Sci-Fi movies in the 80s got kind of weird and in some cases extremely aggressive. In some ways it’s almost as though the movies were trying to find an identity of their own and were pushing every possible angle they could find of to break out of the mold that had been created in past decades. In many ways the 80s were the years during which a lot of genres were doing their best to break out of the known and become something that hadn’t been seen before. Some of them succeeded, some of them failed, and then some kind of got ignored and passed over for various reasons that are perhaps known only to a few. In any case some of those that got passed over are actually decent movies that had a great story to them, or at least were so campy that they turned out to be pretty enjoyable.
Here are five sci-fi movies from the 80s that were way underrated.
5. Enemy Mine
When two beings that are mortal enemies crash land on a desolate planet with little to offer in the way of food, resources, or even shelter, they can’t help but try to kill one another on the grounds that they’re not at all compatible. Once they start relying on each other however it becomes apparent that they have more in common than they might have first thought. Perhaps one thing that was odd in this movie however is that the alien, played by Louis Gossett Jr., seems to to be a male, but then is revealed to be pregnant. When Quaid has to take care of the child because Gossett Jr.’s character dies it becomes a kind of touching film that is still highly based in science fiction.
4. The Last Starfighter
We all want to believe that our lives have some higher purpose, a bigger calling than we see each and every day, and for one person that was realized when he was selected as one of the next starfighter pilots that would get to protect his galaxy. There was a lot of camp in this film, in fact it was kind of ridiculous in a lot of different spots, but there was enough of a story in the movie that it was allowed to be pushed through and given a voice of its own that managed to carry the rest of the film. It wasn’t the best by any means but it was a fun and engaging story that managed to capture the attention of several fans.
3. Spaceballs
There was no need to even think with this movie since Mel Brooks took his level of comedy and slapped the audience with it repeatedly in an attempt to make one of the greatest spoof movies ever made. The reviews for the film weren’t that great to begin with but over time it’s become something that people have really managed to lock onto and come to love in a way that borders on fanaticism. One thing about Mel Brooks’ movies is that he doesn’t sugarcoat a lot of things and he’ll hit you as hard as he can with the slapstick and never look back as he keeps on going. He knows comedy and he knows that looking back to check on your sensibilities is a door he doesn’t want to go through again.
2. Weird Science
Ah yes, to all the adolescent males out there that were looking for a supermodel to glorify and hold up on a pedestal, this movie was the golden ticket. Imagine being able to make your own woman and have her be anything you want her to be, meaning gorgeous, smart, sassy, in perfect shape, and of course, the kind of woman that wouldn’t judge you, at least not that much. She was of course objectified in this movie as much as anyone can be and in this day and age such a movie would likely be slapped by a horde of internet trolls saying that it’s misogynistic and entirely inaccurate when regarding women, but back in the 80s it was taken for what it was, a fun movie for teenage boys that wanted to see a hot woman in as few clothes as possible.
1. They Live
When talking about weird movies with strange plot lines that could only be pulled off in a campy manner by pro wrestlers this would probably be at the top of the list, if it wasn’t the whole list. Rowdy Roddy Piper didn’t do a lot of acting and there’s probably a good reason for that, but in this movie at least he was entertaining and delivered one of the best lines ever known to cinema. “I’m here to chew bubblegum and kick a$$, and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
Oh yeah, those were the days.
Follow Us
