modern very low budget sci fi movies – list and reviews

this list of very low budget sci fi movies – with mostly lo fi special effects – can produce some breath/mind taking moments – all produced for $50,000 or less

they have to create a good story to hook you in and use surprisingly simple but occasionally stunning visuals. one of the best recent science fiction movie plots was primer made for only $7000!

low, no or zero budget does not mean no good film making – these two 4 minute shorts show what low fi is all about

different lists of reviews for low fi sci fi films with budgets up to $500,000 and those with no known finance cost but look decent independent productions

low budget sci fi movie list

all of these reviews have links in them for instant video streaming

• primer (time travel)
• frequencies (humans)
• active shooters (comedy splatter gore)
• coherence (alternative realities)
• pi (not modern but dark psychotic classic)
• white creek (dark thriller)
• love and teleportation (gentle comedy)
• upstream color (dark thriller)
• circle (action thriller)
• the removals (alternative history)
• science team (splatter comedy)
• the perfect 46 (future human society)
• hide and creep (zombie comedy)
• other world (aliens gore/more) for true low budget should this be top 1 or 2?
• earthrise (space action, comedy)
• your friends close (social experiment mumble core)
• planet of the vampire women (comedy splatter gore)
• skyquake (horror/thriller)
• space trucker bruce (space comedy)
• paradox alice (space thriller)
• shadows on the wall (thriller)
• window licker (anarchy comedy)
• z.a.n. (anarchic horror)
• out of the fog (thriller)
• one shot (sniper elite) (war movie)
• a promise of time travel
• magnetic (time travel)
• cheery point (thriller)
• chronological order (time travel)
• catalina: a new kind of superhero (super powers, comedy)
• gilgamesh (action thriller)
• prototype (religious philosophy, technology)
• trakked (thriller)
• the visitor from planet omicron (comedy)
• romeo and juliet (reboot)
• mindscans (thriller)
• random quest (alternative universes)
• la jetée (1960’s time travel free short film)

low budget science fiction film reviews

primer

primer ($7,000 made in 2004) – the lowest budget but highest story and plot line ratio of science fiction films ever made? the best mumblecore sci fi movie?

half way through this pure science fiction story – virtually no special effects and a near zero budget movie of only $7,000 – you will suddenly find out what all the fuss has been about – keep your eyes/ears/mind open while watching it

frequencies

frequencies (2013) also known as oxv: the manual – no info on how low the production budget was. beautifully made using the simple sets and outdoor locations. delivers a really interesting discussion film

active shooters

active shooters movie (2015) is a potentially hilarious lads or sadistic comedy shoot em up sci fi – its look is different to most other films – with an almost comic book world

if you dont find the first 10 minutes funny – with a laugh seemingly every few lines – then you wont enjoy the rest of the sickish movie. its got guns/lasers/gore/death and prostitute robots – what more do you want!

active shooters was originally known as killing rob teare – has director/writer mike reeping produced a cult classic? a mixture of die hard and tongan ninja humour

coherence

coherence ($50,000 made in 2013) – give it time as stuff is happening – then kindly watch it again with a friend to double up on your enjoyment of this great mumblecore movie

white creek

white creek movie (2014) goes quietly about being bloody awesome for a kickstarter budget of $9000. keep it a mystery and just watch it, dont read the blurb

produced in a great looking midwest/amish looking world where the broody soundtrack of lonely slide guitars and autumn/winter landscapes fit in to the story/pace perfectly. its a surprising mixture of stories/themes with some intellectual stuff being discussed/happening – would you commit quantum suicide?

its one of those not fast paced films with stuff revealed but with pop up moments of deadly gore – immense/boring depending on your tastes

pi

pi ($68,000 made in 1998) – sneaks into the lo fi sci fi film list as its tremendous/crazy/madness/mathematics – bugs of all sorts. released in 1998 but seems to reflect a time 10 years before that at least?

if you love low fidelity sci fi mystery then this is for you. if you want a descent into madness story – like an ultra quick zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance – then pi is the answer. filmed in black/white. awesome.

love and teleportation

love and teleportation movie (2013) is nice, very nice. as long as you are not looking for constant action but a no fi sci fi movie that is mostly warm/happy/wonderful but with moments of love/anguish then this will be a delight to watch. you will love watching this movie as much as the actors seemed to love making it and working with each other.

