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Science Fiction Film and Television

A guide to research resources related to the study of science fiction film and television, including books, articles, moving images, and archives.

Resources

Selected Films on Kanopy

The Blob (dir. Irvin Yeaworth, 1958)

"A cult classic of gooey greatness, THE BLOB follows the havoc wreaked on a small town by an outer-space monster with neither soul nor vertebrae, with Steve McQueen playing the rebel teen who tries to warn the residents about the jellylike invader."

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Eraserhead (dir. David Lynch, 1978)

"In David Lynch's "dream of dark and troubling things," Henry is left alone in his apartment to care for his deformed baby and has a series of strange encounters with the beautiful girl across the hall and the woman living in his radiator."

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The Brood (dir. David Cronenberg, 1979)

"As the trauma of one couple's divorce escalates, the city is terrorized by a series of attacks by disfigured children."

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Scanners (dir. David Cronenberg, 1981)

"The title of this David Cronenberg sci-fi horror film refers to a group of people who have telekinetic powers that allow them to read minds and give them the ability to make other people's heads explode. The children of a group of women who took an experimental tranquilizer during their pregnancies, the scanners are now adults and have become outcasts from society."

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The Toxic Avenger (dir. Michael Herz and Samuel Weil, 1984)

"Welcome to Tromaville, New Jersey – a small American town, terrorized by criminals. The town’s corrupt mayor sits idly by, while muggers, robbers and teenage punks victimize helpless citizens. Among the residents of Tromaville is Melvin, a nerdy emaciated janitor at the local health club. That is, until he becomes THE TOXIC AVENGER! A gang of thugs devise a cruel hoax that goes horribly wrong as Melvin is cast through a third story window into a vat of hazardous toxic waste. However, an unexpected metamorphosis takes place. As the chemicals take hold of his body, Melvin turns into the TOXIC AVENGER, doer of good, and brutal mauler of evil! The rest, as they say, is history! The excitement is non-stop as the hero sets out to single handedly wipe out the forces of evil that torment the people of Tromaville."

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Re-Animator (dir. Stuart Gordon, 1985)

"A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus."

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Tetsuo I: The Iron Man (dir. Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)

"Somewhere between a modern-day nightmare and a techno-fetishist′s ultimate fantasy, this extraordinary film from Shinya Tsukamoto (Vital, A Snake of June) caused a cult sensation when first released. A strange man known only as the "metal fetishist", who seems to have an insane compulsion to stick scrap metal into his body, is hit and possibly killed by a Japanese "salaryman", out for a drive with his girlfriend. The salaryman then notices that he is being slowly overtaken by some kind of disease that is turning his body into scrap metal, and that his nemesis is not in fact dead but is somehow masterminding and guiding his rage and frustration-fueled transformation."

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Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2013)

"Based on the novel by Michel Faber, UNDER THE SKIN examines human experience from the perspective of an unforgettable heroine (Scarlett Johansson) who grows too comfortable in her borrowed skin, until she is abducted into humanity with devastating results."

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Possessor (dir. Brandon Cronenberg, 2020)

"POSSESSOR is an arresting sci-fi thriller about elite, corporate assassin Tasya Vos. Using brain-implant technology, Vos takes control of other people’s bodies to execute high profile targets. Asshe sinks deeper into her latest assignment Vos becomes trapped inside a mind thatthreatens to obliterate her."

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Titane (dir. Julia Ducournau, 2021)

"With a titanium plate surgically fused to her skull following a car crash as a child, car model Alexia embarks on a wild and ultimately unpredictable journey that questions our assumptions about family, identity and love."

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Crimes of the Future (dir. David Cronenberg, 2022)

"In the not-too-distant future, humankind is adapting to its toxic environment via mutation or surgery. Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux) present his mutations as performance artists, while Timlin (Kristen Stewart), a government investigator, tracks their movements. Saul's notoriety incites a mysterious group to unveil the next phase of human evolution."

UCLA students, staff, and faculty access through Kanopy. Log into the campus VPN or proxy server to view video.