ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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CULT SCIENCE FICTION FILMS by Welch Everman


Published by Citadel Press,1995, Softcover, 255 pages

So, what is a Cult science fiction film? Aren't all Sci-Fi films essentially Cult films?

Well, the author asks this question in his intro to the book and comes up with a few answers. There is something special about a sci-fi film to make it Cult.

One special facet may be an actor, whether appearing very early or very late in his career in such a film. One example in the book is The Medusa Touch/'78 — but is this film really cult because Richard Burton appeared in it?

Planet of the Vampires(65) with Barry Sullivan was also singled out. A thread on this film was just started in this forum.

Another special reason may have to do with very loyal (fanatical?) fans of a certain film. Some Sci-Fi films are so bad (like Robot Monster) that we just has to love them "like homely puppies." In any case, there are 75 films singled out for cult status in this book. Here's most of the list.



Plus:

The 27th Day
War of the Colossal Beast
Warning Sign
The Wasp Woman
Westworld
Yog.

Since there aren't very many films in the book, this enables the author to devote an average of 3-4 pages of commentary & stills for each film. Each entry begins with the standard director/actors info, as well as the name of the studio.

With such a short list, however, it's inevitable that questions will arise about why some movies were excluded. A lot of this has to do with space reasons, of course. The author admits he wanted to include Missile to the Moon, Night of the Blood Beast, Not of This Earth, Re-Animator, Slime People, and First Spaceship on Venus.

He also purposely excluded big productions like Blade Runner, Alien, and Predator, which have been written about ad nauseum. But why include Piranha (1978) rather than any of the other innumerable eco-terror films of the seventies?

That, Sci-Fi fans, is for you to ponder . . .

[Bud Brewster]

That's a pretty good list of movies, filled with good ones and not-so-good ones. I'd love to peruse that book sometime.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)