Cyberpunk movies to inspire your genre gaming (plus some gaming stuff, too!)
Cyberpunk is a cool genre of books, movies, tv-series, comics, cartoons, clothing style(s) and various types of games. As a roleplaying game moderator, who likes to make own adventures for roleplaying sessions, I find it useful to watch inspirational genre movies.... And because sharing is caring, I'll tell You about feeeeeew movies and videos that are worth to watch...
Hardware (1990) is now days considered as a some sort of cyberpunk cult b-movie classic, and it's no wonder why that is the case. It has leather, darkness, violent fights, sorrow, pain, madness, robotics, cybernetics, far-out Net -audiovisuals, certain sexyness, coolness and whole lotta F-U -Attitude. And just look at that movie poster, I mean, just look at it! Not the world's best indie-flick, but worth to watch.
Max Headroom: 20 minutes into the future (1985) is a television produced Cyberpunk movie. Even with its oddicities and glumsyness, the movie achieves to tell a interesting story. And it has quite cool estethics, too. Cyberpunk scruffyness. I really like it.
And to be honest, all tho I joke about the movie's certain sillyness factor, it is totally worth to watch, because this indie-flick has the essential looks, the style and the atmosphere of CYBERPUNK. So it's therefore, very usable content to suck some cyberp-vibes to your brain, before starting to make your cyberpunk roleplaying adventures.
10 K is a modern digital tv drama serie, which tells a grim story of survivors in (ever)frozen future. Very cyberpunk and totally interesting. Kinda freshy touch and take on the genre of dark future action drama. Interesting and provides good plot ideas and plot twists to roleplaying adventure creating wise, too.
Terminal Force aka Galaxis (1995) has managed to keep some of its edgyness and bityness over the time. It's not the edgiest of the edgy movies, but it's a good, or at leats good bad, movie. And it has darkness, twisted plots, big guns, big ugly space ships, very bad villains, leather, rubber, weird cybernetics... and a helluva sexeeeeh cyberpunk babe, acted by young Brigitte Nielsen. Very inspirational movie, still today. At least, I enjoy the experience in all its glorious tackyness.
If You are looking for a cool looking cyberpunk looks and hairdos, Brigitte Nielsen most certainly has the Looks that you are looking for. And I don't know why, but there's a certain charm that draws me to watch the movie, once again. Can't help it. I just like silly movies. Especially silly cyberpunk movies.
Digital man is a bit like Cyborg and Nemesis movies put in the same sauce with Starship Troopers and served with sallad full of Totall Recall- and Robocop- rip-offs.. Visuably cheap indie cyberpunk flick. Big guns, evil cyborgs, vast desert, action and more action, uhm interesting choise of clothing, uhm interesting cybernetics, guns and gears, and other cool and hot elements of cyberpunk. Good trash movie, all in all. Worth to watch.
Prototype X29A (1992) is very cheap looking cyberpunk action movie that is sooo bad, that it is almost good. It really doesn't make any real sense, but it has its weird but cool look and style, and it is entertaining to watch. And this might work as a inspirational material for violent and simple sub-plots for cyberpunk 2020 roleplaying gaming. Might work for action oriented Shadowrun sessions, too. Especially, if the whole point of the adventure session, is to have a lots and loads of cruel action with the right cyberpunk feel and -attitude.
Crime Zone (1988) is a cyberpunk movie where's the right attitude and the righ look equals coolness. And it's all about the coolness in the Crime Zone. The movie is made with a really bad taste (Roger corman movie, so no news that this is bad taste flick), but it is cool, funny, fast and it looks COOL.
Very COOL and daring indie flick, indeed. And gotta be honest with you peeps, there's cuite a few roleplaying games that miiiiiight have used soooooome of the movie's idead. So this movie has obviously inspitational to many indie game & adventure designers. And this is still very inspirational material for my brainstorming of the tackiest main and side-plots to put in the cyberpunk adventure. Adn the players may like the huge number of stupid but cool one-liners to take and use them in the next stupid but very cool cyberpunk session.
R.O.T.O.R. (1987) is a b, no, c, waiiiit. d movie... uhm... let me think, X-class movie. Looks bad, sounds awful. The plot, if there is any plot, is as stupid as my jogging shoes (and they have major holes in them). But hey, there's robot, cybernetics, big guns, leather, rubber, fast action and whole lotta stupid one-liners.
Millenium (1989) is a fascinating disaster movie with a twist of time travel adventure. And obviously, this movie shows interesting devices, hairdoes, mechanics, weapons and style from the future. And whole lotta good one-liners and thrilling action. And not forgetting about the villains and adversaries, either. Good but a bit silly adventure movie. And, yep, it's cyberpunk, You silly Billy 👽
Metalstorm The Destruction of Jared-Syn is a helluva ride of a action movie. It has elements from different science fiction sources: Half-man, half machine, epic battles on very epic scale, leather, rubber, weird hairdoes, and such. It kinda feels like a Shadowrun rpg session that has been played as a sci-fi parody one-shot where everything can happen. So it's both cyberpunk and fantasy. Very surreal, too.
Escape from NY is a oldtime classic with bloody, manic action scenes in world where paranoia and greediness rules, and fist talk telling a tale worth watching. Just skimming thru cyberpunk genre roleplaying books, You can notice, how this movie has had its effect especially on those wild gangs that rule cyberpunk cities. And there's something oddly familiar with the police force, too.
They Live is one of a oddball movie, even amongst the satiric, dark-humoured and plain weird independent movies. It's a helluva haunting and taunting movie that really makes the watcher think about our society. And our heavyduty consuming. Not the world's most cyberpunkish movie estethically but as a sense of creating paranoidic twisted feeling, it is very cyberpunk and true to the dark and ugly lifestyle of cyberpunk genre. Great indie classic. And holds a lot of usable ideas to use in gaming table.
And because it's not just movies that inspire us, I'll show You some game related videos, too... And You movie lovers, keep on going on with your strong scrolling finger, because there's more movie clips down under... You know, after all, cinematic games, tend to go on the cinema screens. Or to homescreens, at least.
DOOM the game was world shaking game that made a revolution in the fields of: the game developing, game designing, game producing, game franching, and gaming to the gamer. And the game IS totally cyberpunk in its many forms, rammed in the same bubbling pot and served to the enjoying gamers. The document above tells DOOM's story in very interesting and entertaining way.
Digital gaming is very advanced techincally and experience-wise, so modern day gaming is basically playing a virtual interacting movie, where You choose the storyline playing with your decision in the game. And the story-videos in the game are very beautiful now days. Above is a great example with the video collecting DOOM's in-game video sequences.
Doom (2005) movie is set in cybernetic hell and it certainly has whole lotta cyberpunk weapons, outfits, armour, vehicles, action and explotions on it. Cyberpunk with hellish monsters on it. Cool combination and helluva under-preciated movie. Ok, it ain't the world's best action movie on any scale, but it really is pretty decent action flick that is fun to watch.
Doom: Annihilation (2019) has a lots of guns, lots of big guns and it has also huge guns, too. So as a brainless modern cyberpunk b-flick it has its base covered. And it has grim looking places, certain uglyness attached on its atmosphere and it certainly looks beautifully ugly. There's deadly virus, mad science, space ships and overtaking hopelesness on it, so it's a modern cyberpunk action horror flick. It's stupid but it scares for a bit and its pure entertainment. Decent flick where's cuite a lot neat details to use on your roleplaying scenarios and scenes.
John Carpenter's The Ghost of Mars (2001) is a science fiction horror 'n' thriller action film that has many elements on it. And one of those main elements, are cyberpunk feeling, style, habitus and cyberpunk experience on full speed (pun intended).
The DREDD the movie (2012) is set on dark, grim future, and especially in the gang block fights of Mega city One. New drug, called, Slow-Mo is making people go crazy, so madness is guaranteed and oh weee, how crazy action-thrilled joy ride this is for the Judge Dredd fans who like their action high, and the mercy low.
And yesh, the DREDD movie is hardcore to the bone, cyberpunk action-fueled manic trip to human cruelness on very dark and gruesome future, where there is no future. At least, not to the criminals, that are excecuted right away. And to the rest... well, there ain't bright future, either. So, DREDD's furute world is basically No Future world. And that, my friends and readers, is PUNK as Dredd. And yesh, very CYBERPUNK, indeed.
The friends of the nineties movies, know that in 1995 was released Judge Dredd movie, starring Sylvester "Rambo" Stallone. Many people hate the movie, but I kinda like it. Ok, it's stupid but most of the action films are stupid, so no news on that front. Cuite many plot twists, turns, scenes, charasters and such are very usable content to use when planning and making your own adventures for your tabletop-rpg group.
Because Judge Dredd has his awesome Dredd miniature game which has very awesome miniatures with cool videos, I think it is a good idea to show you some of those videos, too. And they are cuite inspiring vids for Judge Dredd rpg players, too. A short video (above) gives me the shivers and the thrills: short, fast, and gives vague tips and hints about the forthcoming battles that we can have on the table with these cool minis....
The first a bit longer video I wanna share with you, is the video above, the one of the grrrreat JD minigame vids, that I'll show You. The Judge Anderson Spotlight that introduces You the most AWWSSUM Judge Dredd comic book character, the Judge Anderson who is just superp character: witty, clever, strong, fast, funny, and very cyberpunk, too!
