All of my favorites have been mentioned already (Yay!) but I want to mention The Signal - it surprised us with how much we enjoyed it, and it’s one we revisit from time to time. I don’t know if there’s much lore developed around it by now, but it’s a nice imagination prompt!
Ooh, and Pandorum. Another comfort spooky
Personal favorite is David Lynch’s Dune. All the good, all the bad, all the ridiculous production problems. I won’t go on, though, I’ll be here proselytizing all day on Herbert, Lynch, Dune, and making sure you always get final cut for filmmaking, or nothing (ya know, everyday problems).
Under the Skin - with Scarlett Johansson. There’s almost no dialogue. No exposition about anything, or names - just the short lifespan of an alien. Disguised as a woman, they’re part of what seems to be a hidden alien colony living amongst humans.
The soundtrack is haunting, hypnotizing and beautiful.
It’s on Max! I watched it for the first time there a month ago. Try and watch it where you can hear the audio. The music is so well done in that film and adds to experience if it’s heard well.
“The Man from Earth” - this was a really good film that has a small cast and almost entirely filmed within a single room. It was written by Drexel Bixby who was also a writer for Star Trek. He wrote “Mirror, Mirror”. This was the story he wrote from his death bed and got turned into a movie in 2007. Has a few star trek actors in its small cast too. Trying to be vague for the story of the movie because I felt going into it blind was such a good way to experience it.
“Fantastic Planet” - this animated film was an experience to say the least. I loved watching it as a kid and bought the Criterion collection edition a few years ago. It’s on HBO Max and worth a watch for how weird it is.
I’ve heard The Man From Earth is really good, I gotta try that. Will add Fantastic Planet too since I’ve seen good reviews of it. I’ve seen bits and pieces way back in the day on premium cable and I remember liking it.
The name also reminded me of MGM’s incredibly influential mid 1950s groundbreaking high-end feature Forbidden Planet.
Any fan of Star Trek, Star Wars or other 60s and 70s science fiction who hasn’t seen Forbidden Planet should make the effort to hunt down a copy just to know where a lot of the tropes and design came from.
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