The mood?
It’s summer, you’re alone, maybe there’s a thunderstorm outside. You want to watch a movie. If you’re anything like me, you might not want to watch a full-on horror movie because you don’t want to freak yourself out. You don’t want a comedy, though. And you definitely don’t want a rom-com.
You have enough drama. A documentary won’t do.
You want to escape.
It’s time for sci-fi.
It is the perfect mood for summer nights, ignoring heartbreak, and taking yourself to another planet, a different world.
It’s time for freak shit.
Sunshine (2007)
It’s classic Danny Boyle: the third act is totally ridiculous, and the film oscillates between being very good and very bad. At times it is genuinely scary, others I was laughing out loud. Probably extra fun if you’re a Cillian Murphy girlie (I’m not—eyes shouldn’t look like that) Grab a pair of sunglasses, sit back and enjoy.
The Hidden (1987)
I keep calling this a “boys movie” because it’s kind of like After Hours meets Invasions of the Body Snatchers. Unlike After Hours, it is action-packed and disgusting, silly but also compelling enough to keep you on the hook. Starring Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri and yes, that’s Summer’s dad for all my OC heads out there. You’re welcome.
The Faculty (1998)
Okay, it’s technically horror but it’s teen horror and there are aliens so, it counts. Bitchy, funny, bleak and yet light-hearted at the same time (an almost impossible feat), The Faculty rules. Great cast (Clea DuVall, Elijah Woods, Usher, Salma Hayek, to name a few), immaculate 1998 vibes, and Famke Janssen in glasses is 🫨👀😍 Get ready to let Josh Harnett peer pressure you into snorting unknown powders.
Life (2017)
No one I know has seen this, which is baffling to me because it is such a gem. Good from the get-go and grips you until the very end, Life is thrilling and Fun with a devastating ending. I’m always fond of a film that punishes the hubris and arrogance of science, that reminds us that we Know Nothing. Also recommended to anyone who might enjoy watching Ryan Reynolds die (I know I do!)
The Mist (2007)
This is an undeniably excellent film with a twist ending that probably makes M. Night Shyamalan seethe with envy. Spooky space spiders, a deadly mist, but the real nightmare is us, duh! Director Frank Darabont successfully takes us to another planet with no travel required. I rarely refer to films as a “ride” but this is it, a journey you’ll never forget.
BONUS suggestion:
Deep Rising (1998)
What can I say: 1998 was a really, really good year for movies. Deep Rising is not a particularly well-done film, but it is wildly entertaining and so, so gross. Famke Janssen's there if you need more of her after The Faculty (valid, understandable).
Someone I follow on Letterboxd wrote:
Looks like a Playstation 2 game, has a cool slow-motion explosion escape on a jet ski, smoothed out every wrinkle in my brain. I feel great.
Exactly.
The mood?
It’s summer, you’re alone, maybe there’s a thunderstorm outside. You want to watch a movie. If you’re anything like me, you might not want to watch a full-on horror movie because you don’t want to freak yourself out. You don’t want a comedy, though. And you definitely don’t want a rom-com.
You have enough drama. A documentary won’t do.
You want to escape.
It’s time for sci-fi.
It is the perfect mood for summer nights, ignoring heartbreak, and taking yourself to another planet, a different world.
It’s time for freak shit.
Sunshine (2007)
It’s classic Danny Boyle: the third act is totally ridiculous, and the film oscillates between being very good and very bad. At times it is genuinely scary, others I was laughing out loud. Probably extra fun if you’re a Cillian Murphy girlie (I’m not—eyes shouldn’t look like that) Grab a pair of sunglasses, sit back and enjoy.
The Hidden (1987)
I keep calling this a “boys movie” because it’s kind of like After Hours meets Invasions of the Body Snatchers. Unlike After Hours, it is action-packed and disgusting, silly but also compelling enough to keep you on the hook. Starring Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri and yes, that’s Summer’s dad for all my OC heads out there. You’re welcome.
The Faculty (1998)
Okay, it’s technically horror but it’s teen horror and there are aliens so, it counts. Bitchy, funny, bleak and yet light-hearted at the same time (an almost impossible feat), The Faculty rules. Great cast (Clea DuVall, Elijah Woods, Usher, Salma Hayek, to name a few), immaculate 1998 vibes, and Famke Janssen in glasses is 🫨👀😍 Get ready to let Josh Harnett peer pressure you into snorting unknown powders.
Life (2017)
No one I know has seen this, which is baffling to me because it is such a gem. Good from the get-go and grips you until the very end, Life is thrilling and Fun with a devastating ending. I’m always fond of a film that punishes the hubris and arrogance of science, that reminds us that we Know Nothing. Also recommended to anyone who might enjoy watching Ryan Reynolds die (I know I do!)
The Mist (2007)
This is an undeniably excellent film with a twist ending that probably makes M. Night Shyamalan seethe with envy. Spooky space spiders, a deadly mist, but the real nightmare is us, duh! Director Frank Darabont successfully takes us to another planet with no travel required. I rarely refer to films as a “ride” but this is it, a journey you’ll never forget.
BONUS suggestion:
Deep Rising (1998)
What can I say: 1998 was a really, really good year for movies. Deep Rising is not a particularly well-done film, but it is wildly entertaining and so, so gross. Famke Janssen's there if you need more of her after The Faculty (valid, understandable).
Someone I follow on Letterboxd wrote:
Looks like a Playstation 2 game, has a cool slow-motion explosion escape on a jet ski, smoothed out every wrinkle in my brain. I feel great.
Exactly.