Subgenre Sampler

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Jurassic World: Dominion (2022): Dir. Colin Trevorrow
Feat. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern…; This Jurassic franchise has finally gone full flintstones. Dinosaurs and Humans coexisting together all over the planet. Numerous homages to…
M3gan (Megan) (2022): Dir. Gerard Johnstone
Feat. Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng; The Hollywood debut of Gerard Johnstone, Kiwi director of the brilliant "Housebound", who here more than delivers a sci–fi horror…
Reunion (2020): Dir. Jake Mahaffy
Feat. Julia Ormond, Emma Draper, John Bach…; Beautifully–lensed NZ horror shot in a grand old mansion in Lower Hutt, following an academic studying black magic (Emma Draper, DAFFODILS) who…
Upgrade (2018): Dir. Leigh Whannell
Feat. Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson; Futuristic body horror about a man who "upgrades" his body using an AI implant called STEM after his wife is murdered – the kicker of the…
Jurassic World (2015): Dir. Colin Trevorrow
Feat. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins…; The monstrous popcorn franchise reboots on the premise of silly humans building a theme park on the original site of Jurassic Park, only to have its…
Lucy (2014): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi; A woman's full mental capacity is unlocked when she inadvertently digests a powerful synthetic drug in this outrageous action film from dir. Luc…
Antiviral (2012): Dir. Brandon Cronenberg
Feat. Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith…; Brandon Cronenberg has made an object lesson in intelligent low budget horror. In the near future, our obsession with celebrity will have become so…
Adventure Time (TV Series) (2010): One of the more inspired Cartoon Network creations follows the wildly original, mind altering adventures of Finn, and his best friend Jake – a…
Crazies, The (2010): Dir. Breck Eisner
Feat. Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell; George Romero's low budget classic gets a flashy, though ultimately needless makeover angled at the Iraq war set, with Radha Mitchell and Timothy…
Tron: Legacy (2010): Dir. Joseph Kosinski
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde…; Eye–popping sequel to Disney's digital effects landmark of the eighties, with Jeff Bridges reemerging as the arcade whiz trapped in an…
Quantum Activist, The (2009): Dir. Ri Stewart, Renee Slade; Seeking to bridge the insurmountable gap between science and religion, Dr. Amit Goswami uses principles of quantum mechanics to support his theory of…
Splice (2009): Dir. Vincenzo Natali
Feat. Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley; The director of cult hit CUBE ups the ante in hybrid horror with this story of geneticists who, after recombining DNA from different species, give…
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008): Dir. Nathan Frankowski
Feat. Ben Stein; ...and none shown either in this intellectually bankrupt sleazefest fronted by Ben Stein which examines the supposed 'persecution' of 'scientists'…
Testees (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Steve Markle, Jeff Kassel, Kenny Hotz; Manic comedy about two cash strapped slackers who in a moment of clarity decide to volunteer for paid (and potentially painful) medical experiments,…
Planet Terror (2007): Dir. Robert Rodriguez
Feat. Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin…; Robert Rodriguez's half – and quite possibly, the better half – of the "Grindhouse" double bill (with Quentin Tarantino's DEATH PROOF),…
Primeval (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Douglas Henshall, Juliet Aubrey; Exciting kidult adventure romp posits time slips in modern–day England that unleash various prehistoric creatures onto the world. From the…
Underdog (2007): Dir. Frederik Du Chau
Feat. Jason Lee, Peter Dinklage, James Belushi…; An average dog is endowed with super powers, prompting his boy owner to join in the canine's crusade against crime, mad scientists, and world…
Black Sheep (2006): Dir. Jonathan King
Feat. Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, Peter Feeney…; A slick splatter–comedy in the Kiwi tradition of BAD TASTE, about a herd of rabid, flesh–eating sheep run amok in rural New…
Idiocracy (2006): Dir. Mike Judge
Feat. Luke Wilson, Dax Shepard, David Herman…; A dumb comedy for smart people, this follows the likes of TEAM AMERICA and BORAT as another shrewd post–9/11 satire in which Americans take a…
