The Truman Show (1998)
Man's Life as a TV Show
Ingenious film that predicted reality tv shows where Jim Carrey’s life has been a tv show since birth with him unaware of everything is staged
Films of 1998
Dark City (1998)
Reality Manipulation
From Alex Proyas and David S. Goyer, this has an astonishing conceptual audacity in its plot dealing with shifting realities and transplanted memories, making it arguably the finest science-fiction film of the 1990s
Beloved (1998)
African-American Ghost Story
Adapted from an award-winning Toni Morrison novel, this is an African-American ghost story that comes with Serious Drama written all over it. Produced by/starring Oprah Winfrey, the film was overlooked at the major award but is a stunning, emotionally raw work
Ultraviolet (1998)
Vampire Hunters
A British mini-series that offers an ingenious modernised reconeptualisation of the vampire genre, depicting the activities of a secret agency of vampire hunters
Bullet Ballet (1998)
Man's Obsession with a Gun
Shinya Tsukamoto of Tetsuo: The Iron Man fame turns his fascination with repressions to the story of a salaryman (played by himself) who deals with his girlfriend’s death by obsessively trying to obtain a gun
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Stalker Black Comedy
The Farrelly Brothers have become known for their crude and rude humour but this stalker comedy is one they hit with all barrels firing and has become regarded as a modern comedy classuc
Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Animation/African Folk Tales
The debut film from French animator Michel Ocelot, a beautifully simple series of African folk tales about a young boy whose plain-speaking truths outwit a witch
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Genre Director Biopic
Biopic about James Whale, the director of the Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Whale’s monster movies are used to echo a touching tale of friendship between the aging gay Whale (Ian McKellan) and his straight gardener (Brendan Fraser)
The Bird People in China (1998)
Lost Culture
An early Takashi Miike film that forsakes his usual ultra-violence and surreal weirdness for a genteel road movie through backwater China to the discovery of a lost culture
Nightwatch (1998)
Morgue Attendant's Paranoia/Serial Killer
Ole Bornedal conducts an English-language remake of his Danish thriller Nattevagten. Rich in black comedy and dark twists, Bornedal demonstrates a mastery of Hitchcockian suspense
Sphere (1998)
Crashed UFO Underwater/Michael Crichton Adaptation
Michael Crichton was hot property after the success of Jurassic Park but this was one flop. A by no means uninteresting film about a group of scientists in an underwater habitat making contact with an alien lifeform
Last Night (1998)
The End of the World
Excellent Canadian-made End of the World film where actor/director Don McKellar eschews lavish big-budget spectacle (or even any explanations of the cause) for a wry, often haunting series of characters studies about how people meet the end
Phantoms (1998)
Evil Force Takes Over a Small Town/Dean R. Koontz Adaptation
One of the best and most underrated Dean R. Koontz adaptations, which creates eerie atmosphere out a town where the residents have disappeared due to what is revealed as a uniquely different creature
Pi (1998)
Reality-Bending Mathematics
Directorial debut for Darren Aronofsky, a fascinating work about a mathematician who uncovers a mysterious formula that can bend reality
Free Enterprise (1998)
The Lives of SF Fans
Two SF fans encounter real-life idol William Shatner. A film that writes about fandom knowingly and comes with an hilarious series of in-jokes and asides
What Dreams May Come (1998)
The Afterlife
Vincent Ward is one of the least recognised great directors in the world. Here he creates an extraordinary vision of the afterlife in which he employs CGI to create a world that resembles classic artworks brought to life
Antz (1998)
Animation/Talking Ants
The first animated film from DreamWorks, a rather charming effort that takes place in an ant nest with Woody Allen perfectly voice cast as a nebbish ant who decides to defy the crowd
EverAfter (1998)
Deconstructed Cinderella
Witty and very charming retelling of Cinderella that strips out all of the fantasy elements and substitutes a pseudo-historical realism. The cast positively shine.
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Animation/The Biblical Exodus
The second animated film from DreamWorks, an impressively produced retelling of The Book of Exodus and the story of Moses.
