There’s a movie coming out tomorrow, it’s about a human brain in a robot body that goes around shooting stuff. Then she finds out that she’s not who she thinks she is! OH! This is all in the trailer BTW. So anyway, I don’t want you to see it. I don’t like rooting against movies because I know many people work very, very hard making these movies even if they end up being mediocre crap. However as a fan of this particular genre of sci-fi I have some alternatives for you! I’ll even tell you where to find them!
ROBOCOP (1987) – a no-brainer, really. A cop is killed in a chaotic gang-infested future Detroit and seeing as the enormous Omni Consumer Products now owns the police force they also now own his body. So they take Alex Murphy and turn him into the ultimate law enforcement unit, Robocop. He must do his job in taking down the gang that has taken over large parts of the city while rubbing up against his corporate masters who might be working with that very gang. It’s more or less the plot of the Ghost in the Shell remake only it is made by subversive action-meister Paul Verehoven. It’s incredibly violent, darkly funny and amazingly well-made with a Robocop suit that still looks amazing. Rent it wherever you prefer to rent stuff.
TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008) – Want some grimy, gory action to go along with that cybernetic lady carnage? Well have I got the movie for you! Tokyo Gore Police was directed by a make-up and special effects master Yoshihiro Nishimura who brings the blood, cyborg monstrosities and a kickass lady who can mechanically mutate herself Tetsuo-style to battle these monsters. Nishimura has made a number of movies with human/machine hybrid horror action movies but this is probably the easiest to get into. It’s on Shudder and available to rent and buy digitally and physically.
THE MACHINE (2013) – Caradog James took a meagre budget and created this superb futuristic dystopia which plays like a cross between The Terminator and Frankenstein. Vincent McCarthy is a brilliant scientist who creates cybernetics for the British government. He is working on his biggest project ever that Britain needs in its the new Cold War against China, an artificial intelligence in control of a humanoid android that can be used in advanced warfare. When the missing piece of his puzzle is found by a Ava (Caity Lotz) who has developed an incredibly sophisticated AI, things finally start falling into place. However Ava is killed by a Chinese assassin and so Vincent must carry on his work, using Ava’s likeness to create The Machine. Vincent must guide this childlike AI as it matures while knowing full well that her weaponized body is highly sought-after by his employers. Caity Lotz does an amazing job in this film with the portrayal of the android with both the character stuff and bringing the physicality required for the role. You can buy this in the form of a disc that you can put in a game console and watch, probably.
NEMESIS (1992) – One of the best films from b-movie legend Albert Pyun, a spiritual successor to his breakthrough film CYBORG. Nemesis follows cybernetically augmented former cop Alex as he is sent on one last mission to find his former lover Jared. She possesses information that it is believed she will sell to a militia of rebel cyborgs who wish to wage war against the remaining humans who treat their cybernetic cousins as an underclass. Featuring action sequences that have moments that other movies are still stealing to this day, Nemesis has a dusty Mad Max meets the Wild West aesthetic. Featuring a fantastic performance from character actor veteran Tim Thomerson as Alex’s malevolent boss it has notes of The Terminator in there to boot. You can watch it RIGHT HERE ON YOUTUBE!
BLADE RUNNER (1982) – have you heard of this one? If you’re contemplating going to see Ghost in the Shell and you’ve not seen one of the most important pieces of Cyberpunk fiction ever then goddammit, go watch it ya mook! Rent it!
EX MACHINA (2014) – I’m not a big fan of this one but lots of people are, Domhnall Gleeson is a brilliant software engineer who is brought to his mysterious boss’ secret compound to work on a special project. That project being that he must test the AI of a potentially duplicitous android woman while he is constantly being screwed with by the very eccentric Oscar Isaac as his boss. You can rent this all over the place or stream it on Amazon Prime
FULL METAL YAKUZA (1997) – this early work from the great Takashi Miike carries a definite trigger warning for sexualized violence. This is a very quirky and darkly humorous take on a revenge thriller. An incompetent hood is shot and killed alongside his powerful Yakuza boss for whom he has incredible respect. He wakes up to find himself resurrected by a crazy scientist who has used a combination of both men’s bodies and robotic parts to make him a cybernetic vessel for revenge. Buy a hard copy today!
GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995) – One of the greatest pieces of animation of all time and one of the best post-Star Wars piece of contemplative sci-fi ever created. It is every bit as potent, violent and relevant today as it was over 25 years ago if not moreso. Fucking watch it already!
**Reading Recommendation** William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy is tremendous science fiction writing. William Gibson is a master of the form and is incredibly prescient, including coining the term “cyberspace” while writing Neuromancer on his manual typewriter in 1983. Absolute required reading if you have even a passing interest in cyberpunk.
What else have you got? Let us know on the Facebook page or on my Twitter?
The post GHOST IN THE SHELL – Watch These Instead appeared first on .