The Wish List: 'Underrated Sci-Fi' Edition

The cold and dark of the winter doldrums makes me want to retreat into my mind like Sam Lowry. Perhaps it's because I binged on some random sci-fi films last month, but I've been thinking about some underrated entries in the genre that deserve to be on my latest Wish List:

Looker (Michael Crichton, 1981)

If you're willing to accept the premise of a middle-aged, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, portrayed by Albert Finney, as the film’s hero, you will be rewarded with a compelling conspiracy thriller beyond its time. Looker not only predicted deep fakes in media over forty years ago, but also presented the nefarious concept of subliminal messaging in television used to influence consumer behaviour and political decisions.

Looker is desperately in need of a remaster. The picture quality of the Warner Archive Blu-ray is far too grainy and the colours are flat. Arrow or Indicator would be ideal labels to restore the film, including inserting the famous deleted scene, featuring James Coburn, which provides crucial context to the plot.

The Hidden (Jack Sholder, 1987)

A gloriously 1980s sci-fi action film about an alien insect that crawls inside people and causing them to commit crimes, while blasting uptempo rock music. 

While The Hidden is frequently included in lists of underrated 1980s science fiction films, its status has largely remained unchanged. I revisited this film after noting its obvious inspiration for The Cat (1992) last month. Pleased to say that it has lost none of its appeal since first discovering it during my teens.

A film that would benefit with superior treatment from a label such as Vinegar Syndrome or 88 Films. 

Fortress (Stuart Gordon, 1992)

Admittedly, labelling this film underrated is tenuous, given its box office success and producing a sequel. However, pretty much anything directed by Stuart Gordon that isn't Re-Animator or From Beyond barely gets the same sort of physical media love as them. 

Set in a dystopian future, where having more than one child will get you a life sentence in a subterranean, maximum security prison, a remote explosive device in your stomach, and a cyborg Kurtwood Smith trying to steal your wife, Fortress is one one of the better movies to star Christopher Lambert where you needn't worry about him talking in a horrible Scottish accent. Pure B-movie entertainment, and a personal favourite amongst prison movie canon.

Fortress would make for a worthy release on 88 Films or Kino Lorber.

Beyond the Black Rainbow (Panos Cosmatos, 2010)

 

Given its abstract cinematography and deliberate slow-pacing, Beyond the Black Rainbow is more of a mood-driven experience than one with a traditional narrative. This gives it a certain pretentious art-house quality, for lack of a better description. However, its stunning retro-futuristic visual aesthetics make the feat of deciphering it, surprisingly worthwhile. It eventually treads into familiar slasher territory, too. That would explain why I find it so appealing.

Panos Cosmatos followed this film with the similarly experimental Mandy (2018), starring Nicolas Cage; another film that I adore.

Beyond the Black Rainbow would be a suitable release for a label like Second Sight, which knows a thing or two about curateing both modern cult films and traditional titles. 

The Platform (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019)

I recently reviewed this allegorical film set within a dystopian brutalist prison. It is worth reiterating my profound impression of the film. While some scenes are very disturbing, it remains a captivating and challenging watch. Regrettably, its sequel was a significant disappointment and even undermined the original, to an extent.

Although a Netflix exclusive, The Platform was released on Blu-ray in Spain and Japan. These releases were not English-friendly. Therefore, the film is definitely in need of a Blu-ray release with English subtitles. Second Sight would be my pick to deliver the goods.

Underwater (William Eubank, 2020)

Similar to her former co-star Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart has starred in several films to distance herself from her association with the cultural ruin of the Twilight series. More recently, she starred in the enjoyable film Love Lies Bleeding (2024). My favourite example of this is Underwater, a science fiction thriller set at the bottom of the Mariana Trench with sea monsters. It might also be because K-Stew and Jessica Henwick wear skimpy underwear in it, too.

Sadly, this eneergetic, creature feature was caught up in the Covid kerfuffle. It's never received an official Blu-ray release in my region. Any of the aforementioned labels  would be a good distributor, to be honest.