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| Gravity (2013) |
Science fiction, as well as horror, was a foundation of my childhood film-watching experience. My father is a very big fan of the classic 70s/80s era of sci-fi, with icons such as Alien (1979), Mad Max (1979) and Robocop (1987) sitting proudly amongst his insanely large collection of filmography.
It wasn't until my third year at university that I began to truly delve into the world-building and general writing of science fiction, finding it to be one of the more interesting genres to work with. I'd always enjoyed watching action/horror as a kid, but I had barely scratched the surface of sci-fi's potential to expand in all directions, from crime to fantasies to thrillers.
Therefore, I have compiled a list of sci-fi films I have found and enjoyed over the years in this piece: like the body horror one before it, this list is comprised of films that aren't necessarily mainstream (as that would be easy enough to compile) but are definitely entertaining...at least to me, anyway.
Treasure Planet (2002)
Any of you born in the 90s might remember this wonderful, animated adaption of Treasure Island by Robert L. Stevenson in 1883, reimagined out in the cosmos. People familiar with the original story, then, will know that the plot of Treasure Planet (2002) is essentially the same: a young cabin-boy named Jim follows a voyage for treasure. Except, you know, in space.
Now, I'm not particularly fond of children's films. I never have been, even back when I was a child. But there's something so incredibly endearing about this film, perhaps due to its wonderful art-style and animation technique, setting traditional 2-D art on top of 3-D. It is imaginative, as a Disney film should be, expanding upon the source material by building new planets, new species', new civilizations.
The characters feel fleshed out and complex, especially our protagonist, Jim Hawkins (voiced by a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt). It's an atypical coming-of-age story but it's everything a kid (or an adult) could hope for in a sci-fi fantasy/adventure.
This is probably the least known film on this list and it shouldn't be. After watching this film in February, I have been showing it to anyone willing to watch, because not only is it a simplistic yet clever film, but it's also one where you either hate to love it, or love to hate it.
Circle (2015) follows a group of people who have been kidnapped by god knows who (well, it's implied that they're aliens, so let's go with aliens) and forced to terminate each other in timed rounds where a strange device in the centre of their circle murders them. It's honestly as simple as that: a process of elimination, until a survivor is left standing.
The characters are archetypes, from a timid pregnant woman to a Wall Street, asshole lawyer, all within seemingly normal roles. But the fun that is had in watching Circle is that all of them have ulterior motives and opinions, each leading you as the viewer to resent them, as well as the other characters on-screen. The dialogue is surprisingly funny in places and profound in others, and it's definitely worth watching, though I will warn you that the twist ending is likely to infuriate the majority of you, as it did with myself and the friends I watched it with.
Now, I'm not particularly fond of children's films. I never have been, even back when I was a child. But there's something so incredibly endearing about this film, perhaps due to its wonderful art-style and animation technique, setting traditional 2-D art on top of 3-D. It is imaginative, as a Disney film should be, expanding upon the source material by building new planets, new species', new civilizations.
The characters feel fleshed out and complex, especially our protagonist, Jim Hawkins (voiced by a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt). It's an atypical coming-of-age story but it's everything a kid (or an adult) could hope for in a sci-fi fantasy/adventure.
The Fountain (2006)
Certainly an oddity in comparison to the others on this list, The Fountain (2006) is a lesser known Darren Aronofsky film, due to its poor performance at the box office: however, this masterful piece reflects on humanity's innate fear of the unknown (afterlife), the inevitable (death) and of human suffering (grief). Without giving too much away, this film is structured in three ways, following the same character (played by Hugh Jackman) trying to save another (played by Rachel Weisz).
In the past, he is a conquistador searching for the Tree of Life for his Queen, so that she may be immortal and so that he can live by her side forever. In the present, he is a scientist searching for a cure for his cancer-stricken wife. In the future, he is a buddhist-esque traveller, accompanying a dying tree towards a nebula known as Xibalba (also referred to as the Mayan afterlife).
Admittedly, I am biased when it comes to this film, as it's actually what I consider to be my favourite film of all time. I just think that there's such a beautiful intricacy to it, alongside a compelling and moving soundtrack (by Clint Mansell) and captivating visuals created by macro-photography.
I will say that it's somewhat confusing during a first watch, but most certainly worth it. Coincidentally, this is not the only film on the list that uses the Tree of Life as a motif in science fiction, as you'll see below.
Eden Log (2007)
I came across this French sci-fi horror a few years ago, traipsing the aisles of my local CeX. It was cheap, and seemingly uninteresting, but I'd never seen a French sci-fi flick up until that point. In retrospect, I'm glad that I picked it up.
Eden Log (2007) is a fascinatingly jarring film about a man with amnesia named Tolbiac (played by Clovis Cornillac), who stumbles through the levels of an underground system dedicated to a giant tree that supplies the society above them with power. Along the way, we see that the system is not so efficient after all, with people mutated into monsters from the tree's sap, some grafted physically to it's roots and bouts of insanity and primal rage begin to torture Tolbiac, leading him to commit acts of murder and sexual assault.
