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So what science fiction films have you seen you feel are somewhat underrated?

Here's a few of my own picks to get things started:

1) ISLAND OF THE BURNING DOOMED--the focus in this film is a story of people in crisis and the effects of severe heat on the mind and body. This nifty Sf film features unusual almost Quatermass-like ideas and it stars Christopher Lee. It's just too bad Peter Cushing's role is so short-lived and Lee's doesn't take off sooner into the story. The special FX aren't quite up to par either. Still I quite enjoy this one despite its few shortcomings.

2) CRACK IN THE WORLD--starring Dana Andrews as he tries to find a ways around the end of the world..I feel this movie is a lot of fun, proves suspenseful and I found it a little more enjoyable personally, in terms of being more action-oriented, than the similar

3) THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE, still a very good and often overlooked, underrated end of the world sci-fi thriller as the world goes of its axis.

4) X-THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES--this Corman film is suprisingly good. Ray Milland gains the ability of x-ray vision but at what terrible cost?

5) PANIC IN YEAR ZERO--Ray Milland starred and directed in this underrated gem about society going over the edge when faced with the uncertainty of life in the aftermath of atomic warfare.

6) THE POWER (1968)--Byron Haskin directed this underrated film about mind powers that starred George Hamilton..I was truly suprised by how genuinely gripping this film can be.

7) FIRST MEN IN THE MOON--this one was directed by Nathan Juran. Truly a fun and entertaining film with some particularly cool FX by Ray Harryhausen  and to me some rather unforgettable aliens. Love those aliens. (God I do love the FX! here)

8) JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN--this one is a bonafide SF gem..a suprising movie with unique twists and turns you will most likely will not see coming.

9) THE MONOLITH MONSTERS--based on a story by Jack Arnold, here we have a suprisingly fun and effective movie. I was totally suprised by how good it was.

10) THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD--cool monster and some cool ideas pulled off fairly well--one of the few 50s films with a guy screaming perhaps louder than any scream queen! At least some classic horror films had guys scream their heads off as much as the women.

Do I feel there's more. Of course there is.... but I have to leave something for you guys to add, now don't I?

Babylon 5 - Thirdspace - A giant, and ancient, spaceship is discovered floating in hyperspace.  The humans try to discover its secrets, leading to a battle for the galaxy!  Wonderful plot, the usual great performances from the B5 cast, just totally engrossing.

Moontrap - Chekov from Star Trek and Bruce Campbell battle alien robots on the moon.  This just has a great atmosphere about it.  The plot moves along well, the characters are very likable, just a fun, fun movie.

Starship Troopers 2 - I guess everyone was expecting a 100 million dollar follow up to the first movie.  For a lower budget movie, I thought this was excellent.  Great characters, a desperate situation, an interesting plot, it's got it all.

LEXX - I Worship His Shadow - Fantastically original, crazy plot, well developed characters.  Haven't seen anything to equal the creativity of this since.

What cracks me up is when Walter Koenig saves the woman from the cryogenic capsule on the moon.  In her time, she had just been put in there by her husband (who ended up being killed by the robot things).  However, after Walter pulls her out she is able to deal with the extinction of her entire race/society, and immediately ready to make with the sweet moon loving in a transparent tent with a man who looks like a Brillo pad doing push-ups.

The Intruder Within (1981)

A made for tv Alien Rip-off.

As a kid, I was pretty impressed by the monsters, especially for an early '80s tv movie.

What always gets me about this one, is that while they didn't hold too much back on the violence & gore, they pull this big 180 on the subject of procreation.

While they have no problem lingering on a shot of a guy pulling a 12" screwdriver out of his ribs, when the same guy has his way with a female coworker, who subsequently gives birth to a monster, they resort to a form of "implying" these events in a fashion so timid, it reminds me of the kind book you give a four year old which establishes that babies come from kissing & are teleported out of the mommy via the magic stork.

Wow, , just wow. I am so bummed Netflix doesn't have it. . .

Some more:

ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS is a superb film. A real delight to watch. Byron Haskin was involved with so many great SF films but this was one of his best--you were made to care about all the characters (even the monkey) in Robinson Crusoe On Mars. A plan for survival on another planet was actually an old topic we had to explore years ago in World Problems class back in high school...this movie always reminds me of that.

