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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  Sci-Fi Channel Original Movies: What are the good and the bad? « previous next »
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Author Topic: Sci-Fi Channel Original Movies: What are the good and the bad?  (Read 16281 times)
InformationGeek
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« on: July 12, 2009, 08:51:10 PM »

I have heard for a long time that the Sci-Fi channel's movies are not very good at all.  I mean really not good.  However, I am sucker for a lot of the movies that they do make, since some of their concepts appeal to me.  So, I am curious about finding an actual good Sci-Fi Channel movie and what are the ones that I should avoid at all costs.  Can you guys bring up any recommendations and avoidances?

Is Larva good for example?
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Dennis
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« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2009, 09:36:14 PM »

"Dog Soldiers" is a very good one, so are "Frankenfish" , "Kaw", and "Dinocroc". I've been watching these SyFy (as it's now known) movies for a long time and I have to admit they are usually pretty mediocre, sometimes even painful, but on occasion some are very good. All you can do is watch and see. 
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« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2009, 09:51:38 PM »

Minotaur was not bad, despite having the typical junky CG. 
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« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2009, 10:01:07 PM »

Bone Snatcher is my favorite SyFy original, I thought it was quite an effective horror movie with great atmosphere.  For terrible ones, Skeleton Man is way up there.  So bad it just kind of leaves you stunned.  Larva was a bit better than their usual stuff, it started out slow but got okay by the middle.  

Some cheesy ones that I enjoyed:
Cerberus
Chupacabra
Haunted Prison
Manticore
Showdown at Area 51
Sabretooth
The Fallen Ones
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« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2009, 07:41:48 PM »

Pumpkinhead 3 & 4 - The whole series has a number of little flaws, and so do these. Actually rather good entries, fairly faithful to the original and surprisingly skillfully done.

Alien Lockdown - Probably the first one I can remember truly "liking". An actual suit instead of CGI, and an interesting plot :)

Basilisk - It has a cute monster and rather entertaining characters, one of the better ones IMO

Boa vs. Python - Because crossovers are cool, and the hunters were quite fun to watch :)

Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys - Cheezier than other franchise films, and def. could have been MUCH better, but for series followers it's OK

Mansquito - Mediocre execution, better plot than you'd expect from SciFi

--"bad-good"--

Never Cry Werewolf - If you are a Fright Night fan you should get a kick out of this pretty DIRECT rip off XD

Dracula 3000 - Okay, not an original but it used to be played a lot and so bad it's hi-f**king-larious ;)

Raptor Island - The one that got me hooked

Attack of the Sabretooth - Weirdy Jurassic Park rip.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2009, 07:48:35 PM by Mr. Briggs Inc. » Logged


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« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2009, 08:49:33 PM »

As Dennis points,out, it's now SYFY to you, bub.  BounceGiggle

I like the goofy-looking sasquatch in ABOMINABLE, which is sort of a variation on Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW - but with Bigfoot instead of Raymond Burr.

SKELETON MAN has some of the funniest bad effects this side of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, and BLOOD MONKEY has a terrific title.



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« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2009, 01:41:29 AM »

"Dog Soldiers" is a very good one, so are "Frankenfish" , "Kaw", and "Dinocroc". I've been watching these SyFy (as it's now known) movies for a long time and I have to admit they are usually pretty mediocre, sometimes even painful, but on occasion some are very good. All you can do is watch and see. 

I don't think Dog Soldiers is a Sci-Fi original - think they just bought the network rights to it.  Quite enjoy the film though.  I'd agree on Frankenfish, it was pretty watchable.
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« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2009, 06:07:50 PM »

THE BEST SCI-FI ORIGINALS

Dog Soldiers
Minotaur
Gargoyles : The Wings Of Darkness
Manticore
Mansquito
Ogre
Boa VS. Python
Komodo VS. Cobra
Skeleton Man
Headless Horseman
Kraken: Tentacles of the deep


THE WORST


Attack Of The Gryphon
Alien Siege
Loch Ness Terror
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Kester Pelagius
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« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2009, 07:38:49 PM »

You will notice that most of the movies mentioned so far are technically HORROR movies.  Many were also produced by THE ASYLUM. But in case that means nothing to to you. .

MINOTAUR, which was ostensibly a re-telling of the Greek legend, was really just a lame horror movie ala THE CAVE or DESCENT.  If you know nothing about Greek mythology you may like it.  If you do steer clear as it's an mythotrocity.

ALIEN SIEGE.  Utterly forgettable.  NO, seriously, I don't remember anything about this.

SHOWDOWN AT AREA 51 - My review subject line says it all: Sciffy's Showdown at Area 51 a letdown!

THE FALLEN ONES.  Bit derivative.  

BASILISK.  I may vaguely recollect this.  Like most sciffy, oops, syphylys channel movies the CGI ruined it.

SKELETON MAN - If this is the one I think it was slightly boring but not so bad that I didn't buy the DVD when I found it in a bargain bin for ultra cheap.  Still in the cellophane though.

A few not mentioned so far, some of which I've reviewed (links included). . .

S.S. DOOMTROOPER - A lot of people liked this one.  I didn't care for the syphylytic CGI.

TIN MAN - Mini-series.  Be warned: My remarks were more rant than review.