The premise reminded me a lot of The Fountain, in that humanity's humanity's insatiable need to survive at all costs often results in the destruction of natural resources around them. Eden Log is certainly a very socio-political film and the setting is intriguing, due to the director's disdain for modern sci-fi films being set in "sterile" environments.
For those of you who are not keen on foreign cinema, there is a version of it in English, though I would certainly recommend watching it in French, as it feels far more poignant that way.
Sunshine (2007)
I remember when Sunshine (2007) was playing in cinemas back in the day. I walked past thinking "that doesn't really seem like my thing, it looks like just another horror in space kind of deal", yet now looking back, I wish I'd gone to see it. Because when I finally got round to watching it a few years ago, I thought it was one of the best sci-fi thrillers I'd ever seen.
The premise is quite simplistic: a group of astronauts have been sent to reignite the Sun, after a previous group mysteriously disappeared. Along the way, they discover the original ship, and the mystery surrounding it becomes unravelled in a horrifying yet thrilling way.
My kudos immediately goes to both Hiroyuki Sanada and Michelle Yeoh who, despite playing secondary characters, ending up being (in my opinion) the best part of the film. All of the characters are well written, but I found myself more drawn to them due to their acting credibility and likeableness; Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans are both written to be typical male assholes, butting their testosterone-heavy heads together, which was slightly off-putting.
However, despite some perhaps arduous and lengthy uses of unnecessary dialogue/panning shots, this Danny Boyle film is incredibly underrated and worth a watch.
Moon (2009)
Though I hate to admit it, I didn't watch Moon (2009) until very recently. And by very recently, I mean this month: it was kind of what inspired me to write this list in the first place.
Moon is a wonderful yet bleak film which touches on isolation, existentialism and corruption, both in terms of the business corporation that the protagonist works for and within the mind of the protagonist himself. Played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell, the main character (also named Sam) discovers that his 3-year long mission has been based on a lie and that any hope Sam was given to return home to Earth has been obliterated.
It has to be said that Rockwell does an astounding job in this film, as he ends up playing both Sam and Sam's clone: in essence, he played the same character twice, showcasing different aspects of that character's personality (i.e. "original" Sam is lonely and "clone" Sam is temperamental).
Despite its upsetting plot twists (and the unfortunate fact that Kevin Spacey is featured), Moon has a somewhat uplifting ending and is still an enjoyable watch.
Circle (2015)
Circle (2015) follows a group of people who have been kidnapped by god knows who (well, it's implied that they're aliens, so let's go with aliens) and forced to terminate each other in timed rounds where a strange device in the centre of their circle murders them. It's honestly as simple as that: a process of elimination, until a survivor is left standing.
The characters are archetypes, from a timid pregnant woman to a Wall Street, asshole lawyer, all within seemingly normal roles. But the fun that is had in watching Circle is that all of them have ulterior motives and opinions, each leading you as the viewer to resent them, as well as the other characters on-screen. The dialogue is surprisingly funny in places and profound in others, and it's definitely worth watching, though I will warn you that the twist ending is likely to infuriate the majority of you, as it did with myself and the friends I watched it with.
Arrival (2016)
There's a reason why this film was nominated for eight Academy awards, and that's simply because it's so awe-inducing and intelligent in the ways in which is shows character development and structures its narrative.
Based on a short story by Ted Chiang (called Story of Your Life), Arrival (2016) follows protagonist Louise Banks (played brilliantly by Amy Adams) who has been employed to try and communicate with extraterrestrials that have suddenly appeared in ships all over Earth: as a linguistics/writing student, I personally found this film to be interesting in how they show the deciphering of the alien language through pictographs and association.
What's so incredibly clever about Arrival is that the narrative features glimpses of Banks' home life, of her daughter and husband, and as the viewer, we assume that this train of thought is taking place in the present or recent past. It isn't until the end of the film where you realise that the alien's endow Banks with the ability to see the future, and that everything we have seen leading up to that point are not events that have happened, but events that will take place further down in Banks' timeline.
Amy Adams plays Louise Banks, in my opinion, fantastically. I was, therefore, surprised when she wasn't nominated for Best Actress in the Academy Awards that year: her interpretation and presentation of the character highlighted the complexities of human nature, of our fears and troubles showing emotions in one form or another. If anything, you should see Arrival for Adams' performance alone.
Honourable mentions
As always, there are many, many sci-fi films I could talk about, but unfortunately a blog post can only be so long. That being said, here are some others I would highly recommend to watch if you are interested in watching new sci-fi films or just generally getting started.
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Total Recall (1990)
- Twelve Monkeys (1995)
- Bicentennial Man (1999)
- The Island (2005)
- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
- Womb (2010)
- Apollo 18 (2011)
- Source Code (2011)
- Super 8 (2011)
- Looper (2012)
- Gravity (2013)
- Oblivion (2013)
- Ex Machina (2014)
- K
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