THE MAN FROM PLANET X--one of the first films to examine the potential of a visitor from Space. It was released in 1951--the same year as better knowns THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD..certainly MAN never measures up to those which may be why it's so often overlooked but it is still an effective and at times rather creepy look at the potential possibilities and the potential reactions of/to an odd alien visitor.

ISLAND OF TERROR(1966)..this film stars Peter Cushing and was, like Island of the Burning Doomed, directed by Terence Fisher. Cushing is great and the movie is a lot of fun (actually I caught this one again just last night) in large thanks to its  gooey sound effects even if the FX work looks a little silly and unconvincing. Still how could any cheesy movie monster lover not adore those Silicate bone suckers?

4D MAN(1959) : Robert Lansing gives a memorable performance as the man who becomes the 4D Man. A blessing or a curse?

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE: A criminal accidently wanders into a strange experimental test site and gains indestructible powers or so it seems. While similar to INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, I think this one does a much better job with the premise.

This movie used to be on TV quite frequently when I was a kid.  I don't think I've seen it in about 35 years. 

JaseSF beat me to ROBINSON CURSOE ON MARS!  :thumbup:

Karloff in The DEVIL COMMANDS-Boris tries to communicate with his dead wife via electonic gadgetry hooked up to dead bodies. Much more effective than it's Columbia B movie origins would indicate.

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/untitled-192.jpg)

.I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE-Tom Tyron (yes,the auther of the supernaturel book the OTHER!) plays an alien who just wants to live the 1950's dream of a blissful domestic Ozzie and Harriet life. But being an ugly monster from outer space...he has some problems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wvEIJORlY8

I loved I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE. It's so much better than you'd expect given its title. Actually in many ways, it reminds me of the classic Outer Limits and feels somewhat like an extra-long episode of that series IMO.

Agree...

They used to play CRACK IN THE WORLD as well as other "world" disaster movies in a weekday chain.

I think the others are: When Worlds Collide (1951), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), Crack in the World (1965) and The Night the World Exploded (1957)

But I do recall another chain with bug disasters films (Bees, Ants and Spiders) and natural disasters, which are early 1970's made-for-tv disaster flicks... Like: Heat Wave! (1974), Hurricane (1974) and Flood! (1976)

(I dont know what the show was called but a network channel would play a movie from 3:30 to 5:30 which is after school. I also think they would play those After School Specials on the same time slot, but alternate with old movies.)

ABC's The 4:30 Movie...?
How about SILENT RUNNING or THX 1138? 

Good picks all.

A few more I quite like personally:

Toter sucht seinen Mörder, Ein (aka: The Brain-1962)...an unusual mix of science fiction and film noir about a man's brain taking over another man's body to investigate his death. It's a bit slow moving though.

These Are the Damned(1963): slightly dated SF tale but still packs a powerful wallop thanks to an appropriate setting and atmosphere for the time. The ending is quite memorable.

The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970): What would happen if a man who been in a coma since infancy were suddenly awakened? Brilliant movie with terrific lead performance by Terence Stamp that is much too overlooked.

Colossus: The Forbin Project: "Your mother was right, Frankenstein should be required reading for all scientists". Arguably rivals HAL9000 as the supercomputer menace of the ages.

Conquest of Space: I was suprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. It was also directed by Byron Haskin. While it's not quite as memorable as some of his other films, I still felt it was at times a good portrayal of madness that could potentially be brought on by space travel.

I actually like THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH (1963) though nearly nothing happens! 
THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939) is another one of those great late '30s BORIS KARLOFF B features, more SCIFI than Horror, that works very well... THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES, another SCIFIer, is rarely talked about, but fun and a great Chiller. 

The Killer Eye (1999)

One of those kinds of films that pursues cheese & camp in search of comedy. Almost succeeds.

It's got some rather mild (if not, kinda' weak) Tentacle Hentai in it, which has always been a big draw for me.  :wink:

A couple of things that have always amused me are how the pair of junkies living downstairs, though clearly heterosexual, share the same bed because they're just too darned lazy to do drugs from the coffee table or watch porn from the sofa.

Another one is that scene in which the crazy guy who lives upstairs confronts the doctor about the dead body in the attic, only to reveal he was just curious about it & otherwise doesn't care.

It's kinda' like watching one of those bad pornos from the early '70s, where you feel so uncomfortable watching it, that it disarms your sense of humor in a way that can't help but laugh at the dumbest jokes, even if you don't find them funny at all.