The second a biiit longer vids (above), is a spotlight video, too. It tells and shows stuff about the CITI-DEF, the help-forces of Judge forces. And what a force it is! Watch it, even if You know 'em already! It's cool video.
With the Wave 2 (above, You punk!), You know how the drill goes. Very awesome vid anyways! Below is the official, very informative and yet still very fast paced Judge Dredd video that explains the Judge Dredd Core Rules.
Mutant Sky Raiders are here, and watch in awe hoooow effin awwsumm beauty muties they are! And the, watch again. I really like the video and the miniatures. Really good looking figurines. And very cyberpunk minis.
The Message from Space (1978) (trailer flick above) is not cyberpunk film per ce, but it surely has some epic battles, massive explotions, really big and ugly space ships, really cool outfits with a certain cyberpunk vibes in them, cyberpunk armours and weird techs and weapons, so it really has cool cyberpunk elements in it. Plus, I really like it and I have drawn cuiiite a lot ideas from the movie and I have bringed those lives to numerous gaming tables.
The Eliminators (1986) is movie that wants to entertain and shock a bit its viewers with its mandroid action! Yes, the trailer calls it as a mandroid, more machine than a human, so mandroid it is. This movie has also ninja action and a hot babe. And whole lotta explosions, wild chases and epic battles. This has inspired me to write numerous cyberpunk adventures for my gaming groups. And I'm pretty sure, it will bring endless joy in the future, too.
The Class of 1984 (1982) is a cult-classic (s)explotation action thriller set on, apparently, a depicting a very violent, mad dystopian world, set in the future that is cuiite different than the year 1984 was.. Even when the year 1984 was just two years from the release year, it wasn't a realistic future vision. But it kinda reflects the paranoidic violent world of the early 1980's. Apparently the movie is set on a somekind of parallel time-line. What-ever the case may be with the timeline or the idea of the 1984 world, it is really dystopian low-tech culture. The movie's world has basically every element of the cyberpunk, except the cybernetics and the technology, but the whole attitude, paranoia, raging madness, looks and the sound and the style, and the street fights are as cyberpunk as cyberpunk can be.
And because, few cyberpunk roleplaying games and supplements have listed 1984 for a source material or as a movie that is usable to watch, I list it here, too. And just because, I happen to like the movie as much I hate it. Yes, it wasn't a joke. It is terrible movie (at least I do not enjoy movies that have rape scenes and such) but it also has a lot themes, main and sub plots and good scenes, that really are useful, making adventures and scenes about violent society that has gone insane.
Hackers (1995) is a weird/interesting (depend on how You look at it) combination of a comedic teen movie, critique of our society and the modern culture, and quite mindless fast paced action movie. It looks and sounds and feels like cyberpunk movie, so I gueeeesss, it's a cyberpunk movie. Plus, it has interesting net action sequences, that I find very useful for Cyberpunk 2020 game master. So, it is worth of watching.
The Lawnmowerman (1992) was a mind-blowing experience to me. It really showed a different world to my mind and to my soul. And how beautiful the world was. But at the same time, how ugly, insane and terrifying it was. The cyberspace scenes were totally beautiful and sexy. To me, they still are. And to me, this movie really is cyberpunk horror movie as its best.
The Lawnmowerman 2 (1996) (trailer above), just couldn't be so shocking and mind-blowing, because now we knowed what to expect, but it still managed to be surprisingly shocking movie with thrilling moments, and true horror on it. And now it has even more far-out virtual cyberworld. Totally cool movie. Worth to watch it again for few times.
Strange Days (1995) has mad society, mindless violence, weird designer drugs, criminal life style, rawring soundtrack, masses rioting... and there's whole lotta fast-paced action with many very good looking scenes. Enetrtaining movie and at least, to me, it has gave me few roleplaying scene ideas for science-fiction games.
And because documents and mini-documents are movies too, I shall share You few with You. Video above sums the whole cyberpunk very well, telling about its roots and about the essence of cyberpun genre.
This is well-thought video about the several reasons why the Hong Kong is perfect home for cyberpunk. Just watch it.
Video above tells about the details and many sides of the Pure Essence of the Cyberpunk genre. It's informative and entertaining, and it ain't too long either. So it's worth of watching. Interestly put information and entertainment in the same video.
The last video of this blog post, is about the World of the CYBERPUNK rpg and the world of the Cyberpunk 2077 digital game. The creator of the Cyberpunk rpg games, the Mike Pondsmith, himself is telling how the things are. So, watch it. It really is worth it.
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