Just like Englishscience fiction,Spanish-languagesci-fi has come a long way. Elements of the genre could be spotted as early as the 1500s in books likeSatritical Tact on the Moonby Anastasio Roberio Ribera andDon Quixoteby Miguel de Cervantes. In the cinema arena, Segundo de Chomón’sEl hotel eléctrico(1905) is considered the first-ever Spanish science fiction film, and since its release, there have been plenty of productions within the same realm.
In the past, the output for Spanish-language science fiction movies wasn’t always as high as fans would have hoped, but in recent years, the supply has tripled. This has been influenced by a greater global appetite for Spanish-language projects, which has mainly stemmed from TV shows likeMoney HeistandNarcos. Now more than ever, viewers around the globe are willing to read subtitles.
Audiences willing to sample the Spanish gems will find them to be very distinctive compared to what’s on offer in Hollywood. And those eager to sample this space shouldn’t just dwell on recent films that have come with the new wave. There are several other baguettes from the past too, and the following list plucks fairly from various decades.
10Timecrimes (2007)
Timecrimes
Choices determine one’s destiny, and because Hector (Karra Elejalde) is poorly behaved, he ends up finding himself in a situation he could have avoided in Nacho Vigalondo’sTimecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes). Voyeuristic by nature, Hector decides to spy on a naked woman in the woods one day, only to be confronted and chased by a scary bandaged man who is very eager to murder him. While fleeing, he meets a scientist who helps him hide in a tank, but after stepping out, he realizes he has been thrown back in time by an hour.
The Domestic Stakes Are High
For Hector, this turn of events isn’t ideal for him because his wife is the kind who yells at him if he gets home late. Desperation, therefore, kicks in, resulting in the kind of frantic behavior that causes him to make many more bad decisions. For alow-budget sci-fi movie(it was made for only $2.6 million), the cinematography is brilliant, and it all comes down to the choice of setting. The Spanish countryside fits the story perfectly. Besides that, there are only five speaking characters, so the events feel much more grounded and easier to understand.Rent on AppleTV
9Man Facing South East (1986)
Eliseo Subiela’sMan Facing South East (Hombre mirando al sudeste)is one of those movies where aliens come in peace, though it’s sometimes suggested that the character might be a bluffer rather than a visitor from outer space. And the beauty of it all is that it is never confirmed whether he is a human pretender or not.
The alien in question is a man named Rantes (Hugo Soto), who shows up at an Argentinian mental hospital, claiming he has been sent to study human behavior. Though he initially only came to seek treatment, his kindness to other patients awes the senior doctor so much that he assigns him a job in the pathology department.
A Detailed Exploration of Mental Health
The use of an extraterrestrial template to explore mental health is indeed clever, and the director deserves to be lauded for that. Rantes’ is a symbol of benevolence and, through him, the movie gives an important message, emphasizing how important it is not to discriminate against others because of their health. Alien buffs will also appreciate how plenty of effort is put into making this particular “visitor” unique. For example, he spends several hours in the courtyard facing southeast, claiming to be receiving special transmissions from his planet.Rent on Prime Video
Related:10 Engrossing Sci-fi Movies Where the Aliens Win
8Open Your Eyes (1997)
Early inOpen Your Eyes (Abre los ojos), audiences are introduced to Cesar. At only 25 years of age, he has everything: cars, money, and a long list of women seeking his attention. He soon falls for a university student named Sofia (Penélope Cruz), causing his former lover, Nuria, to be jealous. One day, Nuria offers him a lift, but crashes the car intentionally, hoping to kill them both. His face becomes disfigured, but once he undergoes surgery, he realizes he has traveled 150 years into the future.
Endless Nods to Alfred Hitchcock
The twists and turns never end. Neither does the suspense. For the most part, it feels like one ofAlfred Hitchcock’s greatest hits, except with a slice of science. Many of the scenes prove that Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar was inspired by the legendary British filmmaker. At the Goya Awards (Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars), the film was nominated for a whopping 10 awards, covering every single category. Its impact on pop culture cannot be understated either. Not only did it influence many filmmakers to experiment with non-linear storytelling, but it also inspired the direct remake,Vanilla Sky,starring Tom Cruise.Stream on Vudu
7Mutant Action (1993)
Few might have heard of the term “lookism,” but it’s a real thing. It is discrimination according to beauty, and Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia addresses it inMutant Action (Acción mutante).The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the ruling class consists of only good-looking people. Ugly people are oppressed, and after a while, they begin a revolt, led by the rebel leader Ramón Yarritu (Antonio Resines).
Great Practical Effects and Makeup Artistry
The movie’s makeup and hairstyling teams do a great job of making the rebels as hideous as possible. The leaders, on the other hand, look very pretty, and one can understand why there is so much bitterness. There is plenty of gore, notably a scene where a bride cuts into a rebel who was hiding inside a giant cake, and another where a hostage’s lips are stapled together as a form of gagging. Thankfully, there is enough humor to dilute the shock. “We don’t want to smell good! We don’t want abs,” Ramon once says, proving that he and his clique are willing to fight to remain mediocre rather than embark on a journey or self-improvement.Rent on Prime Video
6Moebius (1996)
Based on Armin Joseph Deutsch’s 1951 short story, “A Subway Named Mobius,“Moebiuscenters around the disappearance of a train on the Buenos Aires Underground. Because there were 30 passengers in it, the media keeps asking questions, so a topologist starts searching for it, but just when all hope seems lost, he finds himself inside a high-speed train where he gets all the answers.
