lo fi science fiction movies ($50,000 to $500,000 budget)

list and reviews of modern lo fi science fiction movies made with a low budgets of $50,000 to $500,000

if you love these low sci fi productions there is also a list of impossibly good lo fi films made for budgets of fifty thousand dollars or lower – one of the most surprising/intriguing modern greats was primer made for only $7000 with every single second of the filmed footage used

low budget and lo fi sci fi movie reviews

film title links in the reviews themselves go to that film available on an instant video streaming site

monsters (invading aliens)
reminiscence: the beginning (horror sci fi)
another earth (parallel universe)
timer (thriller)
exam (thriller)
ink (fantasy sci fi)
the one i love (parallel universe)
sound of my voice (thriller)
love (space)
cube (horror)
driller (slasher, invasion of the body snatchers)
angry video game nerd (comedy)
lfo (sound frequencies, situations comedy)
pandorica (post apocalyptic)
descendents (zombie)
the penitent man (time travel)
antidote (post apocalyptic virus zombies)
$50,000 or much lower budget list 20+ movies
list of no official budget but small budget looking movies

monsters

monsters ($500,000 made in 2010) – very big alien monsters – destruction – foreign sweaty forest tension/action – what more do you want apart from big fuckoff robots?

this aliens science fiction plot was made with very low production budget but most of it appears to be spent on the actual special effects – so the monsters and things actually look like a proper cgi image and not a man in a rubber costume. a good improv mumblecore movie

reminiscence

reminiscence: the beginning movie (2014) – baby, this is an horrific $500,000 story, baby, reminiscence is proper lo fi horror that is sometimes sickly twisted, baby. you need to be altered in some chemically form when watching this

turkish production but spoken in english. baby, give it 20/30 minutes through the art house plot building – then it starts to become a horror movie. if you dont like horror flicks then dont watch this, baby. this film shows that getting the perfect soundtrack really does enhance the experience.

reminiscence will either be boring or awesome – especially if unexpected and you think it is just another small budget foreign movie. what the fuck was that, baby!

another earth

another earth ($100,000 made in 2011) – good acting – a film that shows music can make a low sci film – its one of those waiting for the car crash films. more of a lo fi si fi movie about a science fiction idea and about the story than full of any lo fi technical gadgets and stuff. dont try to worry about some of the loopholes in the story – just enjoy and ponder some of the ideas that are mumblecored in the background.

timer

timer (no budget info made in 2009) – has good reviews and most people surprised how good the movie is. the basic idea is a clock that counts down until the moment you meet the love of your life. how/what do they do to this interesting idea to make this a want to watch film?

ink

ink ($250,000 made in 2009). more of modernised sword and sorcery tale and not really a techno science fiction film – awesome lo fi sci fi creepy looking baddies. lots of low budget fighting/action.

exam

exam (unknown low budget made in 2009) – deadly thriller on the circle and cube time ticking away story arc. science fiction bit is the alternative history of earth to set up the idea.

the one i love

the one i love ($100,000 made in 2014) – low sci thriller with a familiar science fiction theme that works perfectly for very low budget projects like primer and coherence – multiple copies of people and time lines.

sound of my voice

sound of my voice ($135,000 made in 2011) is it a sci fi film or about a classic science fiction theme of a women who says she is from a future earth? or is it a detective thriller about a sci fi story? stars brit marling who is the leading lady in the low budget another earth

love

love ($500,000 made in 2011) – a space based low budget movie so its all about the story line and what it means to be human. or, can you with tiny amount of financial backing make a hi fi special effects film? the love movie has to be one of the most beautiful looking lowest budget videos ever. space based stock footage must help.

its a great story but the immersion of the experience seems to be ruined by the recordings of normal people that during it seem to be to explain what the movie is about as its not that clear – though at the end it shows why they were included but that still seems to reduce how good it could have been. and they needed to show/tell the time scale more.

if you can handle quieter space movies that are not space operas then this will do very nicely

cube

cube ($375,000 made in 1997) – superb terrifying idea. a cult classic. near the top of the absolute must watch this list of very low budget sci fi movies. if you are not into gore/death then this might not be for you. sneaks into the list as although now old its a one set masterpiece.

driller

driller movie (2006) is proper low budget slasher horror film that is mixture of invasion of the bodies snatchers, 70s classic horror the driller killer and the evil dead, mixed with fantastic fun of zombeavers. there is no official cost for production but it is estimated to be $300,000?

the very brief space/alien science fiction start then becomes a basically slasher gore movie with a bit of sci fi story. the rock band dudes keep you interested and amused for first 30 minutes then its your love of real true low fidelity special effects that keep you going to the end.

this will be either pure indie filming enjoyment or exasperation. some surprisingly good lo fi and effects moments

lfo

lfo movie – hej – a swedish language low budget production of estimated $500,000. an electromagnetic frequency version of upstream color? chap discovers combination of sound frequencies that help him to control people

why would every male human with this power do such predictable things? it sets up the surprise decent ending but could they have not got there a more alternative route? could have been so much originally more?

good looking/sounding film which is important with the subtitles. some funny situation comedy

angry video game nerd

angry video game nerd movie (2014) does exactly what it says on the game cartridge if you know anything about the history of the avgn and the et game. slapstick caper involving et the extra terrestrial video game by amiga. the film was produced with a $325,000 budget and has some deliberate old school exploding model effects to add to the comedy

if you want a bit of fun with humour then this may suit you, if you want a serious low budget science fiction movie then avoid like the et game itself. if you want to know what the fuck the game was actually about you played all those years ago then you can find out

pandorica

pandorica movie (2016) looks and acts like a high budget movie for a budget of only $75,000 – simple but effective makeup and post apocalyptic costumes/setting help. is the story enough though? for a big budget film you might say no but for a low budget and no special effects it just gets over the line. some will love the whole feel/look but others might wish for a bit more originality.

descendents

descendents movie (2012) a low budget zombie movie directed by jorge olguin for $60,000 – for that sort of budget you get a micro zombies movie. if you are into zombie stuff you might enjoy this film and it has what may be a surprise interesting ending although forget any thinking about logic for the end and throughout the story

for those more into science fiction and big budget action zombies you are unlikely to enjoy it – even though its short it might not be worth waiting for the ending to see what happens. also involved lots of children actors so not the best acting – most of the story told by voice over which can stop the realism or in the moment of a movie

the penitent man

the penitent man movie (2010) is one of those time travelling 12 monkeys, le jetee type films. its a great looking and very well acted story for a budget of around $500,000 but unless you are a retard there are no surprises – unless i have been sat at the table for 20 minutes and still dont know who the retard is?

antidote

antidote movie (2013) is a post apocolyptic virus zombie bleak winter plot with anguish/tormenting souls of the few people in it

if you like that sort of stuff and have not seen enough of them then this might be what you want. a couple of twists in this very popular low production genre.

if you have had enough of this type of movie making then antidote is a complete waste of time. apart from a vehicle to showcase the actors/producers not sure what this adds to the world of cinema?

lower budget movies?

if you like these films there is also a list of some surprisingly good ones made for near no budgets of $50,000 or lower. one of the most surprising/intriguing modern plot is primer made for only $7000 with every single second of filmed footage used

another movie listing has no official budgets but small budget looking productions