The third installment in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise is hitting theaters this weekend, and the fact is that most of us will probably watch it at some point. But theaters will likely be packed at first with people wanting to see the highly anticipated film, so it may be best to wait a bit before sitting in a over-crowded multiplex smelling of popcorn and Jujyfruits. And if you are staying home this weekend, I have a suggestion for five other sci fi and fantasy movies you could watch that don’t bring quite as much spectacle, but are certainly worth a look.
These are films that I refer to as the Anti-Blockbusters because they manage to deliver good sci fi/fantasy viewing without the mega-budgets of the studio behemoths that dominate the theaters these days. These are typically independent films that are creator driven, and while they may not offer high-octane action and CGI extravaganza, they still succeed at telling their stories quite well, and in some cases actually deliver a better experience than the high-profile entries designed to pack the theaters. Here are five suggestions that might offer a nice counterpart to the spectacle of Avatar: Fire and Ash (three of which came out the same year as the first film in the franchise), and I will continue to offer more alternatives as future blockbusters arrive at the Box Office.
1. Battle for Terra (2009)
This CGI-animated movie opens on a distant planet where a race of peaceful beings, who have the ability to fly, live an idyllic existence mostly at harmony with their world. However, an enormous spaceship arrives, carrying the last inhabitants of a destroyed Earth, who plan to settle on this world. The humans must terraform the planet to make the atmosphere breathable which in turn will make it poisonous to the natives. An initial confrontation with the humans and natives leads to one of the Earth people crashing on the planet and coming face to face with the inhabitants he would help destroy. This plants the seeds which eventually lead to the beginning of a mutual understanding between the two races, but General Hemmer, the military leader of the humans, is still determined to conquer Terra at any cost.
Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Brian Cox, James Garner, Chris Evans, Danny Glover
Crew: Aristomenis Tsirbas (Director/Writer), Evan Spiliotopoulos (Screenplay)
This sleeper sci fi entry arrived in theaters in the U.S. several months before the first Avatar movie, produced on a budget of under $8 million, a fraction of what the James Cameron film cost. Sadly, though, it received minimal promotion and was quickly overtaken by the other blockbusters dominating the Box Office in Summer 2009. Written and directed by CG artist Aristomenis Tsirbas, it actually follows a similar plotline to the first Avatar film, but it feels much less calculated. It is actually a delightful little film that introduces and interesting new world populated by people who live in harmony with their habitat but find themselves dealing the desperate survivors from Earth. It does look a bit Disney-ish at times, and it does have its share of copy-and-paste, but it still does a good job of telling its story and it delivers a rather powerful ending. At only 79 minutes, it is a quick watch, and certainly worth your time. (You can read more about the movie at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Stream Battle for Terra on Starz or buy VOD from Amazon, Apple, and more.
2. The Quiet Earth (1985)
Scientist Zac Hobson wakes up to find out that everyone has seemingly disappeared across the planet. He had been participating in an experiment called Project Flashlight to create a global energy grid–which he had reservations about–and he surmises that something has gone wrong which likely relates to the disappearances. He searches for survivors but finds none and then begins a slow descent into insanity brought on by his despair and isolation. Zac hits bottom when he finds himself on the verge of committing suicide, but rescues himself from the brink by choosing to live which in turn leads him to regaining his sanity. He then discovers another survivor, Joanne, and is elated to have a companion. These two later find that one other person has survived as well, Api, and from this arises sexual tension followed by competiveness among the two men. Zac also discovers that the universe appears unstable and that the “effect” that caused most of the population to disappear will likely repeat. The three must then work together to forestall the devastating consequences.
Cast: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
Crew: Geoff Murphy (Director), Bill Baer (Writer), Bruno Lawrence (Writer), Craig Harrison (novel)
Avatar: Fire and Ash promises a big film with a huge cast and pretty much non-stop sfx, so as an option to that I offer this low-key genre entry with a cast you can count on one hand and almost no special effects. This one came out in the mid-80s at a time when blockbusters were establishing their hold on theaters, and it mostly came to the attention of sci fi fans as a perineal selection at video rental stores that had very few other genre options to offer. This is definitely a slow burn of a film, and one that does require that you apply some brain matter. But it is also worth seeking out, and the final scene from the movie delivers an unsung classic moment in science fiction cinema making this a must-see for all genre fans. (You can read more about the movie at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Stream The Quiet Earth for free (with ads) on The Roku Channel or Fawesome or buy VOD from Amazon, Apple, and more.
