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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Bad Science

Bad Science refers to principally science-fiction films that operate in flagrant disregard of basic science. It is worth here drawing a line between ignorance of science and handwave science. Handwave science involves some plot sleight of hand to get around known limitations. For example, science precludes travel faster than the speed of light or time travel (because of causality) but the genre gets around this with inventions such as warp drives and time machines and has created many great stories involving such.

The following is a list of common bad science errors in films. Bad science does not necessarily make for a bad film – Star Wars (1977) is a perfect example of a film remaining enjoyable despite numerous instances of bad science – although a failure to research the basics can often be a source of ridicule.

Bad science can include:-

– Sound heard in space

– Spaceships acting like airplanes and banking and flying in a vacuum

– Insta-clones where the cloning process produces duplicates of an individual with the same age and features even sometimes the same clothing as the donor

– Giant insects (insects operate on a pressure-based breathing system and wouldn’t be able to breathe), while most other giant animals would in reality be unable to support their own weight

– Miniature humans – when people are shrunken in size all the mass has to go somewhere

– Lightsabres ie. a physically coherent beam of light of fixed length

– Prehistoric stories featuring humans and dinosaurs co-existing when it reality they were separated by 64 million years

– Planets where aliens are encountered and prove to be humans that speak English without the use of any universal translators

– Spatial distances – such as rocketships conducting intergalactic voyages in a matter of days or the confusion of the differences between a solar system, a galaxy and a universe

– Action films that allow people to outrun explosions or break falls from great heights without damage

– The idea of a hollow earth

– Depictions of other planets of the Solar System with breathable atmospheres and Earth-like conditions

– Depiction of the asteroid belt where the rocks are at a clearly visible distance from each other

– Blatant misuse of scientific and technical terms thrown together as meaningless technobabble


2012: Ice Age (2011)

15 December 202215 December 2022

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie

Director: Travis Fort
Actors: Patrick Labyorteaux, Julie McCullough, Kyle Morris, Chacko Vadaketh, …
Category: Science Fiction

Another Earth (2011)

12 August 20113 January 2024

Rating: ★★½

Mirror Earth

Director: Mike Cahill
Actors: Brit Marling, William Mapother, Robin Lord Taylor, Jordan Baker
Category: Science Fiction

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

29 April 202330 April 2023

Rating: ★★½

Marvel Comics Miniature Superhero

Director: Peyton Reed
Actors: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, …
Category: Science Fiction

Atomic Rulers of the World (1965)

6 May 202113 November 2021

Rating: ★

Japanese Superhero Film

Director: Koreyoshi Akasaka, Teruo Ishii, Akira Mitsuwa
Actors: Ken Utsui, Junko Ikeuchi
Category: Science Fiction

Crater (2023)

10 September 202329 September 2023

Rating: ★★½

Coming of Age Story on The Moon

Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez
Actors: Isaiah Russell-Bailey, McKenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, …
Category: Science Fiction

Damnation Alley (1977)

4 January 200130 August 2022

Rating: 0­

Post-Apocalyptic Trek

Director: Jack Smight
Actors: Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield, …
Category: Science Fiction

Deadly Skies (2006)

5 April 20235 April 2023

Rating: ★

Asteroid Collision

Director: Sam Irvin
Actors: Antonio Sabato Jr, Rae Dawn Chong, Michael Moriarty, Dominic Zamprogna, …
Category: Science Fiction

Deus (2022)

9 July 20239 July 2023

Rating: ★

Space Expedition Finds Gateway to Heaven

Director: Steve Stone
Actors: Claudia Black, David O'Hara, Phil Davis, Richard Blackwood, …
Category: Science Fiction

Doppelganger (1969)

21 December 200222 April 2021

Rating: ★★

Mirror-Reversed Counter-Earth

Director: Robert Parrish
Actors: Roy Thinnes, Ian Hendry, Patrick Wymark, Lynn Loring, …
Category: Science Fiction

Geo-Disaster (2017)

4 May 202115 December 2022

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie

Director: Thunder Levin
Actors: Matthew Pohlkamp, Natalie Pelletier, Erich Riegelmann, Maggie Rose Hudson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

10 April 202131 May 2024

Rating: ★★★

Giant Monster Bash

Director: Adam Wingard
Actors: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, …
Category: Science Fiction

