Last week I covered the years 2019-2010, but this go round I’ll go all the way back to 1984. It seems like the same films are recommended if you google Underrated and Unknown films so I’ve tried to reach past those films to ones less frequently recommended. I don’t just do the bare minimum here at the Enormous Room. I do slightly more than that!
2009-2000
I’m relying on you already knowing (and loving) Sunshine, one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. But also Pitch Black, the movie that launched Riddick as a sci-fi franchise. Also excluded is Serenity from the brilliant but cancelled Firefly tv show. Those are all great, but too well-known. The Spanish film Los Cronocrímenes, marketed as Timecrimes is probably not too well known, but (like the time traveling movie Primer) it always pops up when you google Underrated Sci-fi Films, so I’ve excluded it from my list as well. But these five films are even more unknown/underrated.
Moon (2009): Featuring the always entertaining Sam Rockwell stuck on the moon.
Speed Racer (2008): The Wachowskis are always up for a sci-fi yarn ranging from the excellent (Matrix), to the uneven (Cloud Atlas/Matrix: Reloaded), to the awful (Jupiter Ascending/Matrix: Revolutions). It has plenty of things kids love: monkeys, ninjas, and fast cars going zoomzoom.
A Scanner Darkly (2006): I think the rotoscoping animation turns people off to this film even though it stars the modern patron saint of sci-fi Keanu Reeves and is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. It’s an innovative film and as heartbreaking as you’d expect from PKD.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004): retro futurism strikes a particular cord in me that rarely gets struck, but I love. This fun throwback has a lot going on, but I can’t ever recall the plot so you’ll have to dig up the trailer yourself.
Solaris (2002): This remake pales in comparison with the 1972 classic, but I’ll be honest, I kinda dig it. I am devoted to the Tarkovsky film so this much colder take often annoys me, but it won’t leave me alone. I cannot quit this film and it makes for a wonderful dialogue between the original film and its novel.
Among the 90s underrated films, I’ve left off Dark City, which is often mentioned as an overlooked gem. 12 Monkeys has a recent tv show, so I felt safe leaving it off. And the Rocketeer has many fans as well. Of course there are still some that haven’t yet recognized Gattaca as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time, but we don’t have to worry about that here (because on top of beautiful, we’re smart too).
Contact (1997): Carl Sagan’s militant atheism gets passed through Robert Zemeckis’s rigorous querying of faith. There’s a preacher man named Palmer and a materialist named Arroway who’s account of reality goes past the evidence. It also features one of the best opening scenes in sci-fi.
Screamers (1995): Another Philip K. Dick story adapted by Dan O’Bannon of Alien and Total Recall fame. Some of the best creepy scenes in sci-fi.
Judge Dredd (1995): The remake from 2012 gets more praise, but the cheesier Sly Stallone version still has a lot to offer. I honestly don’t know much about the comic books series it’s based on, but this film traces out a theme of mercy’s role in the law that the remake ignores in favor of gunplay. So which is the silly movie now?
Demolition Man (1993): Speaking of Sly Stallone, Demolition Man holds up as an entertaining flick featuring Sandra Bullock and set in the era of when Dennis Leary was in everything. It also contains one of the great mysteries of sci-fi: the 3 Seashells.
Space Invaders (1990): A kids flick whose marketing was so intense that my brain can still taste the yearning it inspired in me. We finally did watch it and it lived up to the hype. I haven’t revisited it because I don’t want to know if it has aged poorly. Please tell me if it holds up.
From the 80s I’m not listing The Flight of the Navigator (which is a childhood fav), Short Circuit, and the Explorers, which are all great, but are too well known. I’m going to dig a little more deeper than that.
Innerspace (1987): Another movie that made a big impression on me. Dennis Quaid and Martin Short in a movie directed by Joe Dante (of Gremlins fame). Funny and exciting and best of all it introduces the physical comedy of Martin Short, which means your next movie can be The Three Amigos. Perfect for kids.
The Quiet Earth (1985): A feature length Twilight episode where someone finds himself alive in which everyone else is seemingly dead. I don’t honestly remember much from this movie, but it has stuck with me for three decades.
The Last Starfighter (1984): A clear grab at cashing in on the sci-fi craze of the early 80s, but a good one. I remember the thrill at being recruited for adventure through a video game, as well as the terror of some of the creatures. Plus the ending is stellar, rivaled only by the final battle in Star Trek Beyond. Perfect for kids.
Ice Pirates (1984): The 80s were weird and few were more weird than Ice Pirates. I was obsessed with this oddball sci-fi B-movie. Of course, I watched a TV edit, so I feel that the PG rating it has is very much a Hard PG. But it features two of the most exciting words in the English language: Ninja Bots.
Repo Man (1984): A sci-fi cult classic, but I think it holds up well. Once you get in line with its humor it goes from chuckle to full on cackle.
Those are my choices. Let me know where I’m wrong or what I’ve missed.
So many readers have read and rated my little book of sci-fi microfiction. Thank you for that. Few things help indie writers more than reviews, ratings, and word of mouth recs. Feel free to go through my catalogue and review the rest. It’s all in Kindle Unlimited.
In fact, if you want to review SOL for me, written in time-traveling collaboration with the great D.H. Lawrence, then let me know and I’ll send you a free copy! That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading.