Science Fiction

The horror genre has become somewhat stale, as nearly all the possible tropes have been explored. Unborn twin going on a killing spree? Check. A battle between angels and humanity caught in the crossfire? Check. Satanic killer nuns? Check. But every now and then, we're reminded of some oldies-but-goldies that truly helped define the horror genre and its numerous sub-genres, like the original Exorcist or The Visitor.

The latter, also known as Stridulum, is a 1979 sci-fi horror movie that stands out as a rather unique entry in the genre. The movie opens in an otherworldly setting where Jerzy Colsowicz experiences a vision of a young girl with immense powers who's also part of a cosmic conflict between Zatteen, an evil force with psychic abilities, and Yahweh, his benevolent counterpart.

The original title of the article doesn't say that, but it's an interesting story nonetheless.

Rebel Moon writer Kurt Johnstad weighs in on Zack Snyder's newest film getting pelted with bad reviews.

Michael Piller is too harsh on his Spock episode.

Halfway through the pristine miniseries that precedes the most incisive show about post-9/11 America you realize this is your Battlestar Galactica now. Not the bubblegum, brightly lit ’70s classic, but this, the gritty, claustrophobic, white-knuckle reboot that looks nothing like the original boot.

The core idea is the same. The last remaining human survivors of an unimaginable tragedy race to find a new home while staying a hair’s breadth away from their Cylon pursuers, a race of sentient, self-aware machines who are unrecognizable from their fellow man. On each step of the journey, they’re forced to make the kind of decisions you only make in wartime. None of the options is good, and the creator Ronald D. Moore never lets any of his characters off the hook. The trauma of the choices they make stays with them for the run of the series. The question beating at the heart of every episode was this: Can a group of flawed people save mankind without sacrificing their own humanity?

The action is intense, and the special effects are great, but what separates it from its peers is the grounding of the characters. They’re not all heroes. Some are cowards, some are drunks, some are undercover Cylons who don’t even know it. Watching them figure out who they are and what roles they play in this new reality is the great joy of the show.

A forgotten '90s movie is the perfect crossover between sci-fi, horror, and unexpected Jon Stewart.

There's nothing scarier than an unnecessary remake, but one alien invasion film actually improved on its iconic predecessor.

Journalism professor Shen Yang plans to detail his creation process so anyone can ‘create good fiction with AI’.

Netflix is in the buzz/attention business, which likely explains why the service would write what appears to have been a very big check to “Justice League” director Zack Snyder, letting him produce a two-part science-fiction epic that will continue next year. “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire” might have skipped the “release the Snyder cut” preliminaries, but only his most loyal fans will find much in this dreary exercise to warm them.

The shorthand description of the movie would be allowing the visually ambitious director to try his hand at a “Star Wars” movie, but that’s actually a poor representation of the underlying bones of the story, which owes more of a debt to “The Magnificent Seven” (or “The Seven Samurai,” take your pick), which itself was adapted in 1980 by Roger Corman into the space-set “Battle Beyond the Stars.”

Unfortunately, even that latter low-budget effort generated better characters than “Rebel Moon” can muster, and the latitude of the two-part structure merely allows Snyder (who wrote the story, collaborated on the script and also served as director of photography) to plump up the introductions in less-than-flattering ways.

Building not just a world, but an entire galaxy, “Rebel Moon” paints a portrait of a universe that saw its royal family murdered, leaving its planets under the boot of an imperious regent. Cut to a farming community on a small out-of-the-way outpost, where a former soldier, Kora (Sofia Boutella of “The Mummy” and “Kingsman: The Secret Service”), has taken quiet refuge.

Today’s Silicon Valley billionaires grew up reading classic American science fiction. Now they’re trying to make it come true, embodying a dangerous political outlook

Despite its reputation as the "worst" sci-fi movie of all time, 'Highlander 2' deserves a second look.

Lando betrayal was WAY bigger than we thought...

The galaxy far, far away gets steamy with this burlesque parody show coming to Denver soon! Click here to learn more & get tickets.

Sci-fi as a genre is very difficult to perfect, but some terrific movies have come close, only to be held back by one or two flaws. Sci-fi deals with big ideas on an epic scale, and it's not easy to come up with a concept that connects with an audience. Even if a sci-fi movie does find an intriguing premise, translating this into a compelling narrative can be a tough challenge. Sci-fi relies on tropes like any other genre, but it also requires a lot more big-picture thinking, and this can cause some writers and directors to stumble. Even if a sci-fi movie isn't perfect, it can still be wildly entertaining and full of mind-bending concepts.

Discuss/ argue below ...

Ah, ah, ah ... you didn't say the magic word!

Sofia Boutella leads a band of insurgents taking a stand to protect a farming community from the evil empire in the grunge action auteur’s Netflix sci-fi movie.

We’ve got a compelling new sci-fi short proof-of-concept film for you to watch today titled Lunar . Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles City in the year 2057, the story unfolds in a dystopian future where an outlaw finds himself sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment on the notorious LUNAR p

Apple TV+ has officially picked up Murderbot, a 10-episode sci-fi drama series starring and executive produced by Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård (Succession). Based on Martha Wells’ bestsell…

NASA’s 46-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft has experienced a computer glitch that prevents it from returning science data to Earth from the solar system’s outer reaches.

Welcome to the emergency reality shelter – we’ve got scifi short stories to shield you from the bad vibes and idiotic current events you’re suffering from. Stop in, catch your breath. Let me show you around. I started building the Emergency Reality Shelter seven years ago – a place to rest and refresh as the world outside burned with rage and despair. Shelters promote good mental health and psychosocial well-being – please feel welcomed to stay here as long as it makes you feel good to do so.

On October 30, the SFWA Board and the SFWA Legal Affairs Committee sent the following letter to the US Copyright Office in response to their August 2023 Notice of Inquiry regarding copyright law and policy issues in artificial intelligence, which is part of their AI Initiative.

David Drake, the author or co-author of over 80 science fiction and fantasy books, passed away on December 10, 2023 in Silk Hope, North Carolina. Drake, a Vietnam veteran and lawyer, turned to writ…

I know The Creator wasn't perfect but it certainly deserved better than it got. Spider-Man: into the spider-verse was came the winner but I still am not convinced that that was the best science fiction movie of 2023

Everyone knows he rode everyone on set until they broke down - including himself. Why the stars of "THE ABYSS" refused to talk about what happened on the set during filming!

An article about the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction,

which lives here: https://sfdictionary.com/

Example lookup: https://sfdictionary.com/view/59/hyperspace