Bureaucracy Meets Science
Many science fiction movies are guilty of just throwing strange unrealistic concepts at audiences. They never explain why characters are emitting laser rays or why they are shape-shifting. Here, director Gustavo Mosquera tries to keep things realistic. Because the protagonist is a topologist who is familiar with surface malleability, herelies a lot on mathematicsto figure out what happened. It is the numerous calculations he does that eventually lead him to uncover the truth. But it all doesn’t come easy because the higher-ups are keen on burying the entire incident.Stream on Tubi
5The Last Days (2013)
Love is known to erase logic in peoples’ minds, causing them to take unnecessary risks. Well, white collar worker Marc (Quim Gutiérrez)fromThe Last Days (Los últimos días)is yet another character who follows his heart instead of his mind. Tired of staying in his Barcelona office building to avoid the effects of an apocalyptic event that ravaged much of the world, he steps out to look for his girlfriend. As expected, several challenges pop up along the way.
Agoraphobia Is Magnified
By watching the first few minutes, the intention of the director duo of David and Alex Pastor becomes evident. They use the movie’s events to analyze agoraphobia (fear of leaving safe environments), and they do so beautifully. Here, the situation becomes so bad that anyone who leaves their building develops a fatal disease known as “The Panic.” But is it just in the mind? Marc’s misadventures answer this, and numerous other questions that keep popping up throughout the movie.Stream on AMC+
4Eva (2011)
Events inEvatake place in the year 2043, and they begin when Alex (Daniel Brühl), a cybernetic engineer, returns to his university after a lengthy absence. The head of a robot research faculty asks for his help in creating cyborg software, so Alex decides to use his niece as inspiration. Unfortunately, his creation soon goes rogue, causing problems for him and many around him.
Brühl Is Outstanding
Daniel Brühl is one ofHollywood’s few multilingual actors, and in the movie, he speaks Spanish as perfectly as a native, despite being of German descent. Besides that, not many actors nail emotions like frustration and anger easily, so Brühl deserves credit for constantly creating the impression that this is no fictional world and there is indeed a malfunctioning child android. Director Kike Maillo also creates neat images. The CGI perfectly captures snowy Spain (climate change has messed up everything in the 2040s), and most of the android’s components look real.Stream on Roku or Freevee
3Extraterrestrial (2011)
Of all the things that could go wrong for a man and woman after a one-night stand, an alien attack is one that they would least expect. InExtraterrestrial (Extraterrestre), Julio (Julián Villagrán) and Julia (Michelle Jenner) wake up and realize they don’t know each other that well. As they try to figure out how their drunken night went, they notice that there is a UFO in the skies. As if that’s not enough, a nosy neighbor, Angel, who is obsessed with Julia, keeps bothering them.
A Rom-Com Disguised as Sci-Fi
Just like he did inTimecrimes, director Nacho Vigolando makes use of very few characters here, granting each of them ample time to shine. Let loose with total creative control, he smuggles a rom-com onto the big screen in the guise of an alien invasion movie. It turns out Julia was cheating on her boyfriend Carlos, and when Angel decides to snitch, Julio claims the nosy neighbor is a delusional alien who has just landed from the sky, so his words are not to be believed. It’s all mayhem from there on.Stream on Prime Video
2The Passenger (2021)
Spanish filmmakers Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez teamed up to jointly directThe Passenger(La pasajera), which perfectly blends horror and science fiction. The chaos begins when a sleazy driver, a Mexican religious dogmatist, and a socialite woman accompanied by her daughter, hit a person as they are journeying across Spain in a van. They decide to take her to the hospital, but they soon learn that letting her in is a big mistake.
The Passengerhas everything you would expect from aperfect road trip movie. Everyone is weird and has secrets of their own. The driver keeps saying inappropriate things to his female passengers and claims to be too much to use GPS. He brags about always having eyes on the road too, only to hit someone. The problems also keep piling up, and there is a scene where one of the passengers gets stung by a sticky substance lying on the road. After a while, a couple of twists pop up, leaving audiences awed.Stream on AMC+
Related:10 Underrated Sci-Fi Sequels That Deserve More Respect
1Orbiter 9 (2017)
Hatem Khraich’s strong directorial debut,Orbiter 9, tells the story of Helena (Clara Lago), who has lived on a spacecraft her entire life. Her parents left her a message, telling her that the ship was running out of oxygen, so they had to sacrifice their lives to ensure she lived. Luckily, another ship docks on hers and Helena ends up falling for its occupant, Alex.
Nothing Is as It Seems
On the surface,Orbiter 9seems like just another love story set in space. It plays out beautifully, and a scene where Helena begs Alex to make love to her so that she can know what pleasure feels like is touching. However, just as audiences are getting used to seeing how the two will carve a “happily ever after” path, a cloning twist emerges. Consequently, the final act ends up feeling very different from the first two. Overall, the production values are near-perfect, with the only criticism going to the lighting, as scenes sometimes appear too dim.Stream on Netflix