Secret, The (2006): Dir. Drew Heriot; In repackaging the ‘Law of Attraction’ theory for a New Age audience, Abraham (aka Esther Hicks) affirms the power of positive thinking, reviving…
Subject Two (2006): Dir. Phillip Chidel
Feat. Christian Oliver, Dean Stapleton; Indie 'mad science' thriller in which a doctor invents a resurrection formula and tests it by killing and reviving a 'volunteer' med student many…
What the Bleep!? - Down the Rabbit Hole (2006): Dir. William Arntz, Betsy Chasse
Feat. Marlee Matlin; A sequel–recut of WHAT THE BLEEP? which again presents an New Age spread of provocative comparisons between the theories of quantum physics and…
Hard Pill (2005): Dir. John Baumgartner
Feat. Jonathan Slavin, Scotch Ellis Loring, Susan Slome…; Provocative comedy–drama dares to posit a scenario in which a little pill can induce heterosexuality and when a depressed gay man wonders if…
Godsend (2004): Dir. Nick Hamm
Feat. Robert De Niro, Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos; An age–old horror conceit grafted onto the topical 'genetic cloning' debate, with Kinnear and Romijn–Stamos playing a couple who agree to…
Hulk (2003): Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte…; The thinking person's superhero actioner, this boldly revises the 1960s Marvel Comics icon, a mild–mannered scientist who, when triggered or…
Jurassic Park 3 (2001): Dir. Joe Johnston
Feat. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, William H. Macy…; Sam Neill is the only original cast member to return (save a cameo from Laura Dern) for more run–around with the dinosaurs. Without…
Matrix Revisited, The (2001): Dir. Josh Oreck
Feat. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss; Feature–length behind–the–scenes account of the making of THE MATRIX, including deleted scenes, fight and film demonstrations and a…
Mutant X (TV Series) (2001-2004): Feat. John Shea, Victoria Pratt, Lauren Lee Smith…; Sci–Fi TV series about a team of "New Mutants" who possess extraordinary powers as a result of genetic engineering when used as test subjects…
One, The (2001): Dir. James Wong
Feat. Jet Li, Jason Statham; Ludicrous sci–fi action vehicle for Jet Li – immensely disappointing from the team behind FINAL DESTINATION. The acting is only just more…
Anatomie (2000): Dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
Feat. Franke Potente; Franke Potente (RUN LOLA RUN) stars as a bright medical student at an elite college who discovers her fellow freshmen and women are turning up as…
Hollow Man (2000): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, James Brolin…; Unpleasant, one–dimensional sci–fi thriller that lavishes astonishing, groundbreaking special effects on a script that doesn't deserve…
Metropolis (2000): Dir. Rinataro; Visually splendid ‘future–noir’ set in a teeming, multi–leveled city, inhabited by several storylines: a detective quest, the…
Carrie 2: The Rage (1999): Dir. Katt Shea
Feat. Emily Bergl; The secondary school system gets another dousing in pigs–blood in this less–sequel–more–remake of the Brian DePalma original…
Virtual Sexuality (1999): Dir. Nick Hurran
Feat. Laura Fraser; Putting a digital spin on the tried–and–true 'perfect–partner' concept, we have teen Laura Fraser so anxious to lose her virginity…
Face Off (1997): Dir. John Woo
Feat. John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen; Dir. John Woo melds modern action technology with old–fashioned Mission Impossible–style intrigue. Good guy John Travolta and bad guy…
Flubber (1997): Dir. Les Mayfield
Feat. Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden; Robin Williams again gets the character–chemistry right in a reprise of the classic Absent–Minded Professor, the inadvertent inventor of…
Mimic (1997): Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Feat. Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam; A mutant strain of humanoid bugs come back to taunt entomologist Mira Sorvino, who enters into a fierce confrontation through the dank, falteringly…
Relic, The (1997): Dir. Peter Hyams
Feat. Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore; A dormant microbe mutates and runs amok! ALIEN–in–a–museum is the concept for this well regarded B–picture that spends most…
Chain Reaction (1996): Dir. Andrew Davis
Feat. Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz; The science–slip and fugitive genres converge in this rather silly vehicle for a post–SPEED Keanu Reeves. His innocent,…
Species (1995): Dir. Roger Donaldson
Feat. Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker…; Ben Kingsley rounds up 'experts' (Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger), a kind of A–Team of strange phenomena to…
