Favorite bad sci-fi movie?
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KojiroVance
Sr Member
Anyone mentioned SPACE TRUCKERS yet? I actually liked it when I saw it on VHS, thought it was original and fresh. But also succumbed to the Mad Max school of post-apocalyptic production design. 
Starz let me sample a 1968 William Castle film called PROJECT X with Christopher George and many other Hollywood character actors. It was boring, cheaply done, the first 30 mins or so was just stilted exposition.... And somehow involved a VR scenario in which to get information out of a spy who's had his memory wiped, they have to simulate a 1960s California heist caper theme, whch of course helps with an already anemic budget. I gave up after a while. I should finish it.
I guess for favorite "bad" flicks, would Zardoz count? Goofy, self-important, but with enough guilty thrills (nudity, violence, and Sean Connery in a diaper) to satisfy. Out recently on a Twilight Time BD release.
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Starz let me sample a 1968 William Castle film called PROJECT X with Christopher George and many other Hollywood character actors. It was boring, cheaply done, the first 30 mins or so was just stilted exposition.... And somehow involved a VR scenario in which to get information out of a spy who's had his memory wiped, they have to simulate a 1960s California heist caper theme, whch of course helps with an already anemic budget. I gave up after a while. I should finish it.
I guess for favorite "bad" flicks, would Zardoz count? Goofy, self-important, but with enough guilty thrills (nudity, violence, and Sean Connery in a diaper) to satisfy. Out recently on a Twilight Time BD release.
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KojiroVance
Sr Member
Classic. I actually like some of the scenes in it, very atmospheric and creepy when theyre still trying to find out what the monster is.
SAme movie. People died when they came in contact with the rocks (turned them into stone?). There ws a little girl who was dying, had to be put in an iron lung, so in addition to the race against time to stop the "monsters," they were trying to figure out how to save the sweet little girl.
My memory may be faulty, but I found the combination of the "monsters" being a rock/mineral, and the danger introduced by a coming rainstorm (the rocks grew and multiplied in contact with water) being chilling. I mean, how do you stop the rain? You can't! Oh crap, we're doomed. More of an environmental cataclysm than a monster movie.
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I saw Laserblast in the movie theater in 1978. My expectations were low and it was a fun film.
Here it is. The film starts at 31:20
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jettajeffro
Active Member
Man, alot of movies I love have already been listed. One of my personal faves that never seems to get any attention is Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. I loved it for being basically Star Wars meets Heavy Metal. Plus it was the first 3-D animated film. I love all the more adult animated sci-fi/fantasy films that came out around that period. Fire and Ice, Wizards, Light Years, etc.
Borjis
Sr Member
Saturn III (I love, LOVE the production design)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (pilot was released as a movie)
The Black Hole
Silent Running
Krull
Metal Storm
The Philadelphia Experiment
The Wraith
Time Walker - Saw this on cable when I was little kid, thought the concept was brilliant.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (pilot was released as a movie)
The Black Hole
Silent Running
Krull
Metal Storm
The Philadelphia Experiment
The Wraith
Time Walker - Saw this on cable when I was little kid, thought the concept was brilliant.
I actually saw Time Walker in theaters. It's quite enjoyable.
Im sorry but almost anything by John Carpenter and Buckaroo Banzai is not bad SciFi. There's the issue of being dated or just plain bad. They Live, The Thing and The Fog were great Carpenter films that have a few tongue in cheek moments. The Prince of Darkness is scary as hell and so well made.
Megaforce is bad. Bad acting, bad plot, bad effects. But its fun as hell.
Anyone remember 'Hardware' Circa 1990? I have that soundtrack somewhere. Not sure if it holds up well or not.
Megaforce is bad. Bad acting, bad plot, bad effects. But its fun as hell.
Anyone remember 'Hardware' Circa 1990? I have that soundtrack somewhere. Not sure if it holds up well or not.
autoprops713
Sr Member
Loved Hardware! Not sure it was mentioned yet but Phase IV was creepy awesome....and directed by Saul Bass!
