Movie With Scary Lizards That Ate People Ill Never Shoplift Again
Recollect dorsum to the science fiction cinema of the 1990s, and some of the decade'south biggest box-function hits volition immediately leap to mind: The Phantom Menace, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men In Black, Armageddon,and Terminator 2 were all in the summit xx most lucrative films of the era.
But what almost the sci-fi films of the 1990s that failed to make even close to the same cultural and fiscal impact of those big hitters? These are the films this list is devoted to – the flops, the straight-to-video releases, the low-budget and critically-derided. Nosotros've picked l live-action films that fit these criteria, and dug them upward to meet whether they're still worth watching in the 21st century.
So here's a mix of everything from hidden classics to forgettable dreck, with a few films falling somewhere in between…
Abraxas: Guardian Of The Universe (1990)
This, surely, is the all-time championship of whatever 90s sci-fi film. Jesse "The Torso" Ventura stars equally intergalactic cop Abraxas, who ends upwardly fighting his rogue ex-partner Secundus (an every bit beefy Sven-Ole Thorsen), who's gone rogue, fathered a child (past touching a woman's belly and immediately making her meaning) and hopes to apply the offspring every bit a ways of gaining unlimited powers. Look out for Jim Belushi in a small role as a school principal.
Is information technology worth seeing? It's as batty as it sounds, and then yes.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland
Solar Crisis (1990)
Before its release, Solar Crisis seemed to take enough going for it: a starry cast, including Peter Boyle, Jack Palance and Charlton Heston, pattern past Syd Mead and direction from Richard C Sarafian ( Vanishing Point ). Unfortunately, the result was a hokey mess that clearly had some bug raging behind the scenes – Sarafian ultimately took his proper noun off the movie, leaving it credited to one Alan Smithee instead.
About a mission to throw a bomb at our tyrannical lord's day, Solar Crunch suffers from a ponderous pace and a groan-inducing script, and fifty-fifty some decent pre-digital effects couldn't salve this one from box-role oblivion.
Is it worth seeing? The morbidly curious might get some fun out of it, but for a superior sun-bombing feel, encounter Danny Boyle's Sunshine instead.
Available on: Amazon US
I Come in Peace (1990)
I Come In Peace is a bit like Predator relocated to the streets of Texas. Dolph Lundgren plays a cop on the hunt for brutal drug dealers, only to observe that one of them is an alien that kills its victims with a deadly flying disc. A sci-fi buddy-cop thriller (Lundgren's partnered with an conflicting cop name Azeck), it doesn't win many marks for originality, merely the action'southward decent, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and Jan Hammer provides the soundtrack.
Is it worth seeing? There are worse ways to spend an evening, put it that fashion.
Available on: Amazon Usa
Hardware (1990)
It's sad to think that, at the dawn of the 1990s, Richard Stanley was existence hailed as one of United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland's finest young directors. But as the 2014 documentary Lost Soul reveals, his career was unfairly cut short by the infamously nightmarish product of The Island Of Doctor Moreau. Go dorsum to his debut, Hardware , and you can why see he was such a promising filmmaker. Its story, almost a military machine robot putting itself dorsum together and menacing a post-apocalyptic ghetto, is a familiar one, but Stanley gives it real verve – Hardware has a stylish, artistic border that most low-upkeep genre films of the period sorely lacked.
Is it worth seeing? Oh aye – and so too is Stanley'south second film, Grit Devil.
Moon 44 (1990)
Before he became famous as Hollywood's new Master of Disaster (taking over from Irwin Allen), Independence Twenty-four hours and 2012 director Roland Emmerich made this mid-to-low upkeep sci-fi oddity. Near a group of helicopter pilots hired to protect a infinite mining colony (yep, actually), it nominally stars Malcolm McDowell as the villain, but he's only really in about five scenes. Some quaint special effects and gear up blueprint are the few memorable things in this oddly tepid debut from a director now known the globe over for his flamboyant destruction of civic buildings.
Is it worth seeing? As a glimpse of Emmerich: the early years, just virtually.
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Robot Jox (1990)
Courtesy of Re-Animator manager Stuart Gordon, here's America'due south proto Pacific Rim. In a mail-apocalyptic future, wars between nations are settled not by armies and missiles, simply by pitting giant robots confronting each other in gladiatorial matches. Achilles (Gary Graham) is the west's finest robot operator – that is, until he has a Tom Cruise-like crunch of confidence when hundreds of spectators are killed during a particularly ferocious battle. Eventually, he'due south coaxed out of retirement for ane more fight with his arch-nemesis, Alexander (Joe Koslo).