its an absolute joy to watch, as long as you want to watch an enjoyable movie and not something like the angst/anger/action of low budget films like pi/circle/prototype

the production budget for the love and teleportation movie was a total of around £30,000 with $25,000 raised on kickstarter. which shows what you can do when a producer/director – troy mcgatlin – has time to plan the virtually no budget filmmaking process and a cast/crew who are devoted to the whole love and teleportation movie project and not just the money. and what you can do with a couple of shower cubicles and some lights

the acting is top notch and the only hammy acting is in the couple of not very big action scenes when one of the bad guys – the thug – who has a great muffin afro haircut – badly acts/hams his couple of moments. and that is about all you can say is bad about this romantic science fiction movie

circle

circle (2015) – guaranteed non stop action/death/mumblecoredialogue – will you work out some of the issues and tactics that the people are faced with or use to try survive as the clock keeps on ticking down the time/numbers/yourturn? very cheap budget movie with simple but very effective set. interesting science fiction psychological thriller idea and what will or has to happen in the end?

upstream color

upstream color ($50,000 made in 2013) – how much bang for your $50000 bucks can you get? lots of story and difference scenes for such an ultra low budget film. you will find this amazing, intriguing or very confusing and a bit long. once you start you will have to watch it all the way to see what it all actually – or most of it – means and how it happened

one of the issues for the upstream color movie is that it has such a powerful intriguing start with lots of plot action that the rest of the film seems to very slowly reveal it and never gets back to that level of action

a movie about a science fiction idea and not a space opera or action special effects. if you want something challenging with lots of imagery then this is for you. and if you dont want to grow a piglet after this, or at least have the munchies for pork scratchings or crackling then you are not human

the removals

the removals (2016) lo fi science fiction movie of an idea. produced with a lowish budget of $25000 but good acting/sets by producer/writer nicholas rombes. really interesting concept and perfectly long/short at 1 hour length. its not a sci fi tech/space film but based on slightly future times on planet earth or could it have happened or already be happening? and what did you actually see when watching it?

science team

science team movie (2014) established in 1966 is very good low budget comedy sci fi movie making for a lowish production of $15000 by drew bolduc. get through the first 15 minutes with its not that funny old school slapstick humour and at least give it a go until after the hilarious cops and the science team make their comedy appearances. super science fiction comedy/acting with low budget splatter gore

magnetic

magnetic movie (2015) is a great example of near no budget filmaking as it cost only $15,000 to produce yet due to good choices of locations/rooms/sets and camera angles each setting has a great look/atmosphere. this film has a sci fi groundhog day or frank herbert’s the jesus incident type story – which helped keep the budget down to a near no budget film.

the magnetic movie soundtrack is great and unique as most of the songs are by night kisses – free download of dark2light song on last.fm but not the best tune! – which has band members who directed/acted/produced the film

one of the main issues for someone watching the movie may be the acting for the main character alice by allix mortis – whose surname seems to be a to good for fate to be true. the leading ladies dead face/voice/emotions/moving acting is explained by the line ‘who needs pills to not feel anything’

magnetic is a very lo fi science fiction film but any very low budget movie that has tesla coils/cages is not just a home movie

is magnetic a good/great/ok/rubbish movie? a magnetic movie review will depend on who is watching it and what they want from it. it slowly reveals an enjoyable little science fiction idea and is certainly a bit of a psychedelic movie

the perfect 46

the perfect 46 movie (2014) is a very good all round low budget film based on a sci fi idea but no science fiction action/tech/guns – the idea is that in the very near future how would knowing your dna/genome effect your decisions. the films story is much more advanced than that.

the perfect 46 movie is beautifully acted/produced/filmscore. its one of those quiet thoughtful movies all about how the plot/characters develop and what will happen to it/them in the end

hide and creep

hide and creep movie (2004) is a very good/fun low budget comedy zombie film that creeps into the science fiction list as its that good. its a must watch if you want to laugh

earthrise

earthrise movie (2014) is a space based very lo fi production. most might think its a bit shit – depending on your mood or you love these non blockbusters where everyone gives it their all – you might find it an enjoyable experience of exactly what was expected/needed. like a dodgy but o so tasty burger

the 3 main actors acting varies during the movie so give it time – acting worst at start. perhaps a good psychological thriller that uses the flashbacks/forwards technique to keep you watching to find out what was happening

only a few sets built. apart from stock space film footage the computer created external space shots are on a par with early red dwarf – now an old british comedy series – and old doctor who monsters or blakes 7 sets. its a good sign when the low fidelity cgi shots of the spaceship come as a surprise

by the time you get to the ending you wont have any time to ignore a couple of large plot holes or why didnt they do that?