YenChih Lin
Master Member
As some said, some movies ain't THAT bad. Like The Wraith or Escape or They Live… That's like saying "Westworld" the series is a B-Series… well, I must admit the movie is a bit dated in the looks and execution, but the premise was good, the series cranked up the juice to 11.
matty matt
Sr Member
Phase IV had an awesome VHS cover. I forgot all about that.
Futureworld, it's the little known sequel to Westworld but has very little of the feel of the original other than Yul Brenner for about 30 seconds. It's a very anti-establishment 70s movie though. How about the 1970s Spiderman show that they cut into movies and rereleased years ago? It's so good it's bad, it was a good actor for a 20 something Parker though. I remember USA showing the movies over thanksgiving weekend in the 90s.
astroboy
Master Member
I find this to be a really hard question to answer.
I like the original battlestar Galactica and Buck rogers movies....except neither one of them is as enjoyable as the actual TV show.
Generally, if I like it, I consider it to be a good movie.
I love the old transformers movie (1986). Is it a good movie? I think so. When I was a kid, I liked Krull. But not as an adult. It doesn't hold up. The last starfighter sure holds up
I like the original battlestar Galactica and Buck rogers movies....except neither one of them is as enjoyable as the actual TV show.
Generally, if I like it, I consider it to be a good movie.
I love the old transformers movie (1986). Is it a good movie? I think so. When I was a kid, I liked Krull. But not as an adult. It doesn't hold up. The last starfighter sure holds up
Tan Djarka
Sr Member
I saw Megaforce during the first week of a summer spent in Germany. It made no sense to me, so I chalked up to my German being a little rusty. When I saw it again later in English I realized it wasn't me!
Zombie_61
Master Member
There was a liquor store in Newport Beach, California, that had one of those buggys parked in front of it for several years for no apparent reason other than to attract attention. The owner of the store had bought it from the studio after the movie was deemed a failure and plans for a sequel were canceled. He said he'd been contacted by some form of government agency who was interested in buying it from him because he'd bought the only one that was still operational and they wanted to study the design in order to create a lightweight fighter vehicle for the U.S. military, but he never heard from them after that first call.
Back to the main topic, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). These days it has a bit of a cult following more than a fan base, but it's not bad for a relatively simple story. And, of course, visual effects (i.e., the flying saucers) by Ray Harryhausen.
Earth vs The flying saucers is my favorite movie he did outside of Jason and the Argonauts and those films. Warriors of the Wasteland and Defcon 4: both are bad 80s post apocalyptic movies with a moderate budget for Defcon and Warriors being a no budget Road Warrior clone like so many others of that era. Let's not forget This Island Earth and When Planets Collide too.
Zombie_61
Master Member
Strangely, in his biography Harryhausen stated Earth vs the Flying Saucers was his least favorite of the movies he worked on. :confused
KojiroVance
Sr Member
I did a comparison of the plot of this and Indpendence Day (ID4) after arguing with someone that the latter was a rip of the original's story. I got up to about 20 or so specific similarities before realizing that I wasn't joking. I think I have it posted on my web site still...
http://www.korova.com/kmr96/kmr6006.htm
Okay, here's one you all havent mentioned. I actually saw it multiple times on release because the production design was cool. And we didnt have Star Wars yet. Intriguing film, it wanted to be a horror film, but also a deep, 2001 style mind blower. Starting Fritz Weaver and the lovely Julie Christie. Computer voice by the incomparable Robert Vaughn.
DEMON SEED. >
Another bad sci-fi film that I still get a (little) kick out of seeing: Logan's Run. Oh man, Jerry Goldsmith's score sounded so good on 70mm 6 track Dolby release. (I kinda wonder if the same theater setups that made SW so great sounding were already in place for LR. I saw it at the Alexandria theater in San Fran, not far from the Coronet where Star Wars opened 5/25/77.)
Even though Criterion Collection has it, can we include Fiend Without A Face? Squishy sounds galore. And a girl in a shower.
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