The script and interim'south the wrong side of campy (a tone Gordon reportedly insisted on), merely the Japanese-inspired robots await groovy and the stop-motion blitheness is quite adorable. Actually shot in 1987 merely shelved for iii years (hence its inclusion here), Robot Jox was a flop on release, only has garnered a cult following since.
Is it worth seeing? For a night in, it'south absolutely worth a sentry.
Spaced Invaders (1990)
An ill-advised sci-fi comedy in which aliens land on Earth at Halloween and are mistaken for trick-or-treaters by the inhabitants of a small town. The special effects and designs, which pay loving homage to 50s B-movies, are the master reason to watch Spaced Invaders. The flailing attempts at humour, meanwhile, are something of an acquired taste.
Is it worth seeing? Not actually.
Bachelor on: Amazon US (for hire)
Dead Space (1991)
Bryan Cranston! Here's a crap-tacular space-horror from producer Roger Corman, made in the fashion of his '80s Alien rip-offs similar Galaxy Of Terror and Forbidden World. In fact, Expressionless Infinite is pretty much a remake of Forbidden World, with all the same some other monster terrorising the crew of a space craft. A fresh-faced Cranston plays a scientist in a white lab coat, while Marc Vocalist ( The Beastmaster, V ) plays the buff hero. Eagle-eyed viewers may as well spot the recycled footage from Boxing Beyond The Stars.
Is it worth watching? Obviously, it'due south utter trash. Merely Bryan Cranston!
The Guyver (1991)
A alive-action version of a cult manga and anime, starring Mark Hamill and directed by Gild effects maestro Screaming Mad George? What'south not to similar? Virtually a young human being who encounters an experimental suit of biological armour, The Guyver lacks the angst and melodrama of its Japanese source, but retains the protracted monster fights. The Guyver bio-armor and the numerous monster antagonists are on the rubbery side to say the least, only that'southward all part of the film's goofy charm. Called Mutronics in some territories, The Guyver got a sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero, in 1994.
Is it worth seeing? It'southward spectacularly camp, so yes.
Available on: Amazon UK
Timebomb (1991)
Arriving in the wake of Total Think, this cut-price thriller sees Michael Biehn'due south hero realise that he's actually a brainwashed assassin with only vague recollections of his former life. It's Philip 1000 Dick by style of Robert Ludlum, and a poorly-cast Patsy Kensit (she plays a psychiatrist love interest) and some cheesy direction doesn't help the motion-picture show'southward cause.
Is it worth seeing? Nah.
Wedlock (1991)
Remember those collars in 1987'southward The Running Man, which blew convicts' heads off if they tried to escape? That idea makes a return in Spousal relationship , in which Rutger Hauer stars every bit a diamond thief trying to sneak out of a loftier-tech prison. Hauer's presence might make you think that Wedlock 'southward essential viewing, just the film'south hobbled past some pedestrian management from Lewis Teague ( Alligator, Cujo, The Jewel Of The Nile ) and some flimsy made-for-TV production values. Still, Hauer's natural charisma shines through, and the presence of Mimi Rogers, Stephen Tobolowsky and a young Danny Trejo brand it worth a lookout man.
Is it worth seeing? Just well-nigh, if only for Hauer's typically ice-absurd performance. At 1 point, he does a seal impression.
Freejack (1992)
Never mind the plot, look at the cast. Where else could you find Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins all in the aforementioned place? Well, maybe at Freejack 'southward wrap party, where they probably wondered why they'd agreed to star in this disappointing genre effort in the first place. Estevez stars every bit a racing driver who'due south snatched at the moment of death by fourth dimension travellers from the future. These "Bonejackers" steal living bodies from the past and utilise them as replacement vessels, thus guaranteeing immortality for the world's wealthy elite.
An interesting premise is largely frittered away on a generic chase plot, where Estevez is pursued all over the place by a decidedly wooden Jagger. The best actor in the film by a country mile is Russo, who turns a sparse role into something far more interesting. Curiously, Freejack provided an early screen credit for Nightcrawler filmmaker Dan Gilroy, who co-wrote with Ron Shusett.
Is it worth seeing? Non really, though Jagger's dead-eyed performance is oddly fascinating.
Available on: Amazon United states, Amazon United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland
Fortress (1992)
Among Stuart Gordon's very best films, Fortress really made money at the box-role, dissimilar many of the entries on this listing. But we had to include Fortress anyway, partly because it'southward worth reminding people almost, and partly because it's ane of the near quotable films of the era. Christopher Lambert stars every bit a male parent arrested (along with his wife, played by Loryn Locklin), for breaking the law by attempting to have a second child. They're thrown into a high-tech prison presided over by the sadistic Poe (Kurtwood Smith) who torments his inmates with something called an Intestinator, which can cause everything from stomach pains to spectacularly bloody gastric explosions.
