of a very good Kurt Vonnegut novel.
26
Phase IV
Phase IV
Not for the insectophobes. Some weird stuff got made in the '60's and '70's (I didn't include "Invasion of the Bee Girls" or "Hellstrom's Hive") - this manages to be eerie and horrifying throughout.
27
Dark Star (movie)
Movie poster
John Carpenter's debut. It's often cheesy and badly paced, but there are some genuinely funny scenes and dialogue.
28
Nineteen eighty-four
Another vivid realization of a great novel as a movie. John Hurt does a fine job of playing Winston Smith.
29
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Miyazake's best film before "Princess Mononoke" brought him greater visibility in the U.S. The coloring is gorgeous, and the plants and animals prefigure the imagery in "Mononoke". It's also got aerial dogfights!
30
The City of Lost Children
The City of Lost Children
Steampunk visuals, a well-told if bizarre story, and a glorious range of human anatomies...
31
Screamers (1995)
Screamers (1995)
It sounds like just another threats-in-space movie, but the storyline is surprisingly logical, the combat is realistic, and the threat is rendered disturbingly well.
32
Pitch Black
Pitch Black
This is just another monster movie, but David Twohy made a brilliant casting decision when he picked Vin Diesel for his dark hero. He managed to capture just enough of the horror of "Alien" (can't see what's coming to kill you...). There are some glaring logical lapses, but it's still a good ride.

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March 05, 2011
No Roger Corman films? Good list. Are you still on Lunch.com?
 
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