After Life (1998)
The Afterlife
Entirely charming film from Hirokazu Kore-eda about a group of people who find themselves in the afterlife and their often comical attempts to deal with the situation
Creaturealm: Demons Wake (1998)
Occult Anthology
An anthology of three tales on an occult theme. The standout among these is the opening episode about a courtroom trial of a woman who was possessed
Fallen (1998)
Cop vs Body-Hopping Demon
A smart and intelligent supernatural thriller with Denzel Washington as a detective fighting against a demon that can inhabit any person that it touches
The Faculty (1998)
Alien Body Snatchers Take Over a High School
Robert Rodriguez directs from a script by Scream writer Kevin Williamson. This wittily deconstructs the 1950s alien body snatchers film by way of The Breakfast Club
Life is Whistling (1998)
Cuban Magical Realism
Delightful work of Cuban Magical Realism about the fates of various people in Havana
The Eternal (1998)
Druidic Mummy
Michael Almereyda conducts a unique take on the mummy film dispensing with all the cliches in the eerie story of a Druidic mummy unearthed from an Irish peat bog
The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998)
Vampire Film
A uniquely different take on the vampire film, directed with extraordinary stylism by Hong Kong director Po Chih Leong
Pleasantville (1998)
Trapped Inside a 1950s TV Show
Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are modern teens who become trapped in a 1950s tv show and end up puncturing its innocence. The messages made end up being broad and heavy-handed but the premise and the visual palette of the film is extremely clever
Vampires (1998)
Vampire Hunter
John Carpenter revitalises the vampire film with a sharp action edge as James Woods heads a team of vampire hunters. Woods gives a ferociously determined performance way above and beyond the call of duty
Nick Fury, Agent of Shield (1998)
Marvel Comics TV Pilot/Spy Adventure
Way back before Marvel Comics’ extraordinary domination of cinema screens and Samuel L. Jackson’s airing of the role, there was this tv pilot with David Hasselhoff; Although the film has a ridiculed reputation today, David S. Goyer delivers a tongue-in-cheek script filled with side-splitting one-liners
Extraordinary Visitor (1998)
Divine Visitor Comedy
Quirkily appealing Canadian fish out of water comedy where John the Baptist is sent to present-day Newfoundland to prevent the End of the World
The Phantom of the Opera (1998)
Madman Beneath the Opera House
Dario Argento takes on The Phantom and welcomely rescues it from musical romance and returns it to being a horror film. Despite a beautifully mounted production, Julian Sands’ Phantom is too weak and wimpy
Outside Ozona (1998)
Road Movie Psycho-Thriller
Thriller following several different people as they drive towards the title Texas town, while a serial killer calls into an all-night radio talkback
Embrace the Darkness (1998)
Vampire Erotica
A surprisingly good work of vampire erotica made with sensuality and apparent care and some quite imaginative touches of fantastique
The Last Broadcast (1998)
Found Footage/Mysterious Backwoods Deaths
One of the very first Found Footage films, predating The Blair Witch Project. Both have a number of similarities, although as many differences. This is less what we are accustomed to with people running about with videocameras than an investigative mockumentary at which it proves rather fascinating
Godzilla (1998)
Giant Atomic Monster
Much disliked English-language version of Godzilla from Roland Emmerich is a more watchable film than one might think. Emmerich does well when the film allows him to do what he does best – being a big, budget, massively scaled epic of mass destruction
Heaven (1998)
Precognition
New Zealand-made film about criminal dealings also involving clairvoyance in a series of daring editing schemes that recall something of Don’t Look Now
I Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain (1998)
Ordinary Zombies
In the overworked vein the zombie film, one of the most unique and original voices has been British director Andrew Parkinson. This was the first of Parkinson’s kitchen sink zombie films
Ring (1998)
Cursed Video Broadcast/Japanese Ghost Story
Kaidan eiga (Japanese ghost story) that was a huge hit, spawning several sequels and an English-language remake, not to mention a horde of imitators. For all its reputation, the film is often crude nevertheless does evince an eerie atmosphere
Addicted to Murder: Tainted Blood (1998)
Modern Vampires
This was the second in Kevin J. Lindenmuth’s trilogy of modern vampire films, which comes with much subtle effect and a strong character-driven story, a kitchen sink tale about a newborn vampire
Lost in Space (1998)
Intergalactic Adventures/TV Series Remake
Surprisingly halfway reasonable big screen remake of the 1960s tv series, this welcomely dumps the campy silliness of the show for a grittier, much more realistic take on the characters
Resurrection Man (1998)
Irish Killing Gang
