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17 Forgettable ’90s Sci-FI Movies Only Superfans Remember
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)
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17 Forgettable ’90s Sci-FI Movies Only Superfans Remember (part #2)
13. I COME IN PEACE
The year 1990’s I Come In Peace, also known as Dark Angel, sounds like your typical ’80s action flick.
A loose cannon cop loses his partner while undercover trying to stop a kingpin… and then things get weird.
It turns out that there’s an alien invasion afoot, and it’s causing mass heroin overdoses for some reason.
Because the aforementioned vice cop, Jack Caine, is played by the legendary Dolph Lundgren, he doesn’t let his adversaries’ alien status stop him from kicking butt and taking names.
I Come In Peace is only one in a long list of cult sci-fi movies starring Lundgren.
He has also appeared in Johnny Mnemonic, alongside Keanu Reeves, and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming. Lundgren’s most well-known sci-fi role is that of the cyborg supersoldier at the heart of 1992’s Universal Soldier.
12. INDEPENDENCE DAY
For a few short years, Will Smith was a staple of the American summer experience. Every year, around the Fourth of July, we knew we could look forward to a major blockbuster starring Smith. Usually, there were aliens.
iRobot, Hancock, Wild Wild West, and the first two Men In Black movies all debuted during the week of July 4, or just before.
However, the movie that cemented Smith’s connection to the star-spangled holiday was none other than the alien invasion flick, 1996’s Independence Day.
The script was fairly simple and straightforward– a bunch of aliens invaded Earth and the citizens of this planet had to defend it.
With popular actors like Bill Pullman and the universally beloved Jeff Goldblum in tow, this movie quickly became one of sci-fi’s longest-lasting titles.
11. MARS ATTACKS!
It’s difficult to list the big name, A-list stars on the roster for Tim Burton’s 1996 satire Mars Attacks! It would be easier to name who didn’t appear in this cult hit.
Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Natalie Portman, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, and more had roles. The cast of this bizarre sci-fi flick is truly impressive, it’s the Movie 43 of the sci-fi cult genre.
The plot is your typical alien invasion story… except these aliens are kind of hilarious.
Things go awry and Congress is essentially wiped out, leading the remainder of the US government planning a full-scale nuclear attack. However, they aren’t going down without a fight.
The movie was actually based on a 1960’s trading card game of the same name. The cards revealed bits and pieces of the alien invasion story.
10. MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN
The 1992 sci-fi/romance/comedy Memoirs of an Invisible Man is just as easy to miss as its unnoticeable protagonist.
The one part of this movie that really sticks with you is its somewhat horrifying CGI.
In the Marvel style of doing things, Chevy Chase’s Nick Holloway becomes invisible after an experiment gone wrong.
He immediately goes on the run, attempting to stay out of the clutches of a government agency that wants to take Holloway into custody. Daryl Hannah’s Alice Monroe helps Holloway keep out of the government’s grasp.
Chase and Hannah aren’t exactly well-known for sci-fi types of roles. Chase became famous for his comedic roles in movies like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Caddyshack, while Hannah is popular for romantic comedies like Splash and Roxanne.
9. NEW ROSE HOTEL
There are four actors in all of Hollywood who are instantly meme fodder. Nic Cage, William Shatner, Christopher Walken, and Willem Dafoe… and two of them starred in a bad 1998 sci-fi movie that saw evil corporations battle for control over the best and brightest scientific minds the world had to offer.
New Rose Hotel was not a popular movie, despite it’s iconic actors. The movie only garnered a one-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dafoe has been a constant in all manner of movies, including sci-fi, with titles like John Carter and Heaven’s Gate to his name.
Walken, of course, is iconic for his horror and sci-fi work, appearing in films such as The Dead Zone and Heaven’s Gate. #MeToo activist Asia Argento also appears in the movie.
(continue on part #3)
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17 Forgettable ’90s Sci-FI Movies Only Superfans Remember (part #3)
8. PRAYER OF THE ROLLERBOYS
How a movie like 1990’s Prayer of the Rollerboys became lost to Hollywood history is beyond us. Dystopian future? Check. Rollerskating teens addicted to weird, sci-fi substances? Check. Corey Haim and Patricia Arquette? Check and check.
Look at those cute, little rollerboys in their identical uniforms with their matching blazers and their choreographed skate moves. You can practically hear the high-intensity power chords playing in the background. This movie is adorable.
Prayer of the Rollerboys follows the story of Haim’s Griffin, a teenager who goes undercover to investigate the crazy new substance sweeping the nation called Mist.
The substance is being peddled by a group of rollerblading teenagers, who are basically a super athletic cult.
It’s bizarre, but also kind of amazing in all its cheese-fest glory.
7. SPACE TRUCKERS
In the distant future, a group of cargo deliverymen is tasked with delivering a suspicious planet… and is forced to avoid an army of dangerous robots along the way.
No, this 1996 sci-fi comedy isn’t the hit animated series, Futurama. It’s Space Truckers, starring Dennis Hopper, Charles Dance, and the one-and-only Stephen Dorff. Futurama came a few years later in 1999, and kind of did it better (sorry).
This movie may not have made a lasting impression on pop culture, but its cast certainly has.
Dennis Hopper was already a huge star, appearing in many prominent titles such as Speed and Easy Rider. He then went on to appear in the action television series, 24.
Stephen Dorff was featured in Blade and True Detective, while Charles Dance went on to star in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
6. STARSHIP TROOPERS
The year 1997’s Starship Troopers told the tale of a dystopian future in which the human race is forced to face off against invading alien bug-like creatures.
The problem is that these bugs are just as determined to survive as the people are. Who will win this intergalactic battle royale?
The movie is often described as both totally hilarious and extremely violent.
The cast is made up of an impressive slate of actors, including Wild Things and The World Is Not Enough actress Denise Richards and The Wire and The Walking Dead actor Seth Gilliam.
However, that’s not all, one of the movie’s most prominent actors has a prolific and varied career that has made him basically a national treasure. Doogie Howser, M.D., A Series of Unfortunate Events, and How I Met Your Mother actor Neil Patrick Harris stars as the psychic/general/minister, Carl Jenkins.
You won’t be able to see Ron Perlman reprise his role of Hellboy in the similarly named reboot. His days of playing Clarence Morrow on the popular Sons of Anarchy are also long gone.
Thankfully, we can relive these iconic performances again and again with help from the magic of the internet. The next time you stream your favorite Perlman movies, though, make sure to check out 1995’s The City of Lost Children.
In a weird and creepy mix that’s basically Monsters Inc. meets A Nightmare On Elm Street, Lost Children tells the story of an old man who can’t dream anymore.
He thinks that if he can recapture that ability, he won’t pass away… somehow. So, he kidnaps children to steal their dreams.
Perlman plays a circus strongman (because, of course, he does) who teams up with a child to try to stop the kidnapper.
4. THE GUYVER
Obviously, Mark Hamill is an infamous name in the world of science fiction. That’s what happens when you star in the biggest sci-fi movie of all time. (Who are we kidding, the Star Wars franchise may just be the biggest franchise ever.)
Hamill has cemented himself firmly in the hearts of fans of all ages with his menacing performances in superhero fare like The Flash and Batman: The Animated Series.
Thank goodness for that, because his career could have just as easily faded away following 1991’s disasterpiece The Guyver.
Based on a manga, The Guyver tells the story of a futuristic suit of armor that fuses with its wearer, much like Venom.
Once this happens, the wearer of the suit becomes a formidable cyborg. In the movie, an evil corporation employs mutant aliens to retrieve the stolen suit.
(continue on part #4)
