# What's the most underated Sci-Fi movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782 "2016-03-03T02:13:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/61 "2016-03-04T15:27:38Z")
Another vote for both “Dark City” and “Moon” I’ll also add “The Hidden” And the mention of “The Andromeda Strain” (which I love, but wouldn’t consider “overlooked”) reminded me of another Crichton: “Looker”. This was too far ahead of its time when it came out. But seeing the Paul Walker scenes in the latest “Fast and Furious” and (younger) Arnold in the recent “Terminator” movies, it dawned on me that “Looker” is now happening. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/62 "2016-03-04T15:41:12Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Another vote for both “Dark City” and “Moon” > > I’ll also add “The Hidden” > > . I’ll agree on **the Hidden** , which feels as if it borrowed a lot from Hal Clement’s classic _Needle_. The movie is truly overlooked (although the SciFi channel did make two abysmal sequels) **Moon** is also very neglected. I’ll also recommend the same director’s \*\* Source Code\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/63 "2016-03-04T18:03:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ll agree on **the Hidden** , which feels as if it borrowed a lot from Hal Clement’s classic _Needle_. The movie is truly overlooked (although the SciFi channel did make two abysmal sequels) _The Hidden_ also features a bit of foreshadowing with a pre-_Twin Peaks_ Kyle MacLachlan portraying an FBI agent searching for an elusive criminal. I had a VHS copy of that movie but I haven’t seen it in years. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/64 "2016-03-04T18:14:11Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > _The Hidden_ also features a bit of foreshadowing with a pre-_Twin Peaks_ Kyle MacLachlan portraying an FBI agent searching for an elusive criminal. I had a VHS copy of that movie but I haven’t seen it in years. Yeah, I always liked that The Hidden seems to given an explanation of why McLachlan’s character was so weird (and the movie even had him originally being in the Pacific Northwest). But it’s almost wholly coincidental. The two productions aren’t linked. Unless David Lynch consciously slanted McLachlan’s character because of the movie, there’s no connection. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/65 "2016-03-04T23:20:20Z")
Europa Report was really good. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/66 "2016-03-05T01:27:37Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > No mention of “The Postman”. If a movie is great and everybody only says it’s good, then it is underrated. But if a movie is OK and everybody says it stinks then I’d have to say it’s _more_ underrated. But if a movie sucks _hardcore_, and most people just say it sucks, then it’s overrated. “The Postman” sucks. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/67 "2016-03-05T02:18:02Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Agreed. I saw _Gojira_ at a festival a few years ago. Still had some campy elements, and Gojira was obviously a guy in a rubber suit beating hell out of cardboard buildings and model airplanes on wires; but watching scenes of Japanese people being treated for radiation sickness, in a film that was made in 1950 (IIRC), had an impact. I’m sure it resonated even more when in came out. It was much better than I had expected. A reviewer once pointed out that there is a style of theater in Japan that relies on paper sets and cheap costumes, and people are used to seeing them, and suspending their disbelief for good acting. So _Gojira_ basically was in the tradition of this kind of theater, which I guess is sort of like watching something like _Our Town_, or watching the play _The Elephant Man_, where the actor wears no make-up to look like Joseph Merrick. It looks cheesy to Americans who don’t understand what it’s referencing, but it makes sense to people familiar with the background. Now, I just have this on the authority of this one reviewer-- I know nothing about Japan. But having read this before I watched _Gojira_ did make it seem less cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/68 "2016-03-05T03:12:52Z")
Does Galaxy Quest count? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/69 "2016-03-05T15:59:55Z")
One that hasn’t been mentioned is [Time After Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_After_Time_(1979_film)). It did not do well in theaters, probably because the premise is so unbelievable. But it was fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/70 "2016-03-05T16:16:16Z")
> [@Grsz11](#): > > Does Galaxy Quest count? Isn’t GQ almost universally lauded? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/71 "2016-03-05T16:17:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > One that hasn’t been mentioned is [Time After Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_After_Time_(1979_film)). It did not do well in theaters, probably because the premise is so unbelievable. But it was fantastic. The premise is batshit, but it’s a very enjoyable film. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/72 "2016-03-05T20:04:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Yeah, I always liked that The Hidden seems to given an explanation of why McLachlan’s character was so weird (and the movie even had him originally being in the Pacific Northwest). > > But it’s almost wholly coincidental. The two productions aren’t linked. Unless David Lynch consciously slanted McLachlan’s character because of the movie, there’s no connection. I always felt like it was his origin, in a kind of metatextual fashion. When an actor plays a role that is so iconic, it feels like it can bleed into other movies, even if the sources are different and there is no actual continuity. I always felt that Patrick McGoohan played the same character in _Secret Agent_ as he did in \*Ice Station Zebra \*(“Mr. Jones”), and that his disgust with the events and double-crossing in that film led him to resign, which ultimately led to the events in _The Prisoner._ ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/73 "2016-03-05T20:07:14Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The premise is batshit, but it’s a very enjoyable film. I liked that, too. David Warner made a great Jack the Ripper, Malcolm McDowell was also great as Wells, and Mary Steenburgen was very lovely in that film as well. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/74 "2016-03-05T22:44:25Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > THE BED-SITTING ROOM -Not many have seen this. Members of Britain’s premiere comedy teams (The Goon Show, Cook & Moore) in a comedic post-apocalypse Britain where the government bombs any remaining structures to deny them to the enemy and people spontaneously mutate into bed-sitting rooms I remember seeing that as a kid, the bit that stuck out in my mind was an actor standing on top of a mountain of crockery that actually existed in real life as a pile of rejects from a pottery company. > [@Rocketeer](#): > > … May I nominate The Rocketeer (the film, not the user, although they probably also make good contributions to this board). It was just such good fun, although I understand that it didn’t make much money at the box office. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > A reviewer once pointed out that there is a style of theater in Japan that relies on paper sets and cheap costumes, and people are used to seeing them, and suspending their disbelief for good acting. So _Gojira_ basically was in the tradition of this kind of theater, which I guess is sort of like watching something like _Our Town_, or watching the play _The Elephant Man_, where the actor wears no make-up to look like Joseph Merrick. It looks cheesy to Americans who don’t understand what it’s referencing, but it makes sense to people familiar with the background. > > Now, I just have this on the authority of this one reviewer-- I know nothing about Japan. But having read this before I watched _Gojira_ did make it seem less cheap. Apologies for the slight hijack, but I have to say I do get that, but my daughter doesn’t. I see CGI on screen and it’s almost the case that the better it’s done, the more my brain interprets it as something fake and it just seems to slip off away from the rest of the set and is no more than a 2D picture behind the characters. I stopped watching the last Avengers movie on TV towards the end, I was just entirely disconnected with the floating city and whizzing armoured suits. I watch any of the Japanese Godzilla movies and I’m just fine with the models and paper cities. My daughter lets me know, half disgusted half disappointed, that a battalion of tanks blasting away at Godzilla are just models. For me it’s the part of the movie where humans have to try conventional means to be reminded they don’t work. I don’t mind that the little melted tanks are just plastic under a blow torch, that’s not the point. Similarly, I think Doctor Who from the 60s through to the hiatus in the 80s is the best stage play I’ve seen on TV for ages. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/75 "2016-03-05T22:54:32Z")
“Star Crash”, without question. I will go toe to toe with anyone that Marjoe Gortner was greater in this than even Jack Nicholson was in “Five Easy Pieces”. (pretty well identical roles, too!) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/76 "2016-03-06T01:57:24Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > 1984 - The version with John Hurt, actually released in 1984. The best, most accurate adaptation of Orwell’s novel. Have to disagree with this one. The original book was scary, but actually set in 1948, when it was written, which made it scary in 1948 and for years afterwards, but by the time 1984 rolled around, it just didn’t push any buttons. It was still a film about things that were scary in 1948. The 1984 remake of “1984” that was scary, that scared me, that made me come out of the theatre thinking “I don’t want it to be like that”, was called “Brazil” (because they didn’t get the rights to the original name). Possibly it was too English for the American market, and the reviews here marked it down for being a remake (filme reviewers can be very snooty about that). Other films that, perhaps for personal reasons, had an emotional impact were “The Quiet Earth” “Miracle Mile” I’ve always thought that Miracle Mile was a really good film about nuclear-end-of-the-world, that had the misfortune to come out after the end of the cold war, when everyone had stopped worrying about the bomb. If it had come out 10 years earlier, perhaps it would have been a classic. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/77 "2016-03-06T01:58:40Z")
I’ll throw in _The Last Starfighter._ The graphics may look primitive to us here in 2016, but the movie still holds up, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/78 "2016-03-06T02:05:11Z")
Hey, speaking of nuclear holocaust, and things that were scary in 1984: [_Threads_](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0090163/). ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/79 "2016-03-06T02:10:23Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **It! The Terror from Beyond Space** – 1950s epic by Jerome Bixby\*. They absolutely stole the plot of _Alien_ from this film\*\*. Made on a low budget. Some of the things are hilariously outdated (The women in the crew are the ones who serve the food and coffee – but at least there _are_ female crewmembers. The ship also carries guns and grenades. And they smoke cigarettes on board), but overall it’s till a good piece of work. I’ll second this by way of nightmares. I saw it as a kid and it scared the _bejezus_ out of me. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782/80 "2016-03-06T04:43:27Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Have to disagree with this one. The original book was scary, but actually set in 1948, when it was written, which made it scary in 1948 and for years afterwards, but by the time 1984 rolled around, it just didn’t push any buttons. It was still a film about things that were scary in 1948. > > The 1984 remake of “1984” that was scary, that scared me, that made me come out of the theatre thinking “I don’t want it to be like that”, was called \“Brazil”\ (because they didn’t get the rights to the original name). Possibly it was too English for the American market, and the reviews here marked it down for being a remake (filme reviewers can be very snooty about that). (Snipped for brevity) “Brazil”, the Terry Gilliam-directed film that won the LA Film Critics award for best picture the year it was released? The one written by Gilliam, Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown that was not an adaptation of “1984” in any way shape or form, other than being British and dystopian? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-underated-sci-fi-movie/747782.md?page=5)