Media Resources/Film

• The Andromedia Strain: Upwarp Aesthetics, etc.
• The Animatrix: Esp. the segments "Matriculated", "Beyond", "Second Renaissance Part 2".
• Akira: Uncontrolled manifestations of god-like powers causes havoc in Neo-Tokyo.
• Barbarella:
• Being John Malkovich:
• Blade Runner: Keystone work about artificial humanoids with equally artificial memories.
• Blade 2: Okay, so it's not much related, except that if The Matrix gets in on fetish raves, then the vampire rave scene from this one oughta be here too.
• Brazil:
• City of Lost Children: A wonderful 'steampunk' downwarpish setting, full of delightful freaks.
• A Clockwork Orange:
• Dark City: Atmospheric film, and especially poigniant the last few minutes.
• The Dark Crystal: Fantasy, yes, but the Skeksis sure feel like decadent Strange/Strangedown denizens. (Strangebottom?) (Who said fantasy has no place in sci-fi? My favourite series are sci-fantasy! --Trilogee)
• Dark Star: Very early John Carpenter film about the tensions aboard a deep space cruiser with an existentialistic bomb. Could be considered a forefoather to the Red Dwarf TV series.
• Donnie Darko: Captures near perfectly the 'Strange' mindset.
• Edward Scissorhands:
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
• Existenz:
• Interstella 5555:
• Jubilee:
• Labyrinth: Interesting imagery, good for CharmStrange and ex-nightmares. Very expressive, very moody, characters have their own agendas and express them subtly. Jareth is a great inspiration for young Hemotopians.
  • Meet characters from Charm, Top, Down, StrangeTop, DownStrange... -- Echo
• Liquid Sky: Brutal, psychosexual sci-fi film set in the early 80's NYC glam scene. Contains elements of Strange, Down and Bottom, respectively.
• Logan's Run: Utopian society with strict laws governing mortality. Strong upwarp qualities.
• M: An old German film, about a serial killer, his crimes, how it affects the underground, and how he is brought to justice. There is no graphic violence in this movie. No deaths are depicted on-screen.
• The Man Who Fell to Earth:
• The Matrix: I know, I know. :) But the fetish-rave scenes alone make it all worthwhile.
• Memento: Story of man with no long-term memory, entirely told in two alternating backwards timelines. Mentioned as inspiration for any 'mind-burned' PBX characters.
• Motorama: Alternate-universe Americana, gas station bingo and a tattooed existentialist ten-year-old. What a Downwarp Zip might dream of.
• Naked Lunch: Surrealist work mixing philosophy, drugs, aliens, and deviant sex. Interzone was probably a critical Bottomwarp inspiration.
• Princess Mononoke: animism in conflict with industrialism; complex, non-dualistic morality
• Perfect Blue: besides the obvious reason, it's a really interesting study of insanity and deviations of perception. -- Blue
• Read or Die: Paper magic, clones of obscure historical figures with superpowers, people with antennae riding giant mutant insects, music used as a weapon... Should I go on?
• Repo Man: Surreality ensues due to the contents of a repossessed car's trunk...
• Run Lola Run:
• Spectres of the Spectrum:
• Synthetic Pleasures:
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man:
• TRON: First film to really touch on digital reality and prospects of uploading - not too heaviily philosphical beyond that.
• Videodrome: Uncompromising Cronenburg Film - Disturbing synthesis of man into media. Strong hints of Strange-style musings and post-human context.
• Wax: The Discovery of Television Among the Bees: Very strange art film. Best watched several times before it sticks.
• [A Wrinkle in Time]: Based on the novel. None of us have seen it yet. But we all agree, it's liable to be a must-see.
• Yellow Submarine: Charm charm charm Charm charm ♥ Charm charm. All you need is Love!
  • Well, this puts Charm in a different light for me, and definitely suggests more inspirations for the amusement park I'm building. -- Echo
  • It's not just the Charming world of Pepperland, either:
    • gritty, photocopied-and-looped Liverpool (DownWarp by day?)
    • Sea of Monsters (Charmer's view of StrangeWarp?)
    • "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" painted rotoscopy (TopWarp? CharmTop?)
    • Sea of Holes (Reality-subjectivity, anyone?)
    • "Only a Northern Song" trippy shifting visuals
    • Nowhere Land, objects and designs appear and disappear for no reason but it seems right at the time (Museum-space before the Museum was built? I'm not just saying that because Jeremy Hillary Boob, Ph.D., is my favourite character, nope nope nope.) --Dr Talib Litston

Directors and creators

• [Tim Burton]: The happiest variants of Strange ever.
• [Marc Caro]: co-screenwriter on City Of Lost Children and Delicatessen. Similar dystopian themes run through his work in comics. I'd looove to track down some of his short films...
• [Brothers Quay]: London-based filmmakers, highly influenced by Jan Švankmajer (q.v.) and almost as Strange.
• [Jan Švankmajer]: Czech stop-motion animator and artist, probably best known for his nightmarish adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. Grotesque surreal, and utterly Strange.