Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.
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Lemmy needs more content that isn't about US politics right now so I'm making a random post.
What's the most obscure cyberpunk movie you've seen? Name a cyberpunk movie you don't think anyone else has heard of.
I'm not saying you have to think it's a good movie (or that you even like it), I just want to discuss obscure, unknown cyberpunk movies. Come on, let's talk about something other than politics here.
Not a movie, but a TV show: Max Headroom
It’s about journalists and an AI having adventures.
Lol the left arm on the middle poster is so loooong
Does Avalon (2001) count?
Absolutely! That one's super obscure to me. I'm pretty sure I've seen it yet I don't remember anything from it.
Can't even seem to find it now. It was a non-English film. Eastern European, I think. Most of it was shot in sepia tones. It's about people who put everything into a virtual reality game. Build their whole lives around playing it.
The protagonist makes a fantastic meal for her cat while eating slop herself.
Was probably from the early 2000s. I think I watched it because I ran across a review of it and it happened to be orderable on Netflix DVD.
Probably tekwar. I don't think I've ever seen mention of it.
Based upon the books by William Shatner, a.k.a. the original Captain Kirk? It was a thing for a few years in the '90s, but yeah - pretty much dropped off the radar entirely afterwards.
William Shatner's TekWar! It all looks awful, I don't know how they made so much of it.
Said the robot pimp disdainfully.
Not that obscure but I liked the cyberpunk portions of cloud atlas.
Oh yeah I also came across something called Terminus (1987) which sounds kinda cyberpunk, but haven't watched it yet. See it free on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dBxa992y1g
In the year 2037, an international sport has been established, wherein a driver of a truck must cross the country and arrive at a designated terminus, while confronting obstacles and enemies along the way. The lead truck, named "Monster", has been designed by a boy genius (Gabriel Damon) and is to be piloted through the course by a woman named Gus (Karen Allen). Eventually, the truck's AI fails and Gus ends up in uncharted territories...
One of the comments said it's missing 15 minutes. Wonder why?
oh yeah I also came across a movie called "CyberTracker" (1994) recently. It sounds pretty cyberpunk but def low-budget, I haven't watched it.
In the future, Eric Anthony Phillips is the head of the Secret Service detachment assigned to protect Senator Bob Dilly (John Aprea). Senator Dilly is a champion of the recently implemented Computerized Judicial System (Computerized Justice for short), a product of Cybercore Industry, that uses data as evidence to determine the guilt of accused criminals, then carries out the sentence using cyborg executioners called "Trackers" (Maniaci). However, the more Phillips learns about Dilly and the Cybercore's ruthless plans, the more uncomfortable he becomes...
At least Cyber Tracker has a Rifftrax for it, which could make the movie bearable. (RiffTrax is from the guys who made Mystery Science Theater 3000)
Hmmm.... I started watching OtherLife (2017) the other day... it's more of a techno-thriller than cyberpunk tho.... But it does have evil corporates and evil government types... you can see it free here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x93okqm
It's kind of meh, but if you're in the mood for something Inception-like, you might dig it.
OtherLife is a 2017 Australian science fiction thriller film directed by Ben C. Lucas. It stars Jessica De Gouw as the co-founder of OtherLife, a company that developed a form of biological virtual reality. When her business partner, played by T.J. Power, insists she license it for unethical use, she struggles to retain control of her invention with the help of her lover...
edit: oops forgot this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OtherLife
Cypher 2002
It's not my favorite but i enjoy rewatching it.
Oh man, that's a movie i haven't thought about in a long time... I know I've seen it and I'm pretty sure I liked it but I don't remember a single thing about it. Time to go see if it's streaming anywhere...
that's basically what the movie is about lol
Cyberpunk has never been what draws me to science fiction, but I'd say the most obscure is probably existence (if that counts?). It came out in 1999 and was overshadowed by the matrix. I
eXistenZ definitely counts! Cronenberg being weird in a way that only Cronenberg can.
Hardware. Saw this with a friend in the theater, we thought it was terrible. I've revisited it since, and while I won't say it's great I think it's worth a watch.
I agree, I think it's worth a watch. It's the only real "cyberpunk horror" movie I can think of. I mean, there are plenty of body horror cyberpunk movies (especially in Japanese cyberpunk) but Hardware is the only one I know that really follows a "slasher" horror movie format.
I didn't know about Until the End of the World (1991) till recently. Can't say it was worth watching, but bounty bear was amazing.
The U2 song is great too.
Wow, I have never heard of this movie. I just watched a trailer and it looks very strange. I think I'll take your word for it and skip this one.
Welt am Draht
I'm learning a lot by googling these obscure movies. Apparently Welt am Draht was called World on a Wire in its English release and it's based on the same novel that The Thirteenth Floor (1999) was based on. Neat!
New Rose Hotel. Featuring Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken! Story by William Gibson! I may be mistaken, but I think he even wrote the screenplay, like in Johnny Mnemonic. But sadly not a very good movie. Its painfully slow. The original short story clearly did not have enough content for a movie. However, if you were to cut it down, there is a really good Cyberpunk movie hidden there. Maybe someday it gets the fancut it deserves...
I just watched that recently! Yeah, very weird movie. The vast majority of it takes place in a hotel room and all the major events occur off-screen. Such a strange movie. And with that cast, you'd think they could've made it more interesting.
Strange Days is one of those often listed near the bottom on lists of the best cyberpunk movies and I almost never see it talked about or mentioned in discussions. I think it goes under the radar because it's not visually spectacular, nor is it very futuristic. Classic dialogue heavy sci-fi.
100% agree. This jumped right to the top for me, really enjoyed it and always recommend it to people.
You're right, Strange Days is definitely a classic yet visually it isn't very sci-fi. The themes and plot are extremely sci-fi (and cyberpunk) yet if you just looked at a random frame from the movie you wouldn't really be able to tell.
Oooo listed! Moon was amazing!
I wanted to like Mute but I really didn't like Paul Rudd's character in it. Overall, I think it had some good visuals but something about that movie just didn't work for me.
Did you like the movie? What was your favorite part?
I did enjoy the visuals and was okay with the protagonist, but lots of the story and most other characters were not really working out for me. I can't really put my finger on it why that is. But the soundtrack? Oh.My.God! Clint Mansell absolutely nailed it - like he always does! I've been following his career since his first soundtrack: Pi from 1998. Maybe I should mention here that I'm an ex musician myself.
My favourite Cyberpunk movie is Upgrade from 2018.
Upgrade was definitely good - should be on everyone here's watch list.