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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Amnesia

Amnesia is the partial or complete loss of a person’s memory. This is an acknowledge medical condition in the real world. It is a common trope in fiction where a person wakes up with no memory and spends the story discovering who they were.

This trope regularly appears in genre stories where the protagonist must discover who (or in some cases what) they are. There are quite a number of stories where characters wake in an alien environment with no memory.

Also common in genre material are stories about amnesia-inducing drugs or operations. Or else of people whose memories have been wiped for a particular purpose.

See also Altered Memory dealing with amnesia inducement and artificial memories.


Amnesiac (2014)

12 November 20199 July 2022

Rating: ★★★

Imprisonment Thriller

Director: Michael Polish
Actors: Wes Bentley, Kate Bosworth, Shashawnee Hall, Richard Riehl, …
Category: Horror

Andron (2015)

7 December 201724 September 2020

Rating: ★

Mysterious Labyrinth/Future Televised Games

Director: Francesco Cinquemani
Actors: Alec Baldwin, Michelle Ryan, Skin, Leo Howard, …
Category: Science Fiction

Apples (2020)

19 September 202219 September 2022

Rating: ★★

Plague of Amnesia

Director: Christos Nikou
Actors: Aris Servetalis, Sofia Georgovassili, Anna Kalaitzidou, Argyris Bakirtzis, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Awakening (2011)

21 July 201225 December 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Victorian Ghost Story

Director: Nick Murphy
Actors: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, Isaac Hampstead-Wright, …
Category: Horror

Bad Girl Island (2007)

5 December 20245 December 2024

Rating: ★

Mysterious Femme Fatale

Director: Stewart Raffill
Actors: Antonio Sabato Jr, Annalynne McCord, James Brolin, Simone Griffeth
Category: Fantasy

Black Box (2020)

25 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Amnesia and Mind Transference

Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr
Actors: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, …
Category: Science Fiction

Bugmaster (2006)

10 December 201224 September 2020

Rating: ★★★

Wandering Exorcist/Manga Adaptation

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Actors: Jo Odagiri, Nao Omori, Yu Aoi
Category: Fantasy

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1999)

25 June 200924 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Experimental Medical Treatments

Director: Martin Duffy
Actors: Elijah Wood, Rachael Leigh Cook, Janeane Garofalo, Roger Rees
Category: Science Fiction

Cerebrum (2022)

14 November 202414 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Frankenstein Film

Director: Sebastien Blanc
Actors: Steve Oram, Tobi King Bakare, Ramona Von Pusch, Chandrika Chevli
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

The Chain Reaction (1980)

7 January 20062 November 2021

Rating: ★★

Nuclear Accident Action Thriller

Director: Ian Barry
Actors: Steve Bisley, Arna-Maria Winchester, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Ralph Cotterill
Category: Science Fiction

A Chinese Ghost Story (2011)

3 April 201424 September 2020

Rating: ★

Chinese Supernatural Fantasy/Ghost Romance

Director: Yip Wai Shun
Actors: Louis Koo, Kara Hui, Elvis Tsui
Category: Fantasy

Colonials (2023)

8 August 20248 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Colonist Return to Post-Apocalyptic Earth

Director: Andrew Balek, Joe Bland
Actors: Greg Kriek, Jamie Bernadette, Sean Kanan, B.A. Tobin, …
Category: Science Fiction

Coma (2019)

31 January 20219 November 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Alternate Reality Inside Shared Dreams

Director: Nikita Argunov
Actors: Rinal Mukhametov, Lyubov Aksyonova, Konstantin Lavronenko, Anton Pampushny, …
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

9 July 201126 February 2025

Rating: ★★

Western/Alien Invasion

Director: Jon Favreau
Actors: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, …
Category: Science Fiction

Cryo (2022)

9 October 2022

Rating: ★½

Cryogenic Thriller

Director: Barrett Burgin
Actors: Jyllian Petrie, Morgan Gunter, Mason D. Davis, Curt Doussett, …
Category: Science Fiction

Cure (1997)

23 September 200124 September 2020

Rating: ★★★

Hypnotism Murders

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Category: Horror

Dark City (1998)

7 June 19994 September 2021

Rating: ★★★★★

Reality Manipulation

Director: Alex Proyas
Actors: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, …
Category: Science Fiction

Darkest Day (2015)

