Science fiction, for a long time, was regarded as a cult, B-movie sort of a genre. Movies like Sharknado are meant to be forgotten… but because the internet is a thing, these exploitative cheese-fests have been given new life.

Fans now vote which characters live or perish on Twitter, while the movies’ worst moments live on as memes for all eternity.

That’s not to say that some of them haven’t been smash pop culture sci-fi hits (Star Wars) or critical darlings (Avatar), because, of course, there have been. However, that’s totally not the type of movie that we’re going to talk about in this article.

Back in the halcyon days of the internet, when chatrooms and Xanga pages ruled supreme, bad sci-fi movies didn’t really stand a chance at becoming internet famous.

These movies have been lost to the annals of time… but maybe we can change that.

From Mick Jagger’s star turn to Mark Hamill’s surprisingly bad B-movie flick to the original Handmaid’s Tale, here are the 17 Forgettable ’90s Movies Only Superfans Remember.

17. ABRAXAS, GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE STARRING JESSE VENTURA



He’s a wrestler, a governor, and a guardian of the .. universe, sorry, not what you were expecting. Jesse Ventura’s bizarre 1990 sci-fi flick follows the story of an alien law enforcement officer who travels to Earth in search of a wayward alien.

This intergalactic criminal is guilty of impregnating a human woman with a mutant embryo that could destroy life on Earth.

Oh, and that criminal is the officer’s former partner.

Ventura, of course, went on to become the 38th governor of Minnesota… only nine years after this bizarre film debuted.

He continued to work in Hollywood even after his political career took off, appearing in 2003’s Stuck On You, the same year his run as governor ended.

He was most recently seen in 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series.

16. CLASS OF 1999



Class of 1999 is unique, for lack of a better word. This movie is sort of like if Battle Royale happened in America and also in the future, but the future is insane.

When students begin to run amok throughout the school– dangerously, violently amok– the principal plants three cyborg teachers on the staff to keep them in check.

As strange as this movie sounds, it stars some iconic names that most cult sci-fi film fans will instantly recognize.

Pam Grier, who plays one of the robot teachers, Ms. Connors, is well-known for her horror and exploitation movies like Jawbreaker, Escape From L.A., and Jackie Brown.

Prolific cult movie actor Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Halloween) plays the principal of the school, Dr. Miles Langford.

15. FREEJACK



What do Mick Jagger, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, and Emilio Esteves have in common? The 1992 sci-fi movie, Freejack.

This time-traveling flick sees Jagger’s Vacendak kidnapping young people from the past, in this case, Estevez’s racecar driver, Alex Furlong, and bringing them back to the future… in 2009.

After the victims are transported, rich old people transplant their brains into their new bodies– talk about a makeover.

While the movie is often described as silly and boring, Jagger’s performance is frequently cited as its one saving grace, thanks to his over-the-top intensity.

Jagger doesn’t really have a lot of acting credits to his name, though his co-stars are popular names in the sci-fi genre. Estevez appeared in 1984’s Repo Man and 1986’s Maximum Overdrive, while Hopkins starred in Beowulf and can currently be seen in HBO’s Westworld.

14. GALAXY QUEST



The year 1999’s Galaxy Quest was a schlockfest filled with over-the-top acting, stilted dialog, and a slew of well-respected actors just having a grand old time.

There was a good reason for the silly performances found in the movie– the story followed the cast of a space opera TV series as they are forced to travel through space to protect Earth and save an alien race from an evil reptilian warlord.

Naturally, the crew’s ham performances continue even as they become their characters for real.

Much of the cast has a long history with sci-fi fare, like Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Sam Rockwell (Cowboys & Aliens, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), and Alan Rickman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).

The rest were deeply rooted in comedy, like Tim Allen (Home Improvement, Last Man Standing) and Tony Shalhoub (Monk, Wings). The film incorporated the cast’s comedic chops in the story.


(continue on part #2)