AlteredStates Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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• Peter Martin takes a look at ten esteemed directors who've made their mark on science-fiction.
• What's next for Terminator? Probably 3D. Probably explosions and robots.
• Nominees for the 2010 SFX awards and the 2009 Nebula awards have been announced, proving there's more to sci-fi than Avatar, Avatar, Avatar.
• Peter S. Hall leads the discussion on Altered States, the first installment of the Sci-Fi Squad Movie Club.
• Is the Americanized, live-action Akira just a pipe dream?
• Threshold Entertainment freezes Mortal Kombat in a way that Sub-Zero never could, at least not without hefty legal fees.

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It's hard enough to make either a good sci-fi flick or a horror movie, one that avoids the tired stereotypes yet embraces the aesthetic, with a smart script that provides something fresh and new and solid direction that establishes a proper atmosphere and allows for surprising developments. And performances that don't camp it up but are sincere and convincing. Combining the two genres is much trickier than blending peanut butter and chocolate. That was my thinking when compiling this list. Your comments are more than welcome. What are your personal favorites? Here are mine:

1. Alien
I don't know if Ridley Scott actually realized he was making a sci-fi horror movie, so much as he thought he was making a stylish thriller. Call it willful ignorance, but that may have contributed to the refreshing absence of overcooked ideas, which typically pop up like dandelions for directors new to either genre. Like the original, original Star Wars (before George shined it up), Alien resides in a future which feels lived in and used up, from the battered old Nostromo to the planet that harbors the seeds of the crew's destruction. By keeping the alien (mostly) out of the shot, and showing instead what the creature has done, the level of terror keeps rising. A distinct sense of dread permeates the picture, and it still makes me shiver.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad