Underrated Sci-Fi??

[JaseSF]

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?

[Jack]

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.

[Andrew]

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.

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.

[LilCerberus]

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.

[ghouck]

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.

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

[JaseSF]

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.

[The Burgomaster]

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

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. 

[RCMerchant]

JaseSF beat me to ROBINSON CURSOE ON MARS! 

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.



.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
	Small | Large

[JaseSF]

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.

[Skull]

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

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. 

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.)

[Allhallowsday]

...(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? 

[JaseSF]

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.

[Allhallowsday]

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. 

[LilCerberus]

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. 

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.

[Neville]

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.