Strong and effective film set against the backdrop of The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s depicting a gang of psychopaths that killed and tortured people on the streets
Mulan (1998)
Disney Animation/Chinese Legend
Disney animated film based on the Chinese legend of the girl who posed as a warrior. Unlike the similar historically-based Pocahontas, this emerges as well rounded and satisfying
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
Disney Animation/Pocahontas Goes to England
One of the better among the cheap video-released sequels to their animated films Disney released during the 1990s/2000s, this actually works better than the original
Spriggan (1998)
Anime/Alien Artefact/Psychic Kid Amok
Katsuhiro Otomo overseen anime about the discovery of Noah’s Ark, an alien artifact that gives a child vast psychic powers in a swathe of destruction not dissimilar to Akira
Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
The Making of the Planet of the Apes Series Documentary
A documentary about the original Planet of the Apes series (made before the modern reboot series), this examines the making of and behind the scenes in all the detail that any fan could want
Too Tired to Die (1998)
Personified Death/Indie Comedy
Quirky indie film where a man encounters various strange people after learning he has 24 hours left to live
A Bug’s Life (1998)
Pixar Animation/Talking Insects
The second film from Pixar. One of their slighter and usually overlooked works, this is nevertheless an enjoyably eccentric reworking of The Seven Samurai set amidst a circus troupe of talking insects
Twice Upon a Yesterday (1998)
The Past Revisited/Romance
Appealing and well told fantasy in which a couple are each individually offered the opportunity to go back in time and change the circumstances that led to their breakup
The Book of Life (1998)
Second Coming Black Comedy
A darkly funny Hal Hartley film set on the eve of The Millennium as Jesus Christ wanders about Manhattan having doubts whether to unleash the Biblical Apocalypse
Blade (1998)
Comic-Book Vampire Hunter
Nobody knew it at the time but this was the beginning of the huge surge of Marvel Comics adaptations on screen in the 00s/10s. This distills the basics of the vampire hunter comic-book down into a smart, kinetic action film
Cleopatra’s Second Husband (1998)
Unwelcome Tenants/Psychological Games
Modestly effective indie psycho-thriller in which a couple develop a twisted psycho-sexual relationship with their unwelcome tenants
The Chosen One: The Legend of the Raven (1998)
Superheroine/White Trash Melodrama
Hilarious film in which Carmen Electra gets resurrected as a superheroine via American Indian magic. Filled with hilarious white trash bitcheries
Universal Horror (1998)
Classic Horror Documentary
Documentary about the Golden Age of Horror at Universal Studios during the 1930s and 40s (although it does touch on works from other studios too). The topic is covered with an impressive degree of detail
The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1998)
Comic-Book Superhero Teamup/Animation
Film crossover between the 1990s Batman and Superman animated tv series from Bruce Timm. The script does an interesting job in playing the characters, their secret identities and principal villains off against each other
The Storm Riders (1998)
Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
Solid, epically plotted variant on the Hong Kong flying swordsman genre. This is the point where Wu Xia cinema discovered CGI effects
Urban Ghost Story (1998)
Haunted Apartment
Ghost story effectively relocated to Glasgow apartment building with a solo mother terrorised by something supernatural. Filled with social realism
The Dentist 2 (1998)
Psycho Dentist
In this sequel to their earlier film, director Brian Yuzna and star Corbin Bernsen return to the role of the psychopathic dentist and successfully tap the same outrageously sadistic nastiness and black humour once again
Devil in the Flesh (1998)
Psycho Teenage Girl
One of the better copies of Fatal Attraction with Rose McGowan as school pupil with a crush on her teacher who proceeds to ruthlessly eliminate all in her way
The Wolves of Kromer (1998)
Gay Werewolves
British werewolf film that wittily uses being a werewolf as a metaphor for being gay
The Stalker’s Apprentice (1998)
Psycho Film
British tv psycho film that works through a multi-layered plot of dexterous twists and a handsomely engaging lead actor
The Prophecy II (1998)
War Between Angels
Okay sequel to the angel film The Prophecy. As in the previous film, a returning Christopher Walken steals the show and gets all the best lines
New Rose Hotel (1998)
Cyberpunk/William Gibson Adpattion
Abel Ferrara adapts a William Gibson short story but seems disinterested in Gibson’s densely cluttered, technologically brimming Cyberpunk futures and strips the essence down to a caper film
Murdercycle (1998)
Alien-Possessed Motorcycle
Passable B-budget film about an alien-possessed motorcycle
Urban Legend (1998)
Slasher Film