KNIGHTS OF BLOODSTEEL - Mini-series event.  Sucked so hard I stopped recording after about 14 or so minutes as I wasn't about to waste a DVDr on this garbage.  Just dreadful.  Starred the guy from JAG and I was actually feeling sorry for him.

CYCLOPS - See above.  Change minutes to seconds.  Didn't watch enough of this to find out what known actors, if any, got conned into starring in this tripe.

MONSTER ARK - Watched a few minuts of it, only because Amanda Tapping (IIRC) was in this.  It's actually a attempt to do Biblical horor.  The premise, for me, was an epic fail.

FIRE & ICE - Recommended with reservations.

100 MILLION BC - Produced by THE ASYLUM.  Pretty much a low rent version of A SOUND OF THUNDER (which was a sciffy PREMIERE once) though it's really more of a rip-off of BBC's TV show PRIMEVAL with hints of STARGATE/SLIDERS.

HERCULES: HALF MAN. HALF GOD. ALL POWER.  - Technically not a syphylys orignal.  But this mini-series aired on all the NBC Universal entities, including sciffy.

Star Runners - Recommended.

BATTLE PLANET - Marginally Recommend.  (see review)  
Note the links are probably broken so here's where to view the info on WARLORD BATTLE FOR THE GALAXY

GRENDEL (2007) - Marginally Recommend for b-movie lovers.  (see review)

HARPIES - SUCKED A DEMON CORPSE'S PUSS LEAKING SPHINCTER.  This rated a second blog entry: More info on Sci-Fi's heinous Harpies.

THE LAST SENTINEL - This is a review of the original broadcast.  I've been meaning to update this as I've since gotten it on DVD (in a 4 movie sci-fi pack from Walmart for $5), which I would recommend.

ODYSSEUS - VOYAGE TO THE UNDERWORLD - From the review: "Beware, TV viewer, the SCI FI 'original' movie! BEWARE! " :)

Note - That's what Yahoo did to my Mise-en-scene Crypt blog.  It's accessible, when not returning an error, but if you have problems click here.

Sands of Oblivion (2007) - Recommend.

And, finally, my remarks about Why is Sci-Fi Channel's Flash Gordon not liked?


If you want a fuller list of Sci-Fi channel movies try this. .

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0024368/

I really hope those links are of use to someone as it was a pain to find them.

*waves impotent fist at Yahoo*

;)
« Last Edit: July 15, 2009, 11:29:45 AM by Kester Pelagius » Logged

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« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2009, 05:45:55 PM »

Much of the newer stuff SYFY (ugh...) has been putting out leaves me feeling cheated out of a Saturday. There are a few that I found enjoyable for the feature creature, though, including titles like:


Ogre: an ogre terrorizes a town and eats people.
Cyclops: a cyclops terrorizes a trading road and eats people.
Bottom Feeder: A scientist's regenerative formula turns him into a mutant so he lurks in the tunnels and eats people.
Alien Apocalypse: alien termites dominate Earth and eat wood andpeople but don't eat Bruce Campbell.
Komodo vs Cobra: Giant reptiles roam a government island and eat people.
Wyvern: a wyvern escapes the ice in Alaska and eats people.

Eating people is a tough plot hook to mess up, though the recent Sand Serpents sure made a heck of an attempt at it; it starts of okay with guns and fighting but then it gets a bit lost.

Titles I recommend in addition: Riddle of the Sphinx, Dragon Storm, Bone Eater, Mammoth, Splinter, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, Battle Planet , Lost Treasures of the Grand Canyon


Titles that I would avoid despite their minimal enjoyment factors include Stan Lee's Lightspeed, Alien Siege, Sands of Oblivion, Beyond Loch Ness, Dragon Fighter, Living Dead: Rave to the Grave, Species 3, Raptor Planet, Alien Express, Aztec Rex, and anything that involves weather or black holes.
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« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2009, 06:24:51 PM »

MORE GOOD ONES

Grendel
The Last Sentinel
Beast Of Bray Road
King Of The Lost World
All Of The TREMORS Movies
Wicked Little Things
Stargate : The Ark Of Truth
Stargate : Continuum
The 1999 Version Of BEOWULF
Project Metalbeast
Highlander
The Breed

MORE BAD ONES

Frankenfish
Species III
Species IV
Bottom Feeder
Beneath Still Waters
Boogeyman 2
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« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2009, 06:49:52 PM »

Ice Spiders really moved me when it was on tv in 2007.

-Jimmybob
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« Reply #12 on: October 31, 2010, 06:51:36 PM »

whats the one sci fi movie called where their is a small town where almost everyone is missing body parts, and this girl wants to switch bodys or something for her brother, and it ends with this guy running over this corpse with a monster truck for hours....
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InformationGeek
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« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2010, 06:53:41 PM »

whats the one sci fi movie called where their is a small town where almost everyone is missing body parts, and this girl wants to switch bodys or something for her brother, and it ends with this guy running over this corpse with a monster truck for hours....


That sir would be a question best for What Was That Film section.
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« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2010, 06:48:07 AM »

whats the one sci fi movie called where their is a small town where almost everyone is missing body parts, and this girl wants to switch bodys or something for her brother, and it ends with this guy running over this corpse with a monster truck for hours....



I think that's Monster Man

Small | Large
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