Machine, La (1994): Dir. Francois Dupeyron
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye; Gerard Depardieu goes into mad–doctor mode for this high–tech mind–transplant thriller, as a shrink/inventor whose fleeting…
Forever Young (1993): Dir. Steve Miner
Feat. Mel Gibson, Jamie Lee Curtis; 1930s test pilot Mel Gibson loses his great love and volunteers for a cryogenics experiment. Fast forward fifty years, enter Jamie Lee Curtis and son…
Jurassic Park (1993): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum…; Richard Attenborough's eccentric billionaire has perfected his tropical island themepark. With cutting edge science; he has revived the dinosaurs!…
Body Parts (1992): Dir. Eric Red
Feat. Jeff Fahey; Criminal psychologist Jeff Fahey loses his arm in a car accident and becomes the recipient of an homicidal donor arm! Unsettling thriller soon takes…
Freejack (1992): Dir. Geoff Murphy
Feat. Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Anthony Hopkins; Champion race driver Emilio Estevez is rescued from death and beamed into 2009 where he soon sets about kicking the totalitarian asses of both Mick…
Lawnmower Man, The (1992): Dir. Brett Leonard
Feat. Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Fahey, Jenny Wright; Tech–head Pierce Brosnan unwittingly transforms his simple–minded gardener into a megalomaniac. This first feature to explore 'Virtual…
Love Potion No. 9 (1992): Dir. Dale Launer
Feat. Sandra Bullock, Tate Donovan, Dale Midkiff; Hokey rom–com following a lonely biochemist who discovers a "love potion" that can cause those around him to be hopelessly attracted to him.
Frankenstein Unbound (1990): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda; John Hurt stars as a 21st century scientist who is thrown back to 19th century England, where Frankenstein's creature and other famous Brits run…
Brain Dead (1989): Dir. Adam Simon
Feat. Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton, Bud Cort; Long unreleased in New Zealand (which possibly explains why Peter Jackson also claimed the title), this arrives a bit of a lost gem from the halcyon…
Juvenatrix (1988): Dir. Brian Thomas Jones
Feat. Vivian Lanko, John Mackay, James Hogue; Aging woman commissions 'youth serum', with horrible side–effects. True 80s schlock.
Kingsajz (Kingsize) (1988): Locked inside an abandoned library basement, tiny dwarfs work hard to maintain their all–male dwarf commune. When a scientist synthesizes…
Monkey Shines (1988): Dir. George Romero
Feat. Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil; A first–rate thriller about an invalid who loses control over his pet monkey that has been subjected to cerebral experiments. Intelligent…
Fly, The (1986): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis; Cronenberg's most accessible work is an ingenious re–working of the 1958 film that works as well for its contemporary audience as the original…
From Beyond (1986): Dir. Stuart Gordon
Feat. Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree; The director of RE–ANIMATOR interprets another great H.P. Lovecraft story as a kinky, effects–laden romp about monsters unleashed from a…
Creator (1985): Dir. Ivan Passer
Feat. Peter O'Toole, Mariel Hemingway, Vincent Spano…; A charmingly absurd sci–fi rom–com from the 1980's starring Peter O'Toole as a madcap scientist who applies his eccentric methodology to…
Day of the Dead (1985): Dir. George Romero
Feat. Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato; Apocalyptic paranoia looms in an underground shelter for a few survivors in a world overrun with zombies. Conclusion to the 'Dead' trilogy builds a…
Quiet Earth, The (1985): Dir. Geoff Murphy
Feat. Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge; New Zealand's best attempt yet at the sci–fi genre. Bruno Lawrence wakes one morning to find himself apparently the only person left on earth.…
Re-Animator (1985): Dir. Stuart Gordon
Feat. Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton; Essential splatter comedy takes gore levels to a (then) new extreme. Rebel science student Herbert West invents a serum that brings the dead back to…
Stuff, The (1985): Dir. Larry Cohen
Feat. Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris; Witty consumerist parable from low–budget maestro Larry Cohen about a new dessert product, which turns out to be lethal. Call it…
Dead Zone, The (1983): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Brooke Adams…; A dynamite thriller based on one of Stephen King's best stories. Christopher Walken plays a clairvoyant, who after helping police with homicide…
