Science-fiction movies have been popular since the 70s or so, but I personally, am not much of a movie-buff so my knowledge is mostly limited to the classics:
Blade Runner / its sequel 2049
Ghost in the Shell
Akira
Strange Days (the only one I feel, that is a bit of a deep cut)
Do you know any other great cyberpunk movies? (Bonus points if it’s not a Hollywood production)
Also, I phrased the title like that because I don’t like getting pendantic about genres. I think if the movies have similar vibes/themes to the ones I mentioned, it would be great to have them listed here in the forum.
Oh, that’s right, I always forget about Robocop. I loved the original, still have to watch the new one.
And Dredd, isn’t it based on a comic? I wonder how that one is. I actually have the Blu-Ray, because my dad gave me his collection. I always thought that it was a cheap Robocop rip-off so i never watched it
There’s also “Repo Men”, which deals with the concept of “who owns your implants” and what happens if you can’t pay for them. It’s all biological organs in the movie, but the concept is there.
Tetsuo The Iron Man is a classic for any of you who like Japanese cyberpunk or Cronenberg-style body horror. CW for some inventive practical effects violence, sexual content, etc. tho.
One movie that I was reminded of recently is Anon starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried. It revolves around surveillance and privacy, and is more of a “near-future” story. It’s on Netflix.
@nightwatcher - I watched both seasons. The first one was better, but I did like the second one quite a bit. They started to delve into a little more of Richard K. Morgan’s other work for the second season, as there were flavors of Thirt13en in there.
And I can vouch for Repo Man being one of the most punk movies I have ever seen. I just watched it earlier this week. There was some confusion between “Repo Man”, “Repo Men”, and “Repo! The genetic opera” so now we are watching all of them, in chronological order.
“Slice of Life” a Cyberpunk short movie made by a small crew of film enthusiasts. Check it out on sliceoflifefilm.com. Also on YouTube
They share a whole bunch of background information about how they brought their dream to life. I highly recommend watching.
Description from their website:
“Slice of Life” is an original short Science Fiction film.
The whole film is made the old school way like the legendary SciFi movies of the 80’s (Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner). Think miniatures, matte paintings, rear projections - You won’t find any CGI here!!!
Slice Of Life is a love letter to the Science Fiction genre of the 80’s. We invite you to follow our journey back to the future envisioned by the 80’s!
One that I kind of forgot about until recently that would also fit into this list that I don’t think has been mentioned is They Live.
Maybe They Live doesn’t seem like it fits until you really think about the plot. It’s a really “near future” setting, where the only “high tech” in the movie is really the sunglasses/contact lenses that block the alien signal (well, and all the hidden alien technology). But the anti-capitalist message and the alien backstory is so cyberpunk that it hits a little too close to home once you get it.
Gonna add two more to the list that really kind of fit and which may or may not have escaped popular notice. Both are similar to the Altered Carbon flavor of the genre in regards to swapping minds into different bodies:
Surrogates (2009) - Bruce Willis is a cop who has to solve crimes relating to “remotely piloted” bodies, while dealing with his crumbling home life when his wife would rather live through her surrogate than her natural body.
Replicas (2018) - Keanu Reeves is a scientest who becomes obsessed with cloning his family after they are killed in a car accident using technology that he is developing in secret for the military-industrial complex.
Incidentally, someone posted a “making of” video about Slice of Life over on the Discord that I thought would fit in here. Sort of a look behind the curtain at some cyberpunk film-making magic that is far less magical and actually doable by mere mortals when one sees how it is done.