Following the success of Scream, this was an attempt to make an upmarket slasher film based around the motif of urban legends in the same way that Scream used 1980s slasher films. It is a stretch to make urban legends fit in some cases but director Jamie Blanks delivers reasonable tension
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998)
Disney Animation/Talking Animals
Another of the interminable video-released sequels to their animated classics that Disney made throughout the late 90s/early 00s. This is somewhat better than most in that it brings back the voice talents from the first film and crafts a reasonable story of its own
The Atrocity Exhibition (1998)
J.G. Ballard Adaptation
Adaptation of the classic J.G. Ballard novel that deals with the surreal blurring and breakdown between media, architecture, celebrity and the protagonist’s disturbed state of mind
A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998)
Post-Holocaust Racism
Adaptation of an old Rod Serling script about racial prejudice and lynch mobs. The original was a non-genre work that took place in a Western setting but this has transplanted the milieu to an alien planet.
The Tempest (1998)
Shakespeare Adaptation Updated to the US Civil War
A retelling of the Shakespeare play, which had been updated to the midst of the American Civil War with some interesting results
Rub Love (1998)
Korean Near Future Thriller/Amnesia Drug
Stylish but not always coherent South Korean near-future thriller about a comic-book artist, a hit woman and an amnesia drug
Run Lola Run (1998)
Alternate Timelines
Tom Tykwer’s visually inventive variant on the alternate timelines theme with Franka Potente trying to replay events to save her boyfriend’s life
Temmink: The Ultimate Fight (1998)
Future Gladiatorial Combat
Dutch film set in a future where Jack Wouterse is a prisoner who is offered a chance to fight to the death in televised gladitorial combat
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Intergalactic Adventures
Third of the Star Trek: The Next Generation films has Jonathan Frakes back in the director’s seat where he again plays to his strengths with great visual effects scenes but the story feels like a filler episode
Six-String Samurai (1998)
Post-Holocaust Rock'n'Roll Samurai
Gonzo comedy set in alternate world where a samurai-sword wielding Buddy Holly wanders through a post-apocalyptic present
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
High School Mind Control Experiments
A smart and modestly enjoyable film that plays like a high school version of The Stepford Wives where students are being brainwashed
The First Night of My Life (1998)
Millennium Comedy
Spanish comedy produced to celebrate the turn of the millennium in which the fates of several people wind together on the eve of the end of the century
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1998)
Anime/Werewolf Anti-Terrorist Squad
Conceptually ambitious anime that builds a complex metaphor out of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf in a story centred aroundthe self-doubting member of an anti-terrorist squad
Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish (1998)
Comic-Book Rich Kid/Alternate Timeline
Cheaply made video sequel to the Macaulay Culkin Richie Rich based on the popular comic-book character, this steals the basic plot of It’s a Wonderful Life
Talos the Mummy (1998)
Revived Mummy
Part of a late 90s spate of mummy movies, this effort from Highlander director Russell Mulcahy revives the genre with a modern arsenal of effects
The Wall (1998)
Belgian Dystopia/Magical Realism
Film made to celebrate the millennium where a totalitarian government creates a wall that divides Belgium along linguistic lines
Practical Magic (1998)
Modern Witches
Chick Flick with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two sisters from a family of witches. The film never really settles on a consistent tone between comedy, thriller or romance and veers all over the place
The Spiral (1998)
Ring Sequel
The black sheep among the Japanese Ringu films. A sequel released the same time as the first film, this lacks the other’s uncanny atmosphere and was ignored as the other film launched a franchise
Progeny (1998)
Alien Abduction and Impregnation
Horror director Brian Yuzna jumps aboard the alien abduction and impregnation theme that was popular at the time thanks to tv’s The X Files. All of Yuzna’s films have a fascination with sexual perversity so here the emphasis is placed on the impregnation
Strangeland (1998)
Psycho Sadist
80s outrage rocker Dee Snider writes and stars in this horror film where he plays a freakish serial killer who is demonised by parents
Soldier (1998)
Programmed Soldier Becomes Self-Aware
Kurt Russell gives a fine performance as a programmed soldier who discovers emotions but under Paul W.S. Anderson the rest of the big-budgeted film collapses into over-inflated cliches
Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)
Jungle Hero
German-made Tarzan film that resurrects most of the adventure film tropes to negligible effect. As Tarzan, Caspar Van Dien looks like an Ivy League college student in the jungle.