7 September 20227 September 2022

Rating: ★★

The Zombie Apocalypse

Director: Dan Rickard
Actors: Dan Rickard, Chris Wandell, Samantha Bolter, Adrienne Wandell, …
Category: Science Fiction, Horror

Dead Again (1991)

6 November 200024 September 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Reincarnation Thriller

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams, …
Category: Fantasy

Dead Friend (2004)

30 August 201614 April 2025

Rating: ★★

Korean Ghost Story

Director: Kim Tae-kyun
Actors: Ha-Neul Kim, Kim Hae-suk
Category: Horror

The Dead Pit (1989)

6 January 20216 January 2021

Rating: ★★

Mad Scientist Resurrects the Dead in an Asylum

Director: Brett Leonard
Actors: Cheryl Lawson, Jeremy Slate
Category: Horror

Edgar Allan Poe’s Lighthouse Keeper (2016)

27 December 201724 September 2020

Rating: ★★

Poe Adaptation/Haunted Lighthouse

Director: Benjamin Cooper
Actors: Matt O'Neill, Vernon Wells
Category: Horror

Embers (2015)

16 May 20196 August 2022

Rating: ★★★

Catastrophe That Has Left the Population with Periodic Amnesia

Director: Claire Carré
Actors: Jason Ritter, Iva Gocheva, Greta Fernandez, Tucker Smallwood, …
Category: Science Fiction

Estranged (2015)

18 October 201712 January 2024

Rating: ★★★

Imprisonment Thriller

Director: Adam Levins
Actors: Amy Manson, James Cosmo, Craig Conway, James Lance, …
Category: Horror

The Father (2020)

24 April 202112 February 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Alzheimer’s Sufferer/Reality Blurrings

Director: Florian Zeller
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots, …
Category: Fantasy

Final Approach (1991)

20 December 20099 April 2021

Rating: ★

Amnesiac Air Force Pilot/Fantastic Twist

Director: Eric Steven Stahl
Actors: James B. Sikking, Hector Elizondo, Madolyn Smith, Kevin McCarthy, …
Category: Fantasy

Flashburn (2017)

19 January 20213 May 2024

Rating: ★★

Amnesiac Scientist Imprisoned/Reality Bender

Director: Giorgio Serafini
Actors: Sean Patrick Flanery, Cameron Richardson, LaDon Dummond, Jordann Kimley, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Forbidden Room (2015)

3 October 201530 October 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Tapestry of Surreal Tall Tales

Director: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson
Actors: Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Mathieu Amalric, Maria de Madeiros, …
Category: Fantasy

Fractured (2013)

26 March 201514 August 2022

Rating: ★★

Amnesiac Man Struggles Between Hell and Redemption

Director: Adam Gierasch
Actors: Callum Blue, Vinnie Jones, Ashlynn Yennie, Nicole LaLiberte, …
Category: Horror

Gemini (1999)

2 October 199921 January 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Evil Twin

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Category: Horror

The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972)

13 December 200212 November 2020

Rating: ★★★

Identity Bender

Director: Lamont Johnson
Actors: George Peppard, Michael Sarrazin, Christine Belford, James Olsen, …
Category: Science Fiction

Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

10 April 201424 September 2020

Rating: ★

Slasher Film

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Actors: Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Lawrence Dane, Matt Craven, …
Category: Horror

The Haunted Strangler (1958)

16 November 201010 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Split Personalitied Killer

Director: Robert Day
Actors: Boris Karloff, Elizabeth Allen, Vera Day, Dorothy Gordon, …
Category: Horror

Hercules Unchained (1959)

5 July 20021 November 2024

Rating: ★★

Greek Mythological Hero

Director: Pietro Francisci
Actors: Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sergio Fantoni, Mimmo Palmara
Category: Fantasy

The Hive (2014)

10 August 202210 August 2022

Rating: ★½

Deadly Infection/Shared Memories

Director: David Yarovesky
Actors: Gabriel Basso, Kathryn Prescott, Jacob Zachar, Gabrielle Walsh, …
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

Homunculus (2021)

26 October 2023

Rating: ★★½

Manga Adaptation/Man Can See Inner Traumas

Director: Takashi Shimizu
Actors: Go Ayano, Ryo Narita, Yukino Kishii, Seiyo Uchino, …
Category: Fantasy

House of Mirrors (2012)