Fortress is every bit wickedly funny as you'd expect from Gordon, quite exciting when it comes to its action set-pieces (in that location'due south fifty-fifty a killer truck at i point), and Kurtwood Smith is fantabulous value every bit the villain. Look out too for Vernon Wells and Gordon regular Jeffrey Combs.
Is it worth seeing? It'south pretty much required viewing around these parts. "Random intestinations!"
The Lawnmower Human (1992)
Before he played Bond, Pierce Brosnan donned a virtual reality helmet as estimator scientist Dr. Lawrence Angelo. He uses VR tech to boost the intellects of chimps for a shady military firm, before retreating to his basement and using his scientific discipline voodoo on a childlike local gardener played by Jeff Fahey. Mentally invigorated by the doctor'south experiments, Fahey combs his hair, wears tight jeans and so starts thinking virtually world domination.
Is information technology worth seeing? Information technology gains bonus points for Dean Norris and a chimp with a gun, merely no, non actually. The sequel, Beyond Cyberspace, is particularly worth avoiding.
Available on: Amazon U.s., Amazon Britain
Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992)
John Carpenter served as a jobbing studio director for this expensive comedy vehicle starring Chevy Hunt. An incident at a scientific discipline facility renders Hunt invisible, and he spends the balance of the movie variously avoiding the attention of the CIA (represented past Sam Neill) and romancing Daryl Hannah. The special effects were in one case groundbreaking, but the one-act frequently falls flat; Carpenter keeps the vehicle on runway, only Memoirs Of An Invisible Man noticeably lacks the seize with teeth of his best movies.
Is it worth seeing? Information technology's acceptably entertaining. Sam Neill's good value as the villain.
Bachelor on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon Uk
Split Second (1992)
Here's another 90s picture from the inimitable Rutger Hauer. Set in a flooded future London (but actually shot in Dublin, if retentiveness serves), Split Second sees Hauer play a jaded cop in pursuit of a DNA-sucking killer monster. The film has certain elements in common with Predator two and Dark Affections (encounter earlier), just that doesn't stop it from beingness a lean, fun creature feature. Kim Cattrall also stars.
Is it worth seeing? With a few beers, yes.
Available on: Amazon UK, Amazon US
Tetsuo: The Body Hammer (1992)
This sci-fi sequel by Shinya Tsukamato is cinematic punk rock – or, more accordingly, heavy metal. Arriving 3 years subsequently Tsukamoto'due south immensely disturbing Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), The Body Hammer is both a remake and follow-upward to that film. It'south about an ordinary businessman whose hazard encounter with a roughshod gang sees him gradually transform into a gigantic, hideous metal super being. Fetishistic, violent and packed with unforgettable imagery, Tsukamoto's Tetsuo films are a forcefulness of nature. He followed them with The Bullet Homo in 2009.
Is information technology worth seeing? For lovers of farthermost sci-fi, information technology's a must.
Timescape (1992)
The start motion-picture show from Pitch Blackness and Riddick director David Twohy, Timescape was also released as Thou Tour: Disaster In Time. It stars Jeff Daniels and Ariana Richards ( Spaced Invaders,Tremors, Jurassic Park ) as a begetter and daughter who've recently moved back to their old modest-town guest house. There, they meet some mysterious guests with a ghoulish interest in famous, historic disasters. Although shot on a visibly depression budget, Timescape'southward nicely acted and engrossingly paced, its clever story adapted from a novella by Henry Kuttner and CL Moore. At present quite difficult to get hold of on disc for a reasonable cost, Timescape seems to have dropped off the cultural radar.
Is it worth seeing? If you can track information technology down, definitely.
Alien Intruder (1993)
Baton Dee Williams stars in this actually weird constructing of VR thriller and Alien . En route to a stricken vessel on the other side of the galaxy, a ship full of convicts spend their downtime in imaginary bedroom activities with VR ladies of the dark. Unfortunately, one of those ladies (played past Idiot box'southward Tracy Scoggins) is some kind of artificially-intelligent anomaly, and starts appearing in the real world – with murderous results. What nosotros cease up with is a mix of ropey sci-fi action and soft-focus sex scenes. It's less fun than information technology sounds.
Is information technology worth seeing? Not really. Poor Lando.