Small Soldiers (1998)
War Between Toys
Joe Dante had great success in the 1980s but his star started to pale into the 90s. Here he has resorted to a rehash of his biggest hit Gremlins, seemingly conceptually slung together with Toy Storyconcerning an army of malevolent toy soldiers come to life
Psycho (1998)
Psycho Remake
Over Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, there hangs the single question of “Why?” The result seems a futile conceit, one only designed to infuriate those who regard the original in such high esteem
Sliding Doors (1998)
Alternate Life Pathways
Popular Gwyneth Paltrow hit that spawned a series of films that follow a woman’s alternate life pathways
Quest for Camelot (1998)
Animation/Arthurian Fantasy
An Arthurian legends fantasy adventure made as part of the animation renaissance of the 1990s. Anything serious aspirations are wrecked by the insertion of inane popular culture in-jokes
Razor Blade Smile (1998)
Chic Modern Vampires
Modern vampire movie that aims for a chic sophistication amid poses borrowed from MTV and other films
Reaper (1998)
Psycho-Thriller
Chris Sarandon is a writer who becomes embroiled in solving a series of murder that mimic his own books. An okay set-up that rarely moves beyond the unfolding of cliches
Twist of Fate (1998)
Psycho-Thriller
A convoluted courtroom thriller where District Attorney Mädchen Amick is forced to team up with serial killer Chris Mulkey
The Red Violin (1998)
Stories of a Cursed Violin
A reasonable arthouse hit, this tells the story of a cursed violin through five different periods of history
The Second Arrival (1998)
Alien Infiltration and Takeover
Low-budget and fairly indifferently made sequel to David Twohy’s quite good alien invasion film
Saving Grace (1998)
Contemporary Jesus
Uneven New Zealand-made film where a girl meets a mystery man who claims that he is Jesus Christ
The X Files (1998)
The X Files Film Spinoff/Alien Invasion Conspiracy
Film spinoff from tv’s hit ultra-paranoid alien conspiracy drama. The film is caught in the unenviable position of trying to give fans what they want and reiterate the basics of the series for new audiences, while giving away no plot details in advance, and as a result ended up pleasing nobody
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Death Falls in Love
Ponderous big screen remake of Death Takes a Holiday where Death in the form of Brad Pitt comes to Earth, engages in a romance
Postmortem (1998)
Serial Killer Thriller
Albert Pyun jumps aboard the post The Silence of the Lambs serial killer thriller fad with a routine that has Charlie Sheen as a writer in Glasgow being taunted by the killer he wrote a book about
Asunder (1998)
Psycho Stalker
A formulaic copy of Fatal Attraction. The difference here is that the sexes have been reversed and the key parts cast with African-American actors
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Surreal Drug Hallucinations/Hunter S. Thompson Adaptation
In attempting to capture the surreal, paranoiac drug haze of Hunter S. Thompson’s counter-culture classic, Terry Gilliam’s adaptation becomes a rambling, self-indulgent mess of tripped-out visions that go on and on