24 June 201221 November 2023

Rating: ★★

Amnesia Psycho-Thriller

Director: Xu Razer, Brian Shotwell
Actors: Dan Gruenberg, Brian Shotwell
Category: Horror

Inferno (2016)

3 December 20164 January 2022

Rating: ★

Dan Brown Adaptation/Trail of Clues to a Deadly Virus

Director: Ron Howard
Actors: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, …
Category: Science Fiction

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

12 August 20238 February 2024

Rating: ★★

Haunting/Astral Projection

Director: Patrick Wilson
Actors: Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Sinclair Daniel, …
Category: Horror

Intersect (2020)

6 September 20216 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Time Travel Experiments

Director: Gus Holwerda
Actors: Jason Spisak, Leeann Darling, Abe Ruthless, James Morrison, …
Category: Science Fiction

Iron Girl: Ultimate Weapon (2015)

21 May 202521 May 2025

Rating: ★★

Cyborg Bounty Hunter

Director: Kenichi Fujiwara
Actors: Kirara Asuka, Asami, Hiroaki Iwananga, Ryunosuke Kawai, …
Category: Science Fiction

Jiu Jitsu (2020)

28 November 202020 September 2021

Rating: ★★

Action Film/Alien-Human Combat

Director: Dimitri Logothetis
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, Tony Jaa, …
Category: Science Fiction

Justice League: Warworld (2023)

13 August 202322 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes

Director: Jeff Wamester
Actors: Darren Criss, Stana Katic, Jensen Ackles, Ike Amadi, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Killing Machine (1994)

3 February 200831 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Action/Manufactured AIDS Virus Coverup

Director: David Mitchell
Actors: Jeff Wincott, Michael Ironside, Terri Hawkes, Michael Copeman, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Last Seven (2010)

17 October 20198 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Amnesiac Survivors in a Deserted City

Director: Imran Naqvi
Actors: Simon Phillips, Tamer Hassan, Daisy Head, Ronan Vibert, …
Category: Fantasy

Little Fish (2020)

21 May 20218 September 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Amnesia-Inducing Plague

Director: Chad Hartigan
Actors: Olivia Cooke, Jack O'Connell, Soko, Raul Castillo, …
Category: Science Fiction

Malice in Wonderland (2009)

11 April 20224 September 2024

Rating: ★★½

Modernised Alice in Wonderland

Director: Simon Fellows
Actors: Maggie Grace, Danny Dyer, Nathaniel Parker, Matt King, …
Category: Fantasy

The Maze Runner (2014)

28 September 201420 April 2025

Rating: ★★★

Young Adult/Maze World/Conceptual Breakthrough Story

Director: Wes Ball
Actors: Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, …
Category: Science Fiction

Moksha – Or The World and I, How Does That Work? (2012)

13 October 201224 September 2020

Rating: ★★½

Man Chained Up/Existential Parable

Director: Koo Sungzoo
Actors: Jang Sukhyun, Min Kyungjin, Kim Jungsuk, Park Gilsu, …
Category: Fantasy

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

21 October 200112 November 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Hollywood Noir/Surrealism

Director: David Lynch
Actors: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux, Mark Pellegrino, …
Category: Fantasy

Nemesis 3: Time Lapse (1995)

19 March 19995 October 2022

Rating: ★★

Time-Travelling Killer Cyborgs

Director: Albert Pyun
Actors: Sue Price, Tim Thomerson, Norbert Weisser, Xavier DeClie, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Next One (1984)

8 May 20014 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Mysterious Visitor

Director: Nico Mastorakis
Actors: Keir Dullea, Adrienne Barbeau, Peter Hobbs, Jeremy Licht
Category: Science Fiction

Oxygen (2021)

18 June 202229 October 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Woman Imprisoned in a Cryogenic Capsule

Director: Alexandre Aja
Actors: Melanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi, Eric Herson Macarel
Category: Science Fiction

Radius (2017)

9 March 20189 April 2024

Rating: ★★★

Amnesiac Man Wakes Up With Killing Power

Director: Caroline Labreche, Steeve Leonard
Actors: Diego Klattenhoff, Charlotte Sullivan, Brett Donahue, Kristen Sawatzky
Category: Science Fiction

The Reconstruction of William Zero (2014)