Torso Snatchers (1993)
Abel Ferrara's a bit too restless a filmmaker to make a Body Snatchers motion picture as precisely mounted every bit the classic 1956 and 1978 versions, but in that location'due south notwithstanding plenty to enjoy in this sorely overlooked 1993 take on the pod people story. This fourth dimension, it'southward an American air base of operations that gradually succumbs to a silent invasion every bit its inhabitants are replaced by emotionless clones, one by i. Gabrielle Anwar plays a teenage girl who cottons on to the conspiracy (an interesting shift from the potent eye-anile men who led the previous films), just Meg Tilly's the real find as her terrifying mother.
The low-budget special effects are a bit of a step back from Philip Kaufman's mail service-Nixon classic – their tendrils look worryingly like cooked spaghetti here – only Ferrara gives the film an endearing off-kilter oddness. At the very least, it's light-years ahead of the clumsily botched quaternary version, The Invasion.
Is information technology worth seeing? Undoubtedly.
Bachelor on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon UK (for rent)
Burn down In The Sky (1993)
An ordinary tree feller, Travis Walton (DB Sweeney) is abducted by aliens in this loose retelling of a supposedly truthful ufology case. Well acted and competently shot, Fire In The Sky is like a more depression-key Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, or a less bonkers version of Communion , which starred Christopher Walken at his problems-eyed best every bit author Whitley Streiber. It takes a while for Burn down In The Sky to get around to showing exactly what happened to Sweeney while he was whisked from our planet, but when information technology does, the special effects are surprisingly icky and imaginative.
Is it worth seeing? Every bit a rare example of a serious picture almost alien abduction, it actually is.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon United kingdom (for hire)
Lifepod (1993)
The late Ron Silver turned director for this low-budget TV movie, which relocates Hitchcock's Lifeboat to an escape pod floating through infinite. Its survivors argue over dwindling resources merely then realise that a killer is in their midst. With cardboard sets and costumes that look similar they were purchased from a local department shop, Lifepod looks a swell deal older than its 1993 vintage, but it's enlivened past appearances from Robert Loggia, CCH Pounder (something of a sci-fi pic and Goggle box veteran) and Silver himself.
Is it worth seeing? It's strictly no-frills sci-fi, but serviceably entertaining.
Available on: Amazon Us
Time Runner (1993)
There's lots to love nearly the cast in this low-budget time-travel escapade: Mark Hamill joins Commando's Ray Dawn Chong and the tardily, great character actor Brion James. Unfortunately, the derivative plot fails to do anything much with them; following an alien invasion in the 21st century, Hamill's fighter pilot is sent back in fourth dimension to the 1990s in the hope of alert humanity about the inbound threat. A considerable amount of budget-witting shooting and driving ensues.
Is it worth seeing? It'southward far from terrible, but one time watched, it's easily forgotten.
Available on: Amazon The states (for hire)
Guyver: Nighttime Hero (1994)
A darker and far more violent movie than its live-activeness predecessor, Guyver: Dark Hero also hews more than closely to its manga source. David Hayter takes over from Jack Armstrong as Sean Barker, the hero who fights monsters in the bio-booster armor of the title. Although it's notwithstanding a far from perfect film, manager Steve Wang keeps the action moving forth at a cracking pace, and the outfits wait notably less wobbly than they did in the 1991 picture show.
Is it worth seeing? Sure – it'southward lots of fun if you're in the mood for high-kick monsters.
Available on: Amazon The states (for hire)
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
The moving picture that sank careers, lost a fortune and unleashed the expletive of the videogame accommodation, Super Mario Bros is a beautiful monster – a lesson in delinquent excess, a paean to a mid '90s sci-fi aesthetic that looked dated earlier it arrived, and the source of so, so many great Dennis Hopper anecdotes. Non actually as bad as everyone thinks, the motion-picture show stands as a hotchpotch of different bad ideas that hides a few flashes of 18-carat originality.
Is information technology worth seeing? Err… It's a difficult one to actually recommend.
Multiplicity (1994)
Sci-fi films were plentiful in the 1990s, but sci-fi comedies were in shorter supply. In Harold Ramis's Multiplicity , a terminally busy working dad (Michael Keaton) clones himself in social club to requite himself more than time to spend with his married woman (Andie MacDowell) or playing a bit of golf. Naturally, things don't quite become to plan. Michael Keaton makes light piece of work of playing different versions of the same character, simply the story never explores far beyond predictable laughs; Multiplicity 'southward screenplay is credited to no fewer than five writers, which may have been where the bug began.
