The 1980s were a seminal decade for sci-fi. We had bold visions of what technology could become as humanity’s future flourished on the big screens. After George Lucas proved that the genre could deliver at the box office, every studio began chasing the next Star Wars. Which led to the arrival of mega-budget spectacles like Alien, Blade Runner, and The Terminator; all these movies transformed sci-fi into a spectacle.
Yet for every sprawling cinematic universe, many independent sci-fi gems faded into cult obscurity. They had big ideas but were made on a tiny budget. These movies did not seek a mass market so much as a dedicated following among a certain demographic of audiences. The best low-budget sci-fi movies took the genre’s spirit of imagination and social commentary to unbelievable extremes and offered the most twisted tales of all time.
From earning some praise in theaters to finally finding unexpected popularity on home video, these movies have fans that recognize sci-fi gold can have any packaging as long as the story is innovative enough, the special effects impressive, and the core message important. Here are some truly overlooked low-budget sci-fi movies from the 1980s, picked from the strangest and wildest corner of the genre.
- Xtro (1982) – $60k
- Liquid Sky (1982) – $500k
- Trancers (1984) – $600k
- Night of the Comet (1984) – $700k
- Time Walker (1982) – $750k
- The Quiet Earth (1985) – $1 Million
- Forbidden World (1982) – Under $1 Million
- Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) – $1.5 Million
- Galaxy of Terror (1981) – $1.8 Million
- Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) – $2 Million
Well worth digging them out. Xtro depends on your stomach for out-there sci-fi horror but Quiet Earth is a solid, contemplative film, Liquid Sky is weird and very 80s, Trancers is a fun Terminator-inspired film (there are a lot of sequels, I tapped out after 2 which was pretty good but I likely made the right choice), Forbidden World is a decent Alien rip-off, Galaxy of Terror is in a similar vein but cheesier and sleazier, and Hell Comes to Frogtown is daft fun. Having written that I suppose it depends on your idea of fun, but a solid start would be Trancers and Quiet Earth then keep getting wilder and wackier.
Time Walker is a bit rubbish and a waste of time.
I saw it in the cinema after a lot of hype in 200AD and bloody love it. My friend Fruitbat does imitations of things with his nuts (long before Puppetry of the Penis) and a couple of nerd classics include “Zed’s ship” (as well as “Moon Base Alpha”).
Likely how I saw it before buying the DVD. Not sure I’ve upgraded. Might look into it.
Your stirring up memories. I’m either saw the VHS of Trancers in the video store or the trailer was on an ex rental tape I had purchased. I have a vague image of the bad guy wearing a long trench coat and chasing people?
I just did a quick imdb on Quiet Earth, the premise sounds really intriguing.