Characteristics of Science Fiction Movies
- Science fiction films usually fit into one of a number of sub-genres. There are dystopias, such as "Logan's Run" (1976), where often lone protagonists battle against or discover the secrets of a malign status quo. Alternative histories such as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (2003) offer re-imagined versions of the past. Space operas such as the Star Trek and Star Wars films present interstellar travel and clashes between different worlds. There are also alien attack movies such as "The Thing" (1982) and disaster movies, depicting the end of the world as we know it, such as "Planet of the Apes" (1968).
- The protagonists of science fiction movies are usually isolated to some degree. In "Alien" (1979), the isolation is physical --- the crew of the Nostromo are light years away from any outside assistance as they struggle to deal with the presence of an alien on board their ship. In "1984" (1984), the isolation is psychological as Winston Smith hides his growing disaffection with the Big Brother regime.
- Interaction between humans and other life-forms --- whether of extraterrestrial origin or man-made --- is a recurring theme in science fiction films. In "Forbidden Planet" (1956), Robbie the robot is a helpful presence, while the robot in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) is an awe-inspiring weapon of destruction. "Blade Runner" (1982) offers a more complex view; the "replicants" in this film commit terrible deeds but at the same time inspire sympathy. Science fiction films offer a similarly wide-ranging depiction of aliens, from the simple menace of "It" (1967) to the benevolent visitor in "E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982).
- An important characteristic of science fiction films -- and a strong part of their commercial appeal -- is the use of special effects, especially in the depiction of aliens, monsters and action scenes. Until the prevalence of computer generated imagery -- CGI -- in the 1990s on such films as "Stargate" (1994), most effects were created using scale models, stop-motion photography (where the model is moved frame by frame) and animatronics -- moving puppets.
- Science fiction films often introduce the audience to amazing new places and pieces of technology, whether they be weapons, spacecraft or entirely alien worlds. These exotic backdrops are developed by production design teams. Perhaps the most famous example is the use in the film "Alien" (1979) of designs by the artist H.R. Giger for the monstrous alien and its mother ship.