67 articles
Legend (1985 film)
Legend (1985) is Ridley Scott's fantasy film, written by William Hjortsberg, starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and Tim Curry. Released in Europe in 1985 with Jerry Goldsmith's score and in the US in 1986 recut to 89 minutes with Tangerine Dream music, it flopped but became a cult classic.
Lifeforce (film)
Lifeforce is a 1985 British science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, loosely adapted from Colin Wilson's novel The Space Vampires, about space vampires attacking London.
Liquid Sky
Liquid Sky (1982) is Slava Tsukerman's cult independent sci-fi film, also called a post-punk New Wave classic, in which aliens feed on orgasm chemicals in 1980s New York, starring Anne Carlisle in a dual role.
Looker
Looker is a 1981 American sci-fi thriller written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, about models murdered so Digital Matrix can use CGI doubles and the LOOKER hypnotic-advertising system; first shaded 3D CGI human in film.
Megaforce
Megaforce is a 1982 American action science fiction film directed by Hal Needham, starring Barry Bostwick, about an elite military unit that intervenes when governments will not.
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn is a 1983 Charles Band 3-D science fiction film, also called Metalstorm, starring Jeffrey Byron as ranger Dogen on desert planet Lemuria, released by Universal on 19 August 1983.
Morons from Outer Space
Morons from Outer Space is a 1985 British sci-fi comedy directed by Mike Hodges, written by and starring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, about dim aliens from planet Blob who crash-land in England and become celebrities; a box-office flop also once titled Illegal Aliens.
My Science Project
My Science Project is a 1985 American teen science fiction comedy film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel, about an alien device that opens a time warp.
Night of the Comet
Night of the Comet (1984), also titled Teenage Comet Zombies, is Thom Eberhardt's sci-fi comedy horror about Valley Girl sisters surviving a comet apocalypse in Los Angeles; Atlantic Releasing's first nationwide release, it grossed $3.5 million opening weekend.
One Magic Christmas
One Magic Christmas: 1985 Disney-distributed Christmas fantasy-drama directed by Phillip Borsos, starring Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton as angel Gideon; filmed in Ontario, released November 22, 1985, grossed $12.4 million.
Outland (film)
Outland (1981) is a Peter Hyams science-fiction thriller starring Sean Connery as a marshal on Jupiter's moon Io, a futuristic remake of High Noon; The Ladd Company's first film, released by Warner Bros. May 22, 1981, grossing about $17-20 million domestically.
Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams is Albert Pyun's post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy, also dated 1984–85, starring John Stockwell and Michael Dudikoff as shelter-raised noir-detective wannabes hunting two keys to the last nuclear missile; a $210,212-grossing 1986 release with no proper home-video edition.
Red Sonja (1985 film)
Red Sonja (1985) is a sword and sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Brigitte Nielsen, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Kalidor, and Sandahl Bergman as Queen Gedren; a critical flop, later a cult classic, remade in 2025.
Repo Man (film)
Repo Man (1984) is Alex Cox's cult sci-fi punk comedy, also known as a dark comedy about car repossession, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez hunting a radioactive 1964 Chevy Malibu in Los Angeles.
Scanners
Scanners is David Cronenberg's 1981 Canadian sci-fi horror film about 237 telepathic scanners, in which agent Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) battles renegade Michael Ironside; famous for Dick Smith's exploding-head effect.
Sexmission
Sexmission (Seksmisja) is a 1983 Polish sci-fi comedy by Juliusz Machulski, premiered 14 May 1984, about two men waking in 2044 in an underground world of women; a cult satire of totalitarianism.
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone is a 1983 American science fiction adventure comedy directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, and Michael Ironside, shot in 3-D.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Nicholas Meyer, in which Admiral Kirk faces Khan Noonien Singh.
Starman (film)
Starman (1984) is John Carpenter's sci-fi romance starring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen: an alien answers Voyager 2's invitation, is shot down over Wisconsin, clones a widow's dead husband, and races to Arizona. Columbia Pictures; Bridges earned an Oscar nomination.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a 1984 W.D. Richter sci-fi comedy starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, and Jeff Goldblum; a box office flop that became a cult classic.
The Black Cauldron (film)
The Black Cauldron (1985) is Disney's animated dark fantasy based on Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. First Disney animated PG film and first with computer animation; a $25 million box-office failure released July 24, 1985.
The Brother from Another Planet
The Brother from Another Planet is John Sayles's 1984 low-budget sci-fi comedy starring Joe Morton as a mute alien escaped slave adapting to Harlem while pursued by two bounty hunters; an allegory of race and immigration.
The Dark Crystal
The Dark Crystal is Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 puppet fantasy film (93 min, Universal), written by David Odell with design by Brian Froud, about Gelfling Jen restoring a broken crystal against the Skeksis; it had no human actors and grossed $41.6 million.
The Dead Zone (film)
The Dead Zone is a 1983 American psychological thriller directed by David Cronenberg from Stephen King's 1979 novel, with Christopher Walken as a schoolteacher who sees the future through touch.
The Devil and Max Devlin
The Devil and Max Devlin is a 1981 Walt Disney live-action comedy-fantasy, also known by the working title Miracle Max, directed by Steven Hilliard Stern, starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby as a devil's agent, about a dead landlord who must corrupt three souls.
The Ice Pirates
The Ice Pirates is a 1984 American comic science fiction film directed by Stewart Raffill, about space pirates stealing ice in a galaxy where water is scarce.
The Last Unicorn (film)
The Last Unicorn (1982) is a Rankin/Bass animated musical fantasy directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., scripted by Peter S. Beagle from his 1968 novel, with Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, and Christopher Lee; released November 19, 1982.
The Philadelphia Experiment (film)
The Philadelphia Experiment (film): 1984 American sci-fi movie directed by Stewart Raffill, starring Michael Paré and Nancy Allen, based on the Moore and Berlitz book about the USS Eldridge legend; two sailors thrown from 1943 to 1984, followed by a 1993 sequel and 2012 remake.
The Purple Rose of Cairo
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) is Woody Allen's comedy-drama in which Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) falls for Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), a movie character who steps off the screen. BAFTA Best Film, Golden Globe screenplay, Cannes FIPRESCI.
The Quiet Earth (film)
The Quiet Earth (1985) is a New Zealand science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy, based on Craig Harrison's 1981 novel, starring Bruno Lawrence as scientist Zac Hobson, last survivor of the Operation Flashlight disaster.