Is information technology worth seeing? Diverting for what it is, just it's certainly no Groundhog Day.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon UK (for rent)
No Escape (1994)
Earlier he made GoldenEye (1995), Casino Royale (2006), and Light-green Lantern (2011), Martin Campbell fabricated No Escape, which is like Lord Of The Flies but with prisoners instead of sadistic rich kids. Ray Liotta stars as a disgraced ex-marine (he was jailed for not following orders) who winds up on a prison island full of bloodthirsty inmates. By fair ways or foul, Liotta plans to detect abroad out of the godforsaken place. While it lacks the memorable lines and sense of humour of Stuart Gordon'due south Fortress, No Escape is servicably action-packed, and Liotta makes for an unsual but effective choice of leading man. Plus: Lance Henriksen and Ernie Hudson.
Is information technology worth seeing? Information technology's unremarkable but solidly fabricated.
The Puppet Masters (1994)
Alien parasites take over the brains of a small American town in this low-budget accommodation of Robert Heinlein'south 1951 novel. By the time it came out, the paranoid themes had already been thoroughly established in cinema by the likes of the Body Snatchers movies – fifty-fifty though Heinlein'southward story predated them by several years. Unfortunately, The Puppet Masters isn't directed by someone on a par with Don Siegel, Philip Kaufman, or Abel Ferrara, and then it lacks the psychological bite of those other invasion movies. It does, notwithstanding, have a really good cast, including Donald Sutherland, Keith David, Yaphet Kotto, and Andrew Robinson.
Studio meddling took its price, though, and even co-writer Terry Rossio described the resulting picture show as "piss-poor".
Is information technology worth seeing? Only virtually, but information technology's disappointingly lacking in tension.
Bachelor on: Amazon US (for hire), Amazon Britain (for hire)
Project Metalbeast (1995)
What's more terrifying than a werewolf? Why, a cyborg werewolf, of course. The US war machine, in a misguided try to create the perfect, hairy soldier, capture a werewolf and plough information technology into a bullet-proof monstrosity. The thing then breaks its bonds and rampages through a science facility, with gory results. A kind of lycanthropic accept on Universal Soldier, Project Metalbeast stars Kim Delaney and Barry Bostwick, while Kane Hodder appears under a mountain of latex and fur as the titular animate being. It's the kind of moving-picture show that was often establish lurking on the bottom shelf of video shops in the mid-90s.
Is it worth seeing? Only for the morbidly curious.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon U.k.
Screamers (1995)
I of the more obscure attempts to bring a Philip K Dick story to the screen (his brusk tale Second Variety ), Screamers has all the hallmarks of a cracking cult film. RoboCop'south Peter Weller stars as a future soldier on a planet overrun by a race of artificially intelligent robots – the Screamers of the title – in a story adjusted by the belatedly Dan O'Bannon. Explosive activity confronting some quite cool-looking armoured robots soon gives mode to something far more chilling: the more evolved versions of the Screamers are capable of impersonating humans. That added layer of paranoia turns Screamers from a decent cult film into something even more compelling.
Is it worth seeing? Definitely.
Available on: Amazon The states (for rent), Amazon Britain (for rent)
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Earlier Keanu Reeves hit box-office aureate with the Matrix trilogy, he starred in this quintessentially '90s accommodation of William Gibson's novel. Reeves plays the championship character, a futuristic courier who delivers sensitive information for his corporate clients. Johnny soon finds himself a target for a group of assassins afterwards the data stored in his head. Reviews of Johnny Mnemonic weren't kind back in the 90s, but viewed today, it has cult item status written all over it, from its strange cast – Dolph Lundgren, Water ice-T, Udo Kier, and Takeshi Kitano – to its quaintly outdated CGI.
Is it worth seeing? As a snapshot of how much filmmaking's changed in twenty years, yes.
Available on: Amazon US (for rent)
Strange Days (1995)
For our coin, this is one of the very best films to emerge in the wake of the VR flap that kicked off in the 90s. Rather than get bogged downwardly in showy special effects, as The Lawnmower Human did, Foreign Days is smart enough to focus instead on the psychological implications of future applied science. In this instance, information technology'southward a device called a Squid, which allows its users to experience the memories of other people.
Ralph Fiennes is superb as a lank-haired, sleazy dealer who sells these memories on the blackness market, until he's drawn into a conspiracy that involves what is essentially the kickoff-person experiences of a murder victim. Kathryn Bigelow'due south direction is, as always, lean and fast-moving, and information technology'southward a mystery why this cracking sci-fi picture didn't observe an audience on release; in theatres, information technology failed to make more than $8m on its $42m budget.
Is it worth seeing? Admittedly.