good effort.

your friends close

your friends close movie (2013) might be an interesting idea on technology and social experiments. the film is all about the idea/discussion/character making

you might quickly guess what will happen – which may reduce the enjoyment slightly

if you dont want action/techy/timetravel but its got to be independent budget – there is a chance you enjoy this budget/morality/philosophy mumble. otherwise its the nightmare of low bollox nerdy californian discussion

cheery point

cheery point movie (2013) also known as new world order or new world order x or novacrene or new world orderx – is a micro budget full length film for only $10,000 with $1,635 from kickstarter. they get a lot of movie bang for their movie buck. perhaps the most different scenes/locations for nearly no budget filmmaking (link to making of cheery point)

the story is about an american alternative history where the population of cheery point are emotionally flat due to the mass prescribed drug torpase – with springers trying to free the people as you need pain in your life to be alive. this means a lot of the unpaid actors have to not act and seem wooden – with some scenes where they do have to act they are sometimes still wooden

this low budget science fiction movie is completely low fi as its all about human emotions – which might be the main issue when your actors are mostly amateurs with little/no acting experience. also its a massive production for a budget of only $10,000 and this is sometimes represented in the film. but what an amazing movie production for that sort of budget

to show how much you can get from a micro budget production there is even a cheery point movie soundtrack you can buy

shadows on the wall

shadows on the wall movie (2015) is a good/bad very small budget sci fi film based on science very fiction. the idea/tech that creates the shadows on the walls is intriguing but the film does not quite deliver on its promise. or with its ultra low budget it may have over delivered in certain parts, making the others seem less?

dont even start to think about the tech/plot ideas. some of the actors are good/terrible. its a fun movieespecially if you like your tech/ideas in nearly no budget sci fi movies. it shows how relatively good independent film making can be

chronological order

chronological order movie (2010) is a real no budget and zero effects time travel storyboard – if you have seen primer/coherence you have seen the mechanics before of clothing/oddities

it is crafted well enough but if not a new thing to you then might be a bit boring. some decent twists and interesting ideas at the end as it takes a difference approach to time travel canon and all the paradox destroying the universe stuff

what would you change about you? would you want you to change your future/past?

gilgamesh

gilgamesh movie (2014) is what you imagine a near no budget movie will be like or what those who dont want to risk a potentially dodgy film think no budget productions/acting and not special effects are all like. for a cost of $20,000 its a very good effect visual effort with not trying to be what it is not

opening title sequence and the opening scenes start off good but about as good as it gets. the lead actor just cant act and that hampers most scenes but some decent acting from others. the use of a proper fetish club/members – including gilgamesh bondage costume borrowed from one of them? – helps give it some more raunchy scenes including low budget porn

gilgamesh movie might just be one for those who love the ultra low budget sci fi film genre. perhaps a story that would really suit a much bigger production as there are some interesting ideas in it. some will love the themes and what they have done – others will think it does not quite deliver on its promise

prototype

prototype (2009) – the lowest science fiction effects ever in a very low budget sci fi film? but who needs to see it when it can be implied or your brain fills in the gaps. full of religion discussions and anger which might put some people off. but if you love very low budget films, lo fi technology and acting then this is for you

planet of the vampire women

planet of the vampire women movie (2011) – welcome to director/writer darin wood and lord baldwins opium den. planet of the vampire women is one of the ultimate drinking games movies to watch with a bunch of drunken mates. its full of tits and arse shots – womens shirts being ripped off – titty love bites – lots of vampires/death.

this sci fi soft porn horror sci fi movie completely uses its low budget production values/looks of $25000 in a fantastic way. lo fi special effects are wonderful – what can beat a jet powered vespa scooter?

the story has enough changes of cheaply made scenes to keep you interested when things start to drag a bit on the planet. awesome fun

skyquake

skyquake movie (2015) give it a go and fight through the first 16 uncomfortable minutes and the setting of the unsettling character/plot – then its low budget horror/thriller at its best/worse depending on what you can handle. you must watch skyquake at volume/night/alone

its a sort of sci fi thriller that may be a horror. the main character leads a compulsive lifestyle – his human behaviour is disturbing – especially if you have friends/family/you could be like it. its a bit repetitive but thats his daily actions and helps with the story. some of the acting is slightly amateurish but some of the total mind fuck scenes are horrific – well acted

there is no known budget for the movie but sandy robson the writer/producer/director has suggested it was micro budget, shot in 10 days using local actors/technicians. this production does show how much difference to your perception of the quality/budget depends on a very high quality camera and some good lighting – looks much higher budget

the ending/explanation/point of the movie? 1 in a million chance you will guess the ending – dont bother to try to work it out – just sit back 4 times and enjoy. the end reveal might at first be a total get out of jail for free card but perhaps it now makes some parts of the story even better while taking away from others?