Two fairly recent ones:

Body snatchers (1993). Abel Ferrara's take on the subject is not as accomplished as Don Siegel or Philip Kaufman's versions, but the film is wonderfully directed, is creepy as Hell and the script has enough disturbing stuff to fuel many nightmares. Just remember, never fall asleep in the bathtub, and if your whole class is drawing the same stuff, just copy their drawings for an A.

The arrival (1996). Before achieving maintream success with Pitch Black, David Twohy made this imaginative B-movie about aliens living among us. It has decent acting by Charlie Sheen and Ron Silver, some great set pieces and despite the rather naive plot it never degenerates into camp.   

wow flashback from the past... :)



This was a great time to be 10 to 14 years old without cable/video rentals... Really cool... :)


I like SILENT RUNNING because Bruce Dern makes a perfect environmental wacko... Althought the movie seemes longer then it should be but it also predates Alien (1979) tech style (or inspired the human mechanical tech design???)

ive always thought "enemey mine" with dennis quaid and lou gosset jr. was a great sci-fi when i was a kid but not many people recognize it that i know. Im glad to see "the arrival" get a mention to i always thought it was pretty good.

A few more I really like:

KRONOS (1957): A gigantic alien robot menace (which does look a bit too much like a tinker toy perhaps) arrives on Earth and begins sucking up all the energy it can. As it absorbs energy, conventional ways of fighting it may not prove effective. Can Jeff Morrow find a way to stop it before it's too late?

THE OMEGA MAN (1971): Adaptation of I AM LEGEND is often not considered up to par by many but I have to say I really enjoy it every time and it surprises me sometimes with its depth and undertones of meaning. Besides that Chalrton Heston kicks butt and Anthony Zerbe makes for a very entertaining lead villain.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN should be held in much higher regards as very few films attempt to look at the world quite the way this classic did.

Once again,JaseSF beat me to a good one-KRONOS!  :thumbup:

The INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN (1977)-This movie is a lot of fun. An astronaut returns to Earth as a melting,flesh eating ghoul. Kind of a low rent QURATERMASS XPERIMENT. The fx by Rick Baker are great! And the film has a good dose of black humor.
TV spot for the INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAjB276gcZQ

Not as well remembered as his Living Dead series,George Romero's The CRAZIES (1973) is a very good movie. A goverment f%ck up turns the locals of a Pennsylvania town into homicidal maniacs. Much more plausible than walking dead men,and just as frightining. A must see!

Trailer for the CRAZIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5baVDcjv5-E

"It Came from Outer Space", (1953) is a film I've always liked, an alien spacecraft is more likely to crash land near a small town rather than a big city. They're not here to invade the Earth or give us a dire warning about the future of mankind, they just want to make repairs and continue their journey. I've always found it interesting to think about what the reactions of the people, both human and alien, involved would be. 
 
"Riders to the Stars", (1954) is another one I've found interesting, even though the science aspect is flawed, the idea of attempting to capture a meteoroid while it's still in space is interesting as a movie premise.

"Gog", (1954) A top secret government research lab is experiencing a series of fatal accidents, apparently caused by faulty equipment. One of the first computer gone crazy films as the whole place is controlled by a computer, NOVAC, and its two robots Gog and Magog (which look like a Dalek riding a small tank)

Love IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)..great pick Dennis! Ray Bradbury actually wrote the story for that one. Love the bit about the temperature affecting people's behaviour.

Actually have yet to see but would love to see GOG and RIDERS TO THE STARS or THE CRAZIES. Now I want to see them even more. Thanks guys.

Another few I think we should add here include:

THE FLESH EATERS (1964): Martin Kosleck stars as a mad scientist bent on experimenting with flesh-eating organisms in water. Of course a group of unlikely victims wanders right to his secluded island. Still this movie proves great gory fun.

THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1959): Ralph Burton (Harry Belafonte), a miner, finds himself trapped for several days following a cave-in. When he finally digs himself out, he finds the world a much changed place. He finds a world devastated following an apparent nuclear holocaust. Eventually he is pleased to find another person alive, especially when it turns out to be lovely Sarah Crandell (played by Inger Stevens)...however another survivor named Benson Thacker (Mel Ferrer) eventually causes some unexpected turmoil.

LAST WOMAN ON EARTH (1960): In some ways, this is basically a Roger Corman remake of THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL as two men find themselves possibly the last two men alive with only one woman left between the two of them. Still it proves surprisingly good and engaging thanks to strong performances from leads Robert Towne, Betsy Jones-Moreland and Anthony Carbone.

