Indie Science Fiction Cinema Today

Much of 20th century science fiction foretold technological and social developments beyond the year 2000. Since then, a key theme has been: what happens when the future no one anticipated arrives faster than anyone expected? Focusing on 21st century independent science fiction films, the author describes a seismic shift in subject matter as society moves into a new technological age. Independent films since the millennium are more daring, incisive and even plausible in their depiction of possible futures than blockbuster films of the same period. Twenty-one chapters break down today’s subgenres, featuring interviews with the filmmakers who created them.

Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay co-wrote the script for the award-winning short film Freund, based on the life of cinematographer and director Karl Freund The Mummy and was a contributing writer for the Deseret News.

Chris Vander Kaay is an author and screenwriter. His most recent film, The Redemption of Henry Myers, premiered on the Hallmark Movie Channel. He has written articles for Bloody Good Horror and Creative Screenwriting Magazine.

Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay and Chris Vander Kaay
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 48 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6933-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3058-8
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
 1. Extraterrestrial Encounters
Jamie Nash (Altered) • Daniel Myrick (The Objective) • Clay Liford (Earthling) 5
 2. Surviving the Mysterious Event Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Resolution)
• Michael J. Kospiah (The Suicide Theory) 17
 3. The Shifting Sands of Time Merlin Dervisevic (Cruel & Unusual) • B.P. Cooper (Time Lapse) • Kurt Kuenne (Shuffle) 28
 4. Experiencing a World Not Our Own Gerald McMorrow (Franklyn) • Darren Paul Fisher (Frequencies) • Craig Goodwill (Patch Town)
• Juan Solanas (Upside Down) 42
 5. An Infinity of Alternate Dimensions Jeff Waltrowski (It Came from Yesterday) • James Ward Byrkit (Coherence) • Jason Thomas Scott (Tympanum) 55
 6. The History of Alternate Histories Richard Raaphorst (Frankenstein’s Army) • Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky) • Anouk Whissell (Turbo Kid) 66
 7. New Inventions and Technologies Ben Carland (Shadows on the Wall) • Timothy Lanzone (Travelling Salesman) • Brett Ryan Bonowicz
(The Perfect 46) 75
 8. Journeys Through an Endless Cosmos Geoff Marslett (Mars) • Chance Shirley (Interplanetary)
• Clive Dawson (The Last Days on Mars) 88 
 9. The Enemy Within Neil ­Mcenery-West (Containment) • Tony Burgess (Pontypool) 100
10. Dealing with Artificial Intelligence Shane Acker (9) • Christopher Ford (Robot & Frank) • James Felix McKenney (Automatons) 109
11. The Fall, and What Comes After Paul S. Myers (5 Shells) • Conor Horgan (One Hundred Mornings) • Harry Ralston (The Last Man) • Jim Mickle (Stake Land) 119
12. There Can Be Only One Paul Hough (The Human Race) • Ben Carland (Sol) • Stuart Hazeldine (Exam) • Mario Miscione (Circle) 132
13. Dystopian Futures Brandon Drake (Visioneers) • Josh Feldman (Senn) • Justin Trefgarne (Narcopolis) 146
14. Alongside the Secret Society Jeff Pointer (Ink) • Tom Woodruff, Jr. (Fire City: End of Days) • Jennifer Liao (End of Days, Inc.) 158
15. Unnatural Selection Alec Gillis (Harbinger Down) • Oklahoma Ward (Crawl or Die) 167
16. Confronting Global Disasters Todd Berger (It’s a Disaster) • Sophia Cacciola (Magnetic) 176
17. The Rise of Superpowers Andrew Droz Palermo (One & Two) • Kyle Roberts (The Posthuman Project) • Jordan Galland (Alter Egos)
• Justin Dix (Crawlspace) 185
18. Science Fiction and Fake Documentaries Karl Mueller (Mr. Jones) • Philip Gelatt (Europa Report) 198
19. The Fantastical Worlds of Musicals Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) • Paul Bunnell (The Ghastly Love of Johnny X) • Rod Bingaman (Ripped!) 206
20. The Romance of Science Fiction Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring) • Brian Ackley (Alienated) • Tom Large (Beyond) 216
21. The Future of Our Cinematic Futures 227
Further Reading 241
Index 243