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

1 June 20241 June 2024

Rating: ★

Giant Monster Bash

Director: Adam Wingard
Actors: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylie Hottle, …
Category: Science Fiction

Hologram Man (1995)

1 December 200930 March 2023

Rating: ½

Holographic Villain/Action

Director: Richard Pepin
Actors: Joe Lara, Michael Nouri, Evan Lurie, William Sanderson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

9 September 201610 December 2020

Rating: 0­

Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals

Director: Mike Thurmeier, Galen Tan Chu
Actors: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, …
Category: Fantasy

Last Journey of Paul W.R. (2020)

20 February 202520 February 2025

Rating: ★

Earth Endangered by an Oncoming Moon

Director: Romain Quirot
Actors: Hugo Becker, Lya Oussadit-Lessert, Paul Hamy, Jean Reno, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mars et Avril (2012)

5 February 20139 September 2022

Rating: ★

Expedition to Mars/Future Music Making and the Meaning of It All

Director: Martin Villeneuve
Actors: Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani, Jean Marchand, …
Category: Science Fiction

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

2 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Giant Prehistoric Killer Sharks

Director: Ben Wheatley
Actors: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Cliff Curtis, …
Category: Science Fiction

Mold! (2012)

7 July 20217 July 2021

Rating: 0­

Deadly Mold Amok in a Laboratory/Gooey Meltdowns

Director: Neil Meschino
Actors: Lawrence George, Ardis Campbell, Rick Haynes, Edward X. Young, …
Category: Horror, Science Fiction

Moonfall (2022)

9 April 20222 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Disaster Movie/The Moon on a Collision Course With the Earth

Director: Roland Emmerich
Actors: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry, John Bradley, Charlie Plummer, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Neptune Factor: An Undersea Odyssey (1973)

10 April 200228 May 2023

Rating: 0­

Submarine Adventure

Director: Daniel Petrie
Actors: Ben Gazzara, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux, Walter Pidgeon, …
Category: Science Fiction

Replicas (2018)

17 March 20198 November 2024

Rating: 0­

Scientist Clones His Dead Family

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, John Ortiz, …
Category: Science Fiction

Restart the Earth (2021)

11 June 202319 December 2023

Rating: ★★

Earth Overrun by Plants

Director: Lin Zhenzhao
Actors: Mickey He, Zhang Ming-Can, Mi Luo, Li Ning, …
Category: Science Fiction

Shark Side of the Moon (2022)

27 February 2023

Rating: ★★½

Gonzo Killer Shark Film

Director: Glenn Campbell, Tammy Klein
Actors: Maxi Witrak, Ego Mikitas, Tania Fox, Michael Marcel, …
Category: Science Fiction

Silent Running (1972)

27 April 200313 November 2021

Rating: ★★½

Saving the World’s Last Forest in Space

Director: Douglas Trumbull
Actors: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint
Category: Science Fiction

A Sound of Thunder (2005)

11 February 200715 April 2025

Rating: ½

Time Travel/Dinosaurs Amok/Ray Bradbury Adaptation

Director: Peter Hyams
Actors: Edward Burns, Catherine McCormack, Ben Kingsley, Jemima Rooper, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Stranger (1973)

3 August 201712 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Counter Earth

Director: Lee H. Katzin
Actors: Glenn Corbett, Cameron Mitchell, Sharon Acker, Lew Ayres, …
Category: Science Fiction

Supernova (2005)

24 July 20062 April 2025

Rating: ★

Solar Disaster

Director: John Harrison
Actors: Luke Perry, Tia Carrere, Peter Fonda, Emma Samms, …
Category: Science Fiction

Treasure Planet (2002)

24 December 200224 December 2022

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation/Treasure Island in Outer Space

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Upside Down (2012)

28 July 20134 July 2024

Rating: ★★★

Two Worlds with Gravity in Opposing Directions

Director: Juan Solanas
Actors: Jim Sturgess, Kirsten Dunst, Timothy Spall, Blu Mankuma, …
Category: Science Fiction

V (1983)

5 May 200716 November 2022

Rating: ★

Alien Invasion

Director: Kenneth Johnson
Actors: Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Jane Badler, Michael Durrell, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Wandering Earth (2019)

26 May 201930 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Moving the Earth/Mass Destruction Spectacle

Director: Frant Gwo
Actors: Qu Chuxiao, Wu Jing, Zhao Jinnai, Ng Man Tat, …
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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