space trucker bruce

space trucker bruce movie made for $10,000 budget over years using sets built in anton doirons house. its a really funny and quite hilarious at times sci fi comedy set in space. it is really low tech sets although cgi space scenes are good effort

there are things you can criticise the film for – they may annoy you and be a turn of for some watchers – but with the financing and non professional crew this is a good indie film/laugh with the evil mr sour cream (daisy) being awesome

if you love the tiny budget + comedy + space based sci fi then this is unmissable

paradox alice

well, fuck me. paradox alice made in 2013 is a space science fiction movie with a few unexpected twists. it is lower budget but good acting, imagery and story. it has one of the most painful human physical transformation scenes up there with the old american werewolf in london and the fly.

if you have got into the characters then there is the section near the end that might make you uncomfortable with its implications. the film does slowdown here and critics will slate it for not being realistic but it is meant to be entertainment based around a rather interesting and unusual idea, so reality does not always have to apply. then the ending speeds up and paradox alice 2 has to be in the pipeline?

catalina: a new kind of superhero

catalina: a new kind of superhero movie (2009) is an micro/no budget production of only £1700 yet director/writer kenneth d barker packs in a relatively large amount of characters/sets/story. decent number of sci fi ideas for just one film. decent acting/humour for its budget makes this an enjoyable jaunt – especially if you are a fan of micro budget movie making

if only there had been more use/display of the new breed of super hero transvestites powers but then would it have been possible on one of the lowest budget science fiction super hero movies ever?

window licker

window licker movie (2014) is a brutal no budget movie that would not surprise you if it was the first ever micro budget movie made by sacha baron cohen. the window licker film is a complete bad taste, movie 43 take on how a troubled man views his drug/depression/hopeless experience of life/friends.

you will either hate/love it. features lots of a bloke wanking/puking. has some absolutely hilarious moments that just appear without warning. directed/written/acted by brian mcguire who pulls no punches but still produces a rough entertaining movie – if you can handle the story matter/madness

window licker has easily the greatest video game ever – mind dot or as it should be known the insane train game – the 15 second game play video below does not show the best bit of the brain train game

z.a.n.

z.a.n. movie made in 2016 is seriously fucked up anarchic stuff with paranoia, splatter horror gore, psychic powers and who knows what the fuck else in it. get fucked up then watch it as its either fucking awesome for a zero budget film or totally shit.

if you enjoyed the awkwardness/pain of pi or window licker then this could be your freaky bad acid trip with some shocking low fi special effects

out of the fog

out of the fog movie (2009) is when you really need other out of the fog movie reviews/discussions and there are none at the moment. this is a decent psychological thriller with quite a bit of mystery/weirdness happening and what on this low budget film loving earth is the mention of china at the end?

its an ultra low budget sort of twin peaks – obviously not as good as that – with a few wtf rewind bits?

its a decent movie that you want to find out what is happening and what is weird/real. some will not find it interesting enough to have gone the distance all the way to china

sniper elite (one shot)

one shot movie (2014) also known as sniper elite is supposedly a science fiction film but has been cleverly produced so it is in reality an action war movie – if you like shoot em ups and beat em ups then this is quality small budget entertainment with some decent fight scenes.

the 2 movies have different titles and taglines which have nothing to do with the plot line but sound good advertising? one shot tagline is ‘he is humanity’s last chance’ and sniper elite is ‘one bullet to save the world’ – both are complete lies. the blurb also goes over the top suggesting the main actor is fighting an army of evil Cerulean aliens

ignore the desperate promotion and the story which is not really that important – if you are along for the love of the low budget action film making ride then this is a decent attempt

trakked

trakked movie (2015) is amateur acting and indie movie making at its worst which is a real shame as their is a decent story in there – which you only find out at the end with some good twists – but you have to endure the appalling acting to get there

it may end up being one of those worst movies ever that you challenge your mates to see who can sit through it and those who do reach the finish line will be rewarded with their own little independent movie endurance medal and find out what happened – but what cost is worth it?

