Our Favorites in Low-Fi Sci-Fi

This weekend marks the release of Sundance darling Another Earth, which incorporates a tantalizing sci-fi premise – what if a planet identical to our own suddenly appeared? – as the backdrop for an otherwise mawkish melodrama. Nonetheless, we felt tempted to revisit some of our favorite low-key takes on a genre better known for its big-budget tendencies.

Primer

Shane Carruth’s knotty 2004 debut is the definition of going high-concept on a low budget. Made for roughly $7000, his twisty thriller takes a welcome matter-of-fact approach to do-it-yourself time-travel before our two budding engineers (Carruth and David Sullivan) begin to lap themselves in their pursuit of an ideal existence, and the film itself is a triumph of ingenuity over spectacle. Also recommended: 2008’s equally clever and more playful Timecrimes, bound to be remade by Hollywood any day now.

Last Night (1998)

The world is going to end tonight, and nobody’s freaking out. They’ve known for some time – even if we as an audience are never told exactly why the end is nearing – and a handful of Torontoans are trying to go out on the perfect note. Writer-director-star Don McKellar starts with apocalyptic stakes but, instead of bombast and hysteria, opts for something more dryly funny and ultimately poignant with the help of a few familiar faces (Sarah Polley! Sandra Oh! David Cronenberg?). Also recommended: 2006’s grittier Children of Men, which posits a childless future and explores the sociological ramifications of that dilemma in between a couple of technically staggering action sequences.

Never Let Me Go

Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel wondered how a trio of young Brits might cope when forced to confront the ultimate purpose of their lives. [I don’t think the nature of what comes next is a SPOILER, given how early it's revealed as the main thrust of the story. All the same, only highlight the text below if you want to know.] Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield realize that they’re clones, raised and fated to serve as organ donors for their real-world counterparts until they’re no longer of any use. What follows is a quiet tragedy of existential anguish and futile romance that only barely hints at its own genre trappings. In any other version of this movie, our characters would run; in this version, they simply don’t know where to go. Also recommended: 2009’s Moon, while a bit more obviously indebted to sci-fi classics, tackles similar moral dilemmas and boasts one curiously multi-faceted performance by leading man Sam Rockwell.

Vanilla Sky

Cameron Crowe’s 2001 reunion with Jerry Maguire star Tom Cruise is, for the most part, a psychological thriller about a wealthy playboy (Cruise) who is only beginning to realize what he values in life when he starts losing his grip on reality. The ending, though, is a far-out flourish that fits our list here and also adds an extra layer of melancholy to the previously puzzling proceedings. I’d also recommend the often-preferred original film, 1997’s Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos), but alas, I’ve not actually seen it for myself and cannot yet give it its due.