7 August 20247 August 2024

Rating: ★★★

Cloning Film

Director: Dan Bush
Actors: Conal Byrne, Amy Seimetz, Lake Roberts, Tim Habeger, …
Category: Science Fiction

Replace (2017)

16 August 2022

Rating: ★★★

Woman Needs to Steal Other People’s Skin

Director: Norbert Keil
Actors: Rebecca Forsythe, Lucie Aron, Barbara Crampton, Sean Knopp, …
Category: Horror

Revolt (2017)

4 January 20214 January 2021

Rating: ★★★

Alien Invasion

Director: Joe Miale
Actors: Lee Pace, Berenice Marlohe, Jason Flemyng, Wandile Molebatsi, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Rizen (2017)

20 May 202129 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Labyrinth of Lovecraftian Horrors

Director: Matt Mitchell
Actors: Laura Swift, Patrick Knowles, Christopher Takagh, Bruce Payne, …
Category: Horror

Road Wars (2015)

30 May 20177 April 2021

Rating: ★★

Post-Holocaust Action

Director: Mark Atkins
Actors: Cole Parker, Chloe Farnworth, John Freeman, Phillip Andre Botello, …
Category: Science Fiction

Rub Love (1998)

6 May 19996 July 2021

Rating: ★★½

Korean Near Future Thriller/Amnesia Drug

Director: Lee Suh-Goon
Category: Science Fiction

The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

25 July 200416 January 2024

Rating: ★★★

Kitsch Surrealism

Director: Guy Maddin
Actors: Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, Maria de Madeiros, David Fox
Category: Fantasy

Shadow Puppets (2007)

24 February 201510 August 2024

Rating: ★★

Mysterious Labyrinth/Conceptual Breakthrough

Director: Michael Winnick
Actors: Jolene Blalock, James Marsters, Tony Todd
Category: Horror

Southland Tales (2006)

4 May 200830 June 2025

Rating: ★★★

Near-Future L.A.

Director: Richard Kelly
Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Cheri Oteri, …
Category: Science Fiction

Spiritwalker (2020)

24 April 20238 November 2024

Rating: ★★

South Korean Gangster/Bodyswap Film

Director: Yoon Jae-koon
Actors: Yoon Kye-sang, Lim Ji-yeon, Park Ji-hwan, Park Yong-woo, …
Category: Fantasy

Superman II (1980)

16 December 200023 February 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Comic-Book Superhero

Director: Richard Lester
Actors: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, …
Category: Science Fiction

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)

15 December 201329 March 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Comic-Book Superhero

Director: Richard Donner
Actors: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp, Marlon Brando, …
Category: Science Fiction

Tekken: A Man Called X (2014)

14 February 20189 February 2025

Rating: ★

Videogame Adaptation

Director: Wych Kaosayananda
Actors: Kane Kosugi, Rade Sherbedgia, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Gary Daniels, …
Category: Science Fiction

Time Lapse (2001)

13 December 200220 May 2025

Rating: ★

Action/Memory Erasing Drug

Director: David Worth
Actors: William McNamara, Dina Meyer, Roy Scheider, Henry Rollins, …
Category: Science Fiction

Tykho Moon (1996)

14 May 2025

Rating: ★★

Lunar Colony Noir

Director: Enki Bilal
Actors: Johan Leysen, Julie Delpy, Michel Piccoli, Richard Bohringer, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ulysses (1954)

14 March 20231 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Greek Myth Adventure

Director: Mario Camerini
Actors: Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Rossana Podesta
Category: Fantasy

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)

23 March 201316 May 2025

Rating: ★★★

Super-Soldiers/Action/Identity Bender

Director: John Hyams
Actors: Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Andrei The Pit Bull Arlovski, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Visitor (2022)

12 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Sinister Small Town

Director: Justin P. Lange
Actors: Finn Jones, Jessica McNamee, Dane Rhodes, Thomas Francis Murphy, …
Category: Horror

The Werewolf (1956)

17 August 20008 June 2025

Rating: ★★½

Atomic Werewolf

Director: Fred F. Sears
Actors: Don Megowan, Joyce Holden, S. John Launer, Harry Lauter
Category: Horror

Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010)

15 July 202129 April 2024

Rating: ★★

Japanese Superhero

Director: Takashi Miike
Actors: Sho Aikawa, Riisa Naka, Tsuyoshi Abe
Category: Science Fiction

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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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