the visitor from planet omicron

the visitor from planet omicron movie (2013) is a comedy sci fi – depending on your humour it will be hilarious/humorous/not. there are some funny scenes and the tickers on the news reports are good but it seems to be 90s sitcom humour.

a large problem is the leading lady is not a natural english speaker which makes her acting look stilted/amateur. you may love this comedy science fiction film or think its the visitor from planet omicrap. you will certainly want to like it for its good production/ideas

romeo and juliet

romeo and juliet movie (2014) also known as george antons romeo and juliet. this modern version is based on the plot of nanotechnology and virtual reality. make sure you actually know the william shakespeare story in some detail before entering this computer geek reworking otherwise it will be a low budget acting waste of time – if all you know is that its by some old english cunt you had to study at school and leonardo dicaprio did some sort of modern version similar to george antons version then you will be in trouble

remember this is a super low budget film production of only $16000 – so there is no actual nanotech/vr special effects – just that story with some actors wearing old circuit board necklaces and other computer nerd paraphernalia – might actually catch on – some poor chap whose first staring role has him wondering round with a bit of hardware on his head

random quest

random quest (2006) – a virtually no special effects film investigating parallel universes. the main idea is either new and intriguing to you or not really that new as it has sort of been done before

mindscans

mindscans movie (2013) shows how to create a real no budget film with only $1500 using a science fiction idea with virtually no special effects – no fi sci fi – and amateur actors. the problems are the story/acting

the story is just a vague twist on a now very familiar sci fi theme to most people who have read/watched science fiction – though it does have some development of the common ideas but not worth the drudgery of having to go through the rest

the amateur acting is appalling – the movie highlight might be that one of the female actors – gisella kaplan might be that female computer voice that has been popular for years and used on some songs

infest your self with the lowest fi sci fi?

and for a whole series of 15 minutes shorts that make up a movie watch infest wisely – production cost $700 and made in 2007

A new, chewable nanotechnology lets people take pictures with their eyes and cures cancer. But the early adopters find out it’s hard to uninstall something after it’s spread through their bloodstream …

get through the first worst one and then some episodes are much better than others and the acting is as varied as amateur acting can be but it might be really interesting for those who can handle or love the ultra low lo lowest fi home made sci fi movies. there is a 2 minute infest wisely trailer.

la jetée

la jetée (1962) – a very short movie of under 30 minutes made with still images – a photo novel shot in black and white. this also sneaks into this lo fi sci fi movie list as its no fi sci fi movie – no tech/specialeffects/budget. rated as an influential classic as 12 monkeys was inspired by the jetty

simple voice over to explain the story/images. starts suddenly – goes all dark french art house because it is – ends suddenly

you can watch the la jetée movie for free below. it might have the start and end credits missing as it seems to be shorter than if you had to pay for the film

lists of more film reviews

more lists of non hollywood blockbuster budgets movie reviews – $50,000 to $500,000 budget movies list and low budget looking science fiction films but have no official production costs

free lo fi sci fi shorts

very short movies to show you what the very lowest or no special effects science fiction films can do. it is all about the story and what they can make you believe you are seeing

For more of these ultra shorts sci fi films visit this site

lowest/lower/low/lo fi sci fi budget movies

once you have watched a few of the best scifi mumblecore films you may be turned towards the thrill of small financed side of the industry

its intriguing to see how the director can possibly construct it from the story boards with such little money and non special effects or even expensive props – to see how high a movie can be when so low fidelity

sometimes good/bad/special effects/locations/actors/acting

some lists of cheaply produced films will give titles like moon ($5 million) but these are massive hollywood style productions compared to those listed here

a movie on the list should hopefully all have super low budgets of under $50,000 – these are recent virtually no budget film making at its best.

always a question on how much the production cost, or how you cost the total project budget. what is considered the budget to produce monsters?

some of these are basically the next step up from a home production. its amazing what you can imply with a wobbly lamp post at night and exploding fruit

others with a great production team/director can produce some stunning visuals/atmosphere

infest your self with the lowest fi sci fi?

and for a whole series of 15 minutes shorts that make up a movie watch infest wisely – production cost $700 and made in 2007

A new, chewable nanotechnology lets people take pictures with their eyes and cures cancer. But the early adopters find out it’s hard to uninstall something after it’s spread through their bloodstream …

get through the first worst one and then some episodes are much better than others and the acting is as varied as amateur acting can be but it might be really interesting for those who can handle or love the ultra low lo lowest fi home made sci fi movies. there is a 2 minute infest wisely trailer.