Killer Klowns from Outer Space
dir. Stephen Chiodo (1988)
Decidedly b-grade — although without the laughs that might usually entail — this bizarre horror/comedy (both words used advisedly) has no raison d’être beyond its title, the realisation of which special effects artists the Chiodo Brothers pay more attention to than writing or directing.
Galaxy Quest
dir. Dean Parisot (1999)
Out-of-work SF actors are plucked from the convention circuit by guileless aliens who, failing to distinguish them from their Star Trek -like characters, beseech them to intervene in a real-life space war. The quality of the cast makes this spoof very watchable.
The Last Vampire
by Willis Hall (The Bodley Head, 1982)
A quintessentially middle-class English family encounters the last (vegetarian) vampire in this YA comedy of happenstance and misunderstanding. By fleshing out every character — even the wolves! — Willis Hall both draws attention to, and disabuses his readers of, the vampire tropes of legend.
Fatty & George
by John Honey (ABC, 1981)
Fondly remembered and surprisingly watchable thirty-five years on, this stilted but oddly compelling Tasmanian science fantasy captivated a generation of Aussie kids with its time-freezing crystal, over the top villains, catchy theme song and brazenly prominent (now brilliantly kitsch) avant-garde synthpop motifs.
Newsfront
dir. Phillip Noyce (1978)
The tagline suggests humour but this sombre, almost melancholic biopic of (archetypal) newsreel cameramen working in Australia during World War II and the decade subsequent, bolstered by archival footage, serves more as a time capsule of life in a young, not-so-modern country.
Stand By Me
dir. Rob Reiner (1986)
A celebrated coming of age film, the success of which owes less to the journey undertaken — twelve-year-olds hiking in search of a dead body — than to the tempestuous dynamic forged by child actors Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix.
The Goodies – Earthanasia
(Series 7, Episode 6; first broadcast 22 December 1977)
Surely the darkest, funniest Christmas special ever made. Set at half an hour to midnight and playing out in real time, the Goodies must observe the requisite festivities yet make peace with each other and within themselves before the Earth is destroyed.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
dir. Henry Selick (1993)
Cue the skeleton:
“If Christmas fills your heart with woe, a schmaltz-fest souring your December
maybe you’ll prefer macabre stop-motion Halloween adventures
(but) Disney brings the curse of singing, rhymes so trying, Walt’s will lurking
Elfman’s lyrics don’t deliver Burton’s dark disturbance.”
Little Shop of Horrors
dir. Frank Oz (1986)
Rocky Horror quirkiness; a premise in predacious contrast to its 1960s-styled Motown and doo-wop musical set pieces; outstanding practical effects; and a must-see appearance by Steve Martin: the Frank Oz incarnation of Little Shop of Horrors is truly unforgettable SF cult kitsch.
The Demon Headmaster
by Gillian Cross (Oxford University Press, 1982)
The first in an award-winning series of children’s books featuring schoolkids Dinah, Lloyd and Harvey, who must fight back against the eponymous demon headmaster — a sinister man/creature who uses his hypnotic powers to take over the school… while eyeing even bigger conquests!