3. Ink (2009)
In this movie, we are introduced to a group of warriors called the Storytellers who live on a different plane of reality and provide humans with good dreams. These people also protect humanity against the nefarious Incubi, vain spirits who deliver nightmares and who wear screens over their faces that display a perpetual facade of happiness. A deformed being named Ink, neither Storyteller nor Incubi, kidnaps a young girl’s mind from the real world, despite strong resistance from the Storytellers, and plans to take her to the Incubi as an offering so that he can join their ranks. However, his drum, which can open the portals, is broken, so he must take a longer, less-direct route. A Storyteller named Allel—who had tried to protect the girl from Ink—summons up a blind pathfinder named Jacob to track the creature down and free the girl. In the real world, the girl is in a comatose state, and her grandfather asks her father—a high-powered workaholic businessman—to come and see her, hoping this will help draw her out of her coma.
Cast: Christopher Soren Kelly, Quinn Hunchar, Jessica Duffy, Jennifer Batter, Jeremy Make, Marty Lindsey
Crew: Jamin Winans (Writer/Director/Executive Producer/Composer), Kiowa K. Winans (Executive Producer)
The Avatar films deliver pretty straightforward tales of good guys vs. bad guys with the former always coming out on top in the end (spoiler alert?). So how about trying a different twist on that formula with this bat-shit crazy film that came out the same year as the first Avatar entry? This is a fantasy story with some sci fi and dystopian trappings, and it is incredibly creative visually and with the netherworld it creates (on a budget of only $250K). It does have a basic good vs. evil theme of sorts to it, but it takes the viewer on twists and turns and definitely bends reality at times. The ending is pretty much expected (spoiler alert?), but the journey is worth it. (You can read more about the movie at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Stream Ink for free (with ads) on The Roku Channel or buy VOD from Amazon, Apple, and more.
4. Beowulf and Grendel (2005)
King of the Danes Hrothgar lives in despair as the monstrous Grendel wages war against his people and has slain many of his warriors. He sends for the aid of the legendary Beowulf who arrives at Daneland accompanied by his troop of warriors. They face off with Grendel, but the monster will not fight them and instead flees which prompts Beowulf to wonder about the claims that Hrothgar has made against the creature. Beowulf eventually finds that, when Grendel was a child, the Danish king killed his father for stealing a fish, though he spared the youth out of pity. However, after Grendel matured, he waged a war of vengeance against Hrothgar and his men. The beast does not attack Beowulf and his men, though, because they have done him no wrong. In searching for the creature, they come across his cave and one of Beowulf’s warriors desecrates it, which changes Grendel’s attitudes towards them and sets up a deadly struggle.
Cast: Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Sarah Polley, Eddie Marsan, Tony Curran
Crew: Sturla Gunnarsson (Director/Producer), Andrew Rai Berzins (Writer)
The first Avatar film is a retelling of the Pocahontas legend to a degree, so how about checking out another film that gives its own take on a classic tale? This movie tackles the Beowulf saga, though with much less pomp and circumstance than the Robert Zemeckis CGI-animated version that came out two years later. Beowulf and Grendel gives us a stark yet visually captivating view of the Anglo-Saxon age on a budget of only $16 million vs. the $150 spent on the Zemeckis film. It also delivers a more thoughtful Beowulf who is not as quick to use deadly force as legend would have us believe. The film acts as a response to the interventionist policies of the United States during the ’00s, but you need not delve into the politics to enjoy it. This is a sleeper fantasy entry that takes some liberties with the source material, but that also delivers a very satisfying viewing experience. (You can read more about the movie at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Stream Beowulf and Grendel for free (with ads) on Tubi, The Roku Channel, or Filmzie or buy VOD from Amazon, Apple, and more.
5. Moon (2009)
Sam Bell is the sole human in charge of running a mining operation that extracts helium-3 from the lunar surface and sends it back to Earth where it provides the primary fuel source for the planet. His only companion is the robotic GERTY 3000 which has a voice similar to HAL 9000 and displays emoticons on its monitor to reflect its expressions. Sam is coming to the end of his three-year contract on the Moon and eagerly awaits his return home. However, he starts to hallucinate and see people and transmissions that he knows cannot be real which eventually causes him to have a life-threatening accident on the surface of the Moon. And this leads to a revelation about his true function on the base.
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott
Crew: Duncan Jones (Writer/Director), Nathan Parker (Writer)
Yet another movie that came out in 2009 and was overshadowed by the many blockbusters in the theaters, this one delivers hard sci fi as opposed to the sci fi/fantasy of Avatar, and in many ways it is a much more moving tale. The always reliable Sam Rockwell delivers a career performance as a man working alone on a Moon mining base who must struggle with some monumental questions of human identity. It has a look similar to earlier sci fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Silent Running, yet it accomplishes that on a budget of $5 million. And while it lacks the grander statements of those movies, it does explore what it means to be human and in control of your own destiny. This one has since worked its way up the rankings of all-time great sci fi films, and if you have not seen it yet, you should certainly seek it out. (You can read more about the movie at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Buy Moon VOD from Amazon, Apple, and more, or get it on Blu-ray or DVD.