Tank Girl (1995)
Some comic book fans were horrified by the way director Rachel Talalay adjusted Jamie Hewlett'southward Tank Girl, and a broader audience didn't exactly flock to see it, either. But Tank Daughter captures the grungy spirit of the early-to-mid 90s, with its rock soundtrack, crazy photographic camera angles and dialled-upward performances making the movie feel more like a $25m indie picture show than a major studio release (back and then, $25m was still quite a lot of money).
Certain, the action plot'south sparse and the acting'south a fleck uneven, only if y'all're in the mood for its noisy, anarchic vibe, at that place's lots to savour in Tank Girl. Plus, this is an case where Malcolm McDowell seems to be actively enjoying his office in a 90s sci-fi film. He's peachy value as the preening villain, Keslee.
Is it worth seeing? Every bit a time capsule from the decade of grunge, information technology really is.
Available on: Amazon United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland
Village Of The Damned (1995)
John Carpenter worked wonders with 1982's The Thing – a new version of John West Campbell's story Who Goes At that place, previously adjusted by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks. Carpenter tackles John Wyndham'due south The Midwich Cuckoos (previously adapted by as Village Of The Damned in 1960) here, with far less convincing results. Moving the story to the usual minor boondocks in America, the basic gist of Wyndham's story remains: the town'due south womenfolk spontaneously fall pregnant and give birth to worryingly intelligent, sparkly-eyed children a few months later. A doctor, Alan (Christopher Reeve) is amid the few to suspect an extraterrestrial origin for the small-scale army of brats with bad haircuts.
Less bold in its estimation of its source material than The Thing, Village Of The Damned instead feels like a tame retread of the 60s picture than a fresh new accept. Reeve, always a good actor, does his all-time, but Village Of The Damned is far from Carpenter's all-time work.
Is it worth seeing? For Carpenter completists only, we're pitiful to say.
Available on: Amazon U.s. (for rent), Amazon UK (for rent)
Virtuosity (1995)
This mix of sci-fi and serial killer thriller is even more curious than information technology sounds. Russell Crowe plays SID, a Max Headroom-like bogus intelligence – an constructing of all the evil people who've ever lived, or something – who manages to escape from the virtual realm and starts killing people in our ain. Denzel Washington plays the cop charged with tracking SID down, and much gunplay, fighting and posturing ensues.
Crowe'southward amend known for his deadly earnest turns in things similar Gladiator, A Beautiful Listen and Noah these days, so it's surprising to run into him marching effectually in a royal velvet suit and shouting at people here. Neither he nor Washington have voluntarily brought Virtuosity up in interviews since.
Is it worth seeing? If but for the sight of a pre-Oscar-win Crowe sneering and cackling in a purple suit, yep.
The Inflow (1996)
Another film from director David Twohy, who also wrote the script. It's a conspiracy thriller near Charlie Sheen's astronomer, who captures conflicting radio signals and is then embroiled in an endeavor to cover upwards the discovery. It's an specially good performance from Sheen as the awkward, geeky protagonist, and Twohy's clever story takes in climate change, aliens and avant-garde technology. Reviews of this smart, lean sci-fi thriller were hugely positive, but frustratingly, the film failed to gain the traction it deserved.
Is it worth seeing? Very much then. The direct-to-video 1998 sequel, Inflow II , is not.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon U.k.
Space Truckers (1996)
Stuart Gordon'southward output in the 90s was nada if not eclectic. Space Truckers saw the horror maestro take on a big-upkeep sci-fi fantasy, and the result is like a kind of proto Guardians Of The Milky way – well, minus the talking tree and Chris Pratt, of course. Although Gordon's mischievous fashion of filmmaking'due south probably ameliorate suited to the macabre horror of Re-Animator , From Beyond and Castle Freak (the latter released simply one year before Infinite Truckers ), there's enough to relish hither, including some amusing performances from Dennis Hopper and Charles Dance – the latter unusually cast every bit a killer cyborg.
Is information technology worth seeing? Information technology isn't Gordon's best film, but information technology's still an entertaining chip of SF hokum.
Available on: Amazon US (for purchase), Amazon United kingdom (for rent)
Event Horizon (1997)
Critics were largely hostile to this space-going horror opus. Your humble writer, for his sins, went to the movie theater to see it twice. It's a fairly straight gothic chiller in the Alien mould, with a coiffure exploring a seemingly deserted ship and realising too late that the demonic presence that killed the coiffure is still aboard.