My wife and I enjoyed The Monolith Monsters and The Incredible Shrinking Man on one double feature DVD from Netflix. Movies that old remind us all how much music was used to set the tone and how much things have changed since then.

DRAGONHEART

THE CRAWLING EYE

BATS

IT WAITS

BOA VS. PYTHON

ANACONDA 3 : The Offspring

OGRE

THE LAST SENTINEL

New to the site but have been a vistor for a while now. Thought I'd revive this Old thread because it has quite a few great recommendations some that are now on my too see list. My contribution is to try not to not repeat films already mentioned.

You guys didnt make it easy for me. A few of these maybe a bit of a stetch.

The Groundstar Conspiracy - One of those films that takes place at an unknown time, place and future. Revolving around a man who claims to have lost his memory in an explosion at a top secret facility while possibly trying to steal secret documents. Michael Sarrazin who I really like plays the Amnesia victim while A-Team George Peppard plays the investigator. it's all cat and mouse from there on out.

Quintet - My feelings defiantly won't be hurt if anyone hates this film. Altman sure doesn't make it easy on the audience. With this being his only other venture into the sci fi genre other then Countdown. its drawn out, where bordom quite possibly could ensue. it's also bit bat s**t crazy. Earth has gone into another ice age, people play some kind of warped survival game called, you guessed it Quintet. Its all rather portentous but I still got a kick out of how far Altman would go or more importantly didn't go.

Enemy Mine - I'm not sure why this film doesn't get more attention. it has Good imagination, solid chemistery between the two leads, it's well put together effects wise which adds to the stories overall appeal.

Seconds - I'm not going to give anything away. watch it and prepared yourself to be blown away it's a mind f@%k. Quite possible Frankenheimer's best? okay at least top three.

Zardoz - insanity. you either love it or hate it. there's......no in betweens.

The Boys from Brazil - This is a cheat. the central theme is all sci-fi i.e. Cloning. The film exists entirely within the realm of are history other wise. With nothing else remotely resembling a sci fi.

Fire in the Sky - This might be something I simply enjoy while many others don't. I rarely hear a mention of it. It's about Alien abuction and it freaked the heck out of me. they really cake on the atmosphere and mood. it works.

The Thirteenth Floor - I need to see this one again, been meaning too. As I recall. it very much impressed me. It seems to have been lost, my best guess is that because it came out the same year as the Matrix it got lost and really should be found. Sort of what Stir of Echoes is to Sixth Sense.

The Quiet Earth - A little film with an adquate budget that never takes itself to seriously yet never loses itself. It's a mere matter of how far your willing to let your imagination go cause this one gets stranger and stranger by the minute.

lol... after the first scene with the robot in the basement of the research lab (which is so bad that it's almost funny) I was able to omit any logical script writing. It's funny how the moon girl wasnt a research test monkey upon their return to Earth or did NASA assumed Bruce Campbell become a woman in space.

I agree on SECONDS. A classic of it's kind. OH-welcome to the forum!  :smile:

Some more....

.The DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1956)-7 people take refuge in a house in a remote valley after WW 3. A cool 3 eyed mutant with horns and scaly skin runs amok. Mike 'Touch' Conners (of MANNIX tv fame) as a saditic gangster adds extra frisson.Paul Blasdell as the scary/goofy mutant is classic. Better than you'd think.
.BRAINDEAD (1990)- No,not the Peter Jackson movie (aka DEAD ALIVE). Like SECONDS-this movie is a real mindf*ck. And it's got Bud Cort!
.HARDWARE (1990)-An artist finds a piece of a robot ,which she plans to make a sculputre out of . Thing is...it's part of a killer robot-and it rebuilds itself and runs amok. Iggy Pop is in it too,and theres music by MOTORHEAD.

Mutant vs Mutant in the DAY THE WORLD ENDED

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/1543340255_5f6e082f8f.jpg)

Absolutely. The first time I saw that one, it became an instant favourite. Well acted, well shot and very well written.

It's not a movie but my father and I have become huge fans of a TV show called "Fringe". At first glance it appears to be a rip-off of "X-Files" but when the "Alternate dimension" plot comes into play it becomes an amazing and brain-bending sci-fi thriller.

Also my Dad has been a Trekkie since ST episode 1 so he's a huuuuge sci-fi buff. He stopped being a Trekkie after Voyager, he was just as disgusted with that show as the rest of the world.