Death Warmed Up (1983): Dir. David Blyth
Feat. Michael Hurst; Hell–bent on exacting revenge on a loony scientist, Michael Hurst leads his friends to a secret island where toxic abominations run riot. This…
Man With Two Brains, The (1983): Dir. Carl Reiner
Feat. Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner; Steve Martin plays a surgeon who frustrated with his wicked, overbearing wife (Kathleen Turner), falls in love with a…
Tron (1982): Dir. Steve Lisberger
Feat. Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner…; Jeff Bridges becomes trapped in an alternative computer universe where he is forced to combat evil pac–men and corporate corruption. Made at…
Hand, The (1981): Dir. Oliver Stone
Feat. Michael Caine; Michael Caine stars in this early Oliver Stone mess (still suffering from shell–shock?) as a cartoonist whose severed hand goes about murdering…
Incredible Shrinking Woman, The (1981): Dir. Joel Schumacher
Feat. Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty…; Fitfully amusing comedy mines the considerable talents of Lily Tomlin in the role of a housewife accidentally shrunk by her husband. Considerably…
Scanners (1981): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan…; A 'scanner' describes a person able to read minds, but with a potential to cause nasty headaches. An intense cautionary tale about the dangers of…
Altered States (1980): Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. William Hurt, Blair Brown; William Hurt plays a scientist with a penchant for mind exploration in his starring debut. Russell's overly talky but fascinating film has found a…
Incredible Melting Man, The (1978): Dir. William Sachs
Feat. Alex Rebar, Burr DeBenning, Myron Healey; Radiation poisoning causes an astronaut to literally fall to pieces during a murderous rampage. Slimy effects by Rick Baker distinguish this pure…
Rabid (1977): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Marilyn Chambers; Early David Cronenberg nasty starring '70s porn queen, Marilyn Chambers, who she develops an insatiable thirst for human blood after a motorcycle…
Squirm (1976): Dir. Jeff Lieberman
Feat. Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy; A storm–toppled powerline drives large (and vicious) sandworms out the surrounding swamp–waters, terrifying the local populace in this…
Crazies, The (1975): Dir. George Romero
Feat. Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones; Underrated low–budgeter about germ warfare, a personal favourite of Romero's. Fast–paced editing creates some real excitement.
Asphyx, The (Horror of Death) (1973): Dir. Peter Newbrook
Feat. Robert Stephens, Robert Powell; Promising 'Victorian' horror set around experiments by a scientist (Stephens) into capturing the 'asphyx' (soul) of a dying person and gaining a…
Sssssss (1973): Dir. Bernard L. Kowalski
Feat. Strother Martin, Dirk Benedict, Heather Menzies; Despite the campy name, this is a surprisingly slow–burning, creepy throwback to 50's creature–features concerning a mad scientist who…
Westworld (1973): Dir. Michael Crichton
Feat. Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin; A theme–park where one experiences violent fantasies in perfect safety gradually goes haywire. Inspired idea would strike the big time for…
Doomwatch (1972): Dir. Peter Sasdy
Feat. Ian Bannen, George Sanders; Based on the British TV–series, Ian Bannen investigates the effects of an oil spill on an isolated Cornish community. Ecological themes to the…
Andromeda Strain, The (1971): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson…; Four experts undergo a rigid sterilisation program to identify a deadly virus that has wiped out a small town. Fascinating science parable adapted…
Omega Man (1971): Dir. Boris Sagal
Feat. Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash; Charlton Heston is the last man on earth in this passable screen version of Richard Matheson's classic novel 'I am Legend'.
Scream and Scream Again (1969): Dir. Gordon Hessler
Feat. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee; Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee all turn in for this Hammer mad–doctor–creates–super–being yarn.
Sorcerers, The (1967): Dir. Michael Reeves
Feat. Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey, Ian Ogilvy…; An aging couple conduct secret experiments in vicarious mind–control, living out perverse scenarios through young and unwitting victims.…
Projected Man, The (1966): Dir. Ian Curteis
Feat. Bryant Halliday; Laboratory misadventure yarn derived in part from THE FLY: a researcher tests his laser device on himself and regrets it.