A superb bandage livens upward the B-movie trappings of the script, and the production design'south fantabulous – the ship is a spiky, unnerving identify you wouldn't desire to explore alone. Full marks to Sam Neill, too, for throwing himself into the part of Dr William Weir, a scientist slowly driven mad by his own cosmos. An even more gory version of Outcome Horizon one time existed before the studio got concord of it.
Is it worth seeing? Your mileage may vary, but nosotros've ever had a soft spot for Effect Horizon.
Bachelor on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland (for rent)
Gattaca (1997)
In a future where science is capable of making people physically and psychologically perfect, those with genetic flaws are pariahs. Ethan Hawke plays the outsider intent on defying the police force and pursuing his dreams of condign an astronaut, and the dramatic friction that results is breathtaking. Jude Law turns in a career-all-time performance as a disabled genius who becomes Hawke's ally, while Michael Nyman'due south score is devastatingly cute.
Is it worth seeing? If you haven't seen it already, you lot must. It's an accented classic.
Available on: Amazon United states, Amazon United kingdom
The Relic (1997)
Tom Sizemore spends much of this creature feature looking as though he'd rather be somewhere else, only the lighting's so shadowy you can easily ignore this. An unabashed B-movie from an era that spawned an unusual number of them, The Relic 's about a huge, man-eating beast which runs amok in a Chicago museum. Sizemore's joined by Penelope Anne Miller every bit an skilful biologist looking for a ways to halt the animal, which Stan Winston imagines as a cross between the Predator and a rhinoceros.
Is information technology worth seeing? Not the nigh memorable monster movie of the 1990s, simply worth a picket.
Bachelor on: Amazon US
Retroactive (1997)
Like Nacho Vigalondo's magnificently creepy Timecrimes (2007), Retroactive sees its central character repeatedly try to travel dorsum and alter the past, merely to make things slightly worse each time. Kylie Travis stars as a young hitchhiker who falls into the orbit of a horribly shady character played by James Belushi, while Frank Whaley adn M Emmet Walsh are among the supporting cast. Low-budget but well-written, Retroactive 's an absorbing fourth dimension-travel thriller.
Is it worth seeing? Yes. Information technology'due south a bit of an underappreciated gem.
Dark City (1998)
Alex Proyas' Dark City is oft compared to The Matrix , with both films sharing similar themes and even one or two identical sets (both films were shot in Australia). Simply Night City is more an urgent noir thriller with sci-fi undertones than the out-and-out action of The Matrix , and Proyas gives information technology a brilliantly heart-searching, murky feel. Rufus Sewell's protagonist wakes upward in an unfamiliar hotel room with a corpse nearby, and he's soon on the run from an army of bald, gaunt figures who look similar cousins of the Cenobites in Hellraiser . Similar The Thirteenth Flooring and eXistenZ , Nighttime City takes its cue from the writings of Philip K Dick; here, reality is paper sparse, and you but have to prod a finger through it to see the disturbing truth that hides backside information technology.
Is it worth seeing? Expert Lord, yes. Information technology's a corker.
Available on: Amazon United states of america (for rent), Amazon U.k. (for rent)
Deep Rising (1998)
Some other 90s monster movie, this time on an abandoned ship in the centre of nowhere. Treat Williams leads an eclectic ensemble cast of probable victims (Famke Janssen, Wes Studi, Djimon Hounsou and Cliff Curtis are also amidst the familiar names), but the monster's the real star – a large, tentacled thing that skulks around in the nighttime.
Is it worth seeing? It's pure hokum, but trashily entertaining nevertheless.
Available on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon Great britain (for rent)
Phantoms (1998)
Ane yr after he shared in the Oscar glory for Skillful Volition Hunting , Ben Affleck starred in this sci-fi horror, as well distributed by Miramax. It's fair to say it didn't quite share the onetime's applause or box-role success. Adjusted past Dean Koontz from his own novel, Phantoms is a variation on The Matter ; an entity has taken over a small town in Colorado, and is capable of mimicking the lifeforms it comes into contact with. Affleck plays a local sheriff, Peter O'Toole's a scientist and Liev Schreiber's another cop with the hilarious name Deputy Wargle. Appreciated as a pure B-motion-picture show, there's lots to savour in Phantoms .
Is it worth seeing? Well, we quite like information technology.
Available on: Amazon US, Amazon Great britain (for rent)
Soldier (1998)
Following the expensive box-office thwarting of Event Horizon , director Paul W S Anderson leapt directly onto this, more straightforward sci-fi action flick. That it'southward written by Blade Runner 's David Peoples might suggest that we're in for something with a bit of philosophical depth, but it's actually more akin to Universal Soldier (with similarly bloody violence) than Ridley Scott'southward seminal movie, occasional allusions aside. Kurt Russell'southward dependably good in the pb, though, and Jason Scott Lee and Jason Isaacs are decent villains.
