Author Topic: Sci-Fi movies with a strong sense of hopelessness and despair? (Read 2607 times)

Ecrofirt · « **on:** October 24, 2007, 06:06:00 PM »

A friend of mine is writing some paper for his senior seminar class that has to do with sci-fi movies that have, as I mentioned above, 'hopelessness and despair'.

So fellow borians, what are some good titles?

Mandark · « **Reply #1 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:09:17 PM »

Well, I certainly FELT a strong sense of hopelessness and despair watching the SW prequels in theaters.

Barry Egan · « **Reply #2 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:10:12 PM »

Gay Boy · « **Reply #3 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:11:43 PM »

Quote from: Mandark on October 24, 2007, 06:09:17 PM

Well, I certainly FELT a strong sense of hopelessness and despair watching the SW prequels in theaters.

oddly episode III would meet his criteria, the bad guys win.

bluemax · « **Reply #4 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:12:42 PM »

Dark City is the first one that comes to mind. Maybe 2001, Sunshine, Event Horizon and all those shitty disaster sci fi flicks (Armageddon etc).

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:14:43 PM »

Does Brazil qualify?

Human Snorenado · « **Reply #6 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:16:24 PM »

Pitch Black? Chronicles of Riddick made me feel hopelessness and despair.

Ichirou · « **Reply #7 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:33:43 PM »

Outland, Alien, the first two Planet of the Apes movies, and Silent Running are the ones that immediately spring to mind. I think I'm the first person in the thread to give legitimate answers, lol

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #8 on:** October 24, 2007, 06:48:27 PM »

Children of Men
Brazil
Dark City
Blade Runner

TVC15 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 24, 2007, 07:00:18 PM »

12 Monkeys. Or even La Jetee if your friend wants to win some art cigarillo points.

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #10 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:42:46 PM »

Ice Spiders filled me with both hopelessness and dispair.

http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=13739.0

Mupepe · « **Reply #11 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:44:45 PM »

Quote from: Weighted Companion Cube on October 24, 2007, 08:42:46 PM

Ice Spiders filled me with both hopelessness and dispair.

http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=13739.0

you're a masochist

MrAngryFace · « **Reply #12 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:45:16 PM »

I honestly didnt think it'd be nearly as bad as it was.

Mupepe · « **Reply #13 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:46:25 PM »

Quote from: Weighted Companion Cube on October 24, 2007, 08:45:16 PM

I honestly didnt think it'd be nearly as bad as it was.

if you saw this picture before you saw the movie and watched it anyways, you have no excuses lol

Madrun Badrun · « **Reply #14 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:46:33 PM »

Highlander 4. Conor :'(

Powerslave · « **Reply #15 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:50:00 PM »

Matrix 2 & 3

The Sceneman · « **Reply #16 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:54:23 PM »

8 Legged freaks

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #17 on:** October 24, 2007, 08:58:43 PM »

"The End of Evangelion"?

I enjoyed the first two Star Wars prequels and would probably have enjoyed the third one had I seen it.

drohne · « **Reply #18 on:** October 24, 2007, 09:10:42 PM »

i didn't want to be the first person to bring up animu, but since re has gone there, my first thought was 'jin roh'

sci fi is an optimistic genre. even the bleak movies tend to work their way to some kind of uplift

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #19 on:** October 24, 2007, 09:14:15 PM »

Code 46
Series 7
Battle Royale (it's kind of SF--moreso the book)

Eel O'Brian · « **Reply #20 on:** October 24, 2007, 09:15:15 PM »

Soylent Green

The Omega Man

also agree with the first two Planet of the Apes movies

Chuck Heston was a bleak motherfucker in the early 70s.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #21 on:** October 24, 2007, 09:19:07 PM »

Quote

sci fi is an optimistic genre. even the bleak movies tend to work their way to some kind of uplift

EOE does too kinda. but I think even if parts of the movie have uplift, if the rest of the movie is hopeless & desparate than the movie does meet the topic-starters criterion of containing a sense of h&d, though it may not be h&d overall.

Bloodwake · « **Reply #22 on:** October 24, 2007, 10:43:51 PM »

Alien

The Terminator qualifies too. The entire movie is pretty dark, knowing that the protagonists are being chased by something from a future where humanity is conquered by their own creations. One of the reasons I think the first Terminator film is criminally underappreciated.

drozmight · « **Reply #23 on:** October 25, 2007, 04:06:23 AM »

2001 ?

But that's too obvious.

[errr not a movie]

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #24 on:** October 25, 2007, 04:10:52 AM »

How about Superman Returns? All the powers in the world couldn't stop Superman from losing his woman.

ferricide · « **Reply #25 on:** October 25, 2007, 04:25:53 AM »

solaris (the original russian version)
sunshine

i dug sunshine the mostest but the science doesn't make a lot of sense. my boyfriend about died from choking on his own vomit at the theater. so ymmv. same director/writer as 28 days later so semi-similar tense-ness but not quite as extreme. more contemplative.

solaris is really wonderful and fucked up. the first hour is kind of very boring! it's well worth it to sit through it, though. cerebral and emotional at the same time.

i didn't think much of the clooney remake but i didn't wait long enough between them before watching it, so it might have seemed better if i had.

Powerslave · « **Reply #26 on:** October 25, 2007, 04:35:11 AM »

Quote from: Bloodwake on October 24, 2007, 10:43:51 PM

Alien

The Terminator qualifies too. The entire movie is pretty dark, knowing that the protagonists are being chased by something from a future where humanity is conquered by their own creations. One of the reasons I think the first Terminator film is criminally underappreciated.

I actually believe that The Terminator was a stand-alone film with no scheduled sequel. This is probably a fact anyway. Just like The Matrix, sequels were made because there was still some future in it (lolol pun) and they could add a lot more to the story. They pulled it off with T2, but we all know how the Matrix sequels went.

recursivelyenumerable · « **Reply #27 on:** October 25, 2007, 09:06:02 AM »

Quote

solaris is really wonderful and fucked up. the first hour is kind of very boring! it's well worth it to sit through it, though. cerebral and emotional at the same time.

it's also Tetsuya Takahashi's (Xenogears/saga) favorite movie ever

ferrarimanf355 · « **Reply #28 on:** October 25, 2007, 10:59:37 AM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on October 24, 2007, 06:14:43 PM

Does Brazil qualify?

If you're talking about the original cut, then yes, that ending was a downer.

Stocky · « **Reply #29 on:** October 25, 2007, 12:04:01 PM »

The Blob

FlameOfCallandor · « **Reply #30 on:** October 25, 2007, 12:09:15 PM »

You guys are fucking distinguished mentally-challenged if you think 2001 is a downer. I hated the movie and even I know that he evolved into the star child thingy.

ToxicAdam · « **Reply #31 on:** October 25, 2007, 12:12:20 PM »

The Original Twilight Zone TV shows would be an awesome resource for this.

I came in here to say Event Horizon and Dark City. But people have beaten me to the punch.

FlameOfCallandor · « **Reply #32 on:** October 25, 2007, 12:15:30 PM »

Star Wars Episode 1-3 gave me a sense of hopelessness.

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Author Topic: Sci-Fi movies with a strong sense of hopelessness and despair? (Read 2607 times)