Photo by Elia Pelligrini on Unsplash
It's been a hell of a year! Production of many movies and TV shows were either cancelled or put on hiatus when the world collectively put on its breaks and stayed at home. Though few productions were being made, many of us were watching lots more TV.
We love sci-fi and this year, we have found ourselves comparing movies and TV series side by side with the actual news more often than we would like. We have been bingeing anything we can find. For those who love sci-fi too, we have created a list of a few things we have watched this year that maybe you have missed.
The Vast of Night
Set in New Mexico in the 1950s, The Vast of Night centers around two teenagers who discover an unknown frequency is being transmitted through the town’s phone lines. A mysterious caller reveals it may be from an extraterrestrial source.
This fast-paced and unique independent movie may have gone under your radar. The action takes place during the course of a single night. The snappy dialogues and continuous action make this a really engrossing movie.
IO
During a mass evacuation, a young scientist decides to remain on a dying Earth to try and save the planet she calls home. A traveler searching for her father arrives and together they have to decide whether to remain or abandon the planet for good.
With spectacular visuals and a steady gentle pace, IO paints a picturesque, if not apocalyptic, portrait of an uninhabited Earth. It won’t be the most thrilling movie you watch this week, but it’s intriguing enough to keep you interested. It describes a possible future for our species that is becoming increasingly more probable.
The Midnight Sky
After an unidentified catastrophe forces evacuation, a terminally-ill scientist decides to remain on Earth. The discovery of a young girl stirs up past regrets and forces him to confront his failures. Meanwhile, a space ship returning from a scouting mission is unaware of the troubles on Earth.
This movie follows a similar premise to IO and is visually interesting throughout with its contrasting snow and space landscapes. The plot isn’t particularly unique or surprising, but it’s still worth a watch.
Vivarium
A young couple looking to buy a house visit a new sprawling suburb of identical houses. The more they investigate, the more they realize the suburb is totally devoid of life. After they meet with a strange real estate agent who then vanishes, they try to make sense of their new surroundings.
This movie is a sci-fi horror that parodies the perfectionism and sense of purgatory that suburban life can conjure. Watching them move around the house with its teal-colored walls and modernist furniture is disturbing in its exaggerated normality.
This movie is not the kind that has witty conversations and philosophical discussions. However, in the silence and lack of answers, there’s a familiar sense of struggle that tests the couple’s relationship to breaking point.
Invisible Man
Like time travel, invisibility is not really something you would want to expend your brain juices analyzing how it could be scientifically possible. In this movie, there is a hi-tech invisibility suit and that’s it. This Invisible Man is loosely based on the original story by H.G. Wells, but is much darker than the original.
It tells the story of a woman trying to escape a violent and jealous relationship. When she is pursued by her invisible partner, she begins to question her sanity.
This is a slick and suspenseful movie that will keep you entertained. It has strong performances from its lead characters and is one of the few sci-fi movies released this year that was genuinely scary.
Raised By Wolves
This series follows the journey of two androids, known as Mother and Father, who arrive on a planet far away from Earth to raise a new generation of humankind. Mother raises human babies from frozen embryos that the couple have nurtured since leaving Earth and feeds them with vital nutrients from her body. As they grow up, the children learn survival and life skills from their android foster parents.
While the young family figures out the uncharted territory and the children try to adapt to its characteristics, another group of humans arrive with conflicting beliefs. This causes Mother to rediscover forgotten strengths and abilities to protect her children.
This is a gripping series and has a unique and interesting feel to it. It was developed and directed by Ridley Scott, and has much of his trademark aesthetics. The series will have you vacillating between whether Mother is good or bad. Is she really genuinely hoping to raise better versions of humans? Or is she just programmed to complete her mission?
Color Out of Space
After a brightly glowing meteor crashes in a family's garden, they gradually succumb to its mind-altering effects. Unusual plants and insects began to appear at the crash site, leading the family into a hallucinatory and increasingly unsettled world.
This movie is based on the H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name and blends modern production with a classic 80s sci-fi feel. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and successfully creates a sense of creeping dread, which is interspersed with mad moments of action.
The Mandalorian
We know that you know what the Mandalorian is, and this is for those who don’t.
This Mandalorian centers around the adventures of bounty hunter Din Djarin, who finds himself the guardian of a child with unusual powers. He decides to protect the child and return him to his own people. They meet many colorful characters along the way and have some wild adventures.
It’s been one of the most enjoyable series of the year for us. Other people have complained that it is a bit slow and can seem repetitive, but that’s part of it’s charm if you ask us. It’s quite fun to be invited into the Star Wars universe and to not have to be rushed through lots of fast-paced action.
The Mandalorian takes us weekly to these worlds we know so well. It feels like we get to just hang out for a bit.
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