Curse of the Fly (1965): Dir. Don Sharp
Feat. Brian Donlevy, George Baker, Burt Kwouk; Second sequel to the original 1958 THE FLY, sans Vincent Price, but with touches of genuine gothic atmosphere and some creepy mutants. The tale of a…
Nightmare Castle (The Faceless Monster, The Night of the Doomed) (1965): Dir. Mario Caiano
Feat. Barbara Steele, Paul Muller; Atmospheric gothic horror, with below–par Italian stylings and a dual role for cult actress Barbara Steele. Playing a pair of sisters,…
Village of the Giants (1965): Dir. Bert I. Gordon
Feat. Ron Howard, Beau Bridges; From the brainchild of Bert I. Gordon, an atomic monster and ‘giant’ movie specialist who did a lot of his own special effects, comes this gaudy…
Devil Doll (1964): Dir. Lindsay Shonteff
Feat. Bryant Halliday, William Sylvester; A hypno–ventriloquist attempts to transfer a woman's soul into a dummy. Ghoulish sleeper is sure to keep fans of low–budget chillers wide…
Human Vapour, The (1964): Dir. Inoshiro Honda
Feat. Tatsuya Mihashi, Kaoru Yachigusa, Yoshio Tsuchiya; After an awry experiment, a benign librarian is able to spontaneously vapourize and get away with robbery, blackmail and murder in metropolitan…
Satan Bug, The (1964): Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Alistair Maclean, Richard Basehart; Set in a hushed desert landscape of secret government laboratories and ominous rock–formations, this Cold War paranoia–thriller…
Son of Flubber (1963): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn…; A (then) rare Disney sequel in which Fred MacMurray returns as THE ABSENT–MINDED PROFESSOR for another round of visual gags based around the…
Twice Told Tales (1963): Dir. Sidney Salkow
Feat. Vincent Price, Sebastian Cabot, Beverly Garland; Triptych of horrors drawn from the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ham actor extraordinaire Vincent Price is in ripping form here.
X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Ray Milland, Don Rickles, John Hoyt…; Furrow–browed scientist Ray Milland discovers the ability to see through matters, and takes advantage with card games and ladies etc., but…
Brain, The (1962): Dir. Freddie Francis
Feat. Anne Heywood, Peter Van Eyck, Bernard Lee…; A well–meaning doctor keeps alive the brain of a sadistic millionaire who gradually compels him to carry out his evil requests. Well directed…
Awful Dr. Awloff, The (1961): Dir. Jess Franco
Feat. Howard Vernon; Deranged doctor Howard Vernon collects skin–grafts for his disfigured daughter, in a Spanish makeover of Franju's 'Eyes Without A Face'. A…
Brain That Wouldn't Die, The (1961): Dir. Joseph Green
Feat. Jason Evers; Ripping off other 'brain transplant' cheapies, this flick goes several steps further down the exploitation path and thus has burrowed a special place…
Amazing Transparent Man, The (1960): Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
Feat. Douglas Kennedy, Marguerite Chapman; Underrated, though still fairly tacky mad–scientist caper in which Douglas Kennedy turns a convict invisible so he can steal uranium for…
Wasp Woman, The (1960): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Susan Cabot, Michael Mark; A glamorous but ageing cosmetic executive develops an age–retarding serum, but her lust for youth and wealth is besieged by ugly…
4D Man (1959): Dir. Irvin S. Yeaworth
Feat. Robert Lansing; Sullen scientist Robert Lansing becomes greedy and homicidal after being charged with the ability to pass through solid matter. A certain…
Beyond the Time Barrier (1959): Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
Feat. Robert Clarke; An astronaut on a space mission is unwittingly catapulted into a plague–ridden Earth of 50 years into the future. Inriguing low–budgeter…
Manster, The (1959): Dir. George P. Breakson
Feat. Peter Dyneley; An American correspondent in Japan becomes an unwitting human guinea pig while trying to get the scoop on the work of a reclusive scientist. His…
Tingler, The (1959): Dir. William Castle
Feat. Vincent Price, Darryl Hickman; B–movie classic in which mad doctor Vincent Price conjures the 'physical form of fear itself', and lets the damned thing run amok! With bizzaro…
Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958): Dir. Nathan Hertz
Feat. Allison Hayes, William Hudson; After a close–encounter, Allison Hayes starts growin' while her sleazeball husband philanders the town hussy. Bad special FX, charismatic…
Fly, The (1958): Dir. Kurt Neumann
Feat. David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price; Classic B–movie is a hammy horror tale of an obsessed scientist who unwittingly turns himself into a freak of nature.
Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958): Dir. Terence Fisher
Feat. Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn…; One of the best in the series of six Frankenstein films made by Hammer, with Peter Cushing reprising one of his signature roles as Baron Frank. …
Terror from the Year 5,000 (1958): Dir. Robert J. Gurney
Feat. Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, Frederic Downs; In a future contaminated with radioactivity, bizarre experiments with a time machine materialise with a terrifying she devil from 3000 years in the…
Incredible Shrinking Man (1957): Dir. Jack Arnold
Feat. Grant Williams, Randy Stuart; A man suffers a humiliatingly gradual size–reduction after exposure to radiation. A class act, compellingly told through water–tight…
Voodoo Woman (1957): Dir. Edward L. Cahn
Feat. Tom Conway, Marla English; A greed–and–revenge themed horror melodrama set deep in the jungle, where a mad scientist (Conway) botches his first attempts to create a…
Indestructible Man (1956): Dir. Jack Pollexfen
Feat. Lon Jr. Chaney; Homicidal maniac Lon Chaney Jnr is revived, post–execution, by a mad scientist, before going on a revenge–spree. Interesting entry for…
Bride of the Monster (1955): Dir. Ed Wood Jnr.
Feat. Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson; Mad scientist Bela Lugosi and hulking monster Tor Johnson abduct passers–by in a scheme to create a super–race. Super–bad acting,…
Tarantula! (1955): Dir. Jack Arnold
Feat. John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll…; One of the best B–movie directors of the 1950s crafts an effective tale of a manic scientist (Carroll) whose experiments unleash a gigantic and…
Them! (1954): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn; Mutated giant ants run amok after a nuclear test in the New Mexico desert. Atomic parable is a major studio '50s creature feature that benefits from…
Donovan's Brain (1953): Dir. Felix Feist
Feat. Lew Ayres, Gene Evans; B–movie classic about a scientist who keeps alive the brain of a tyrannical tycoon and slowly succumbs to its sinister motives.
Quatermass Experiment, The (TV Series) (1953): Dir. Rudolph Cartier
Feat. Reginald Tate, Isabel Dean; The seminal serial (in six parts) by award–winning writer Nigel Kneale that laid the foundations of British Sci–Fi TV.. This first…
Monkey Business (1952): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn…; Scientist Cary Grant discovers a rejuvenation serum which has screwball side–effects. Stars include the director and writing team – Ben…
Body Snatcher, The (1945): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi; Quietly creepy Val Lewton production with Boris Karloff as a sinister grave robber who provides bodies for medical research and then blackmails the…
Invisible Woman, The (1940): Dir. A. Edward Sutherland
Feat. Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, John Howard…; The mad professor (Barrymore) is about to lose hope of salvaging his project when finally someone answers the call (an ad in the paper) to be his…
Bride of Frankenstein (1935): Dir. James Whale
Feat. Boris Karloff; Boris Karloff meets his match when mad Dr. Frank builds his forlorn monster a mate. Sequel to FRANKENSTEIN is possibly the best horror of the '30s…
Vanishing Shadow, The (1934): Dir. Lew Landers
Feat. Onslow Stevens, Walter Miller, Ada Ince…; 12–episode sci–fi serial about an electrical engineer and a mad scientist who attempt to take down a corrupt politician with a device…
Invisible Man, The (1933): Dir. James Whale
Feat. Claude Rains; Engrossing fantasy about a scientist who becomes invisible, thus leaving ego unchecked to gain advantage and wreak havoc. A memorable,…
Island of Lost Souls (1933): Dir. Erle C. Kenton
Feat. Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen…; First screen version of H.G. Wells' fascinating novel features the delightfully loony Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau, the exiled scientist obsessed…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932): Dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Feat. Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins; Lurid and expressionistic 30s version of Stevenson's novel, and still the best, with Fredric March (who won an Oscar) as the idealist Doctor who…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920): Dir. John S. Robertson
Feat. John Barrymore, Charles Lane, Brandon Hurst…; The first of many adaptations is this unsettling silent version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella about a charitable scientist whose…

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Subgenre Sampler