Is it worth seeing? Just virtually, if yous're in the mood for some 90s-style mayhem.
Available on: Amazon US (for hire)
The Astronaut'south Married woman (1999)
To all intents and purposes, this is Rosemary'due south Babe with a perhaps alien-possessed astronaut instead of Satan worship, and the results are equally unimaginative every bit that sounds. Johnny Depp returns to Globe from a space mission a changed human, and Charlize Theron plays his increasingly concerned wife. There isn't necessarily wrong with finding new slants on pre-existing ideas, just if you're going to borrow from one of the most celebrated horror movies ever, you'd better be sure you have something new to add.
Is it worth seeing? Well, no. Not really. Charlize Theron deserved much better genre fare than this, and eventually got it with her superb function in Mad Max: Fury Road .
Bachelor on: Amazon United states of america (for rent)
Bicentennial Man (1999)
Chris Columbus'due south direction is bland, just even Bicentennial Man 'due south grumpier critics would surely concede that Robin Williams' performance every bit a robot who gradually becomes more homo is a thoroughly moving 1. Based on the writings of Isaac Asimov, it follows Williams' humanoid machine as he evolves over the grade of 200 years. Information technology'due south an uneven moving-picture show, for certain, but highly effective in its best dramatic scenes.
Is it worth seeing? Yes, if only for Williams' leading turn.
Available on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon Uk (for hire)
eXistenZ (1999)
David Cronenberg returned to his eariler make of sci-fi horror only once in the 1990s, and it was for eXistenZ , a brilliantly-fabricated piece of techno-surrealism that should accept been a far bigger striking. Jude Constabulary stars as Ted Pykul, a security guy for celebrity game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh). When Geller's attacked by a group of terrorists who object to her reality-bending games machines, she and Pykul go along the run, seemingly escaping their clutches just finding traitors and assassins in the most unlikely places – even in eXistenZ , Geller'south latest and most inscrutible game.
Cronenberg returns to many of the themes and ideas he introduced in Videodrome here, and it could exist said that eXistenZ doesn't compare favourably to that early masterwork. Only at that place'due south something irresistibly off-kilter about the earth Cronenberg creates, from its sexually-charged performances, freaky production design and insistent jabs of body horror. It all builds to a satisfying and clever pay-off that may merely be the funniest in Cronenberg'south career to engagement.
Is it worth seeing? Without a dubiety.
Available on: Amazon U.s.a. (for rent)
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Another late-90s thriller that plays with the purlieus betwixt fiction and reality, The Thirteenth Floor gives the sub-genre a film noir twist. In a simulated 1930s Los Angeles, Craig Bierko'due south protagonist is trying to bear witness that he didn't murder a reckoner genius played past Armin Mueller-Stahl. Other films handled their twists better, just The Thirteenth Floor has plenty decent performances (Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio) and clever moments to make information technology worth a watch.
Is it worth seeing? It's certainly amend than its initially negative reviews suggested.
Available on: Amazon US (for rent), Amazon Britain (for rent)
Virus (1999)
Fifty-fifty experienced producer Gale Anne Hurd ( The Terminator , Aliens ) couldn't steer this disappointing expensive space thriller to box-function success. Based on the comic of the aforementioned name, it sees an alien life class create deadly cyborgs out of dead humans and bits of scientific equipment. A solid cast, which includes Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland, can't save what is substantially a creaky (and at $70m, incredibly expensive) version of Hardware fix on a boat.
Is it worth seeing? The effects are excellent, just everything else is gloomily derivative.
Available on: Amazon US (for hire)
Wing Commander (1999)
Attempting to take the hit videogames and craft them into a Star Wars -type crowd-pleaser, Wing Commander was roundly upstaged past 1999's genre big-hitters – among them a certain Star Wars prequel. Everything well-nigh Wing Commander is weirdly sick-conceived, from its cast (a dull Freddie Prinze Jr, a maniacal Matthew Lillard) to some spectacularly atrocious miniature effects and alien suits. More strangely still, the videogames actually had a better roster of actors than the film. Christopher Walken, Malcolm McDowell, John Injure and Clive Owen had appeared in the games, while Wing Commander : the move picture had to brand practice with a very uncomfortable-looking David Warner and David Suchet.
Is information technology worth seeing? No.
Bachelor on: Amazon UK (for hire)
Source: https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/51-forgotten-sci-fi-movies-from-the-1990s/