Retrospective

A Forgotten Flop Revealed Why Sci-Fi Horror Had To Change Course

Far too many people were screaming in space.

Written by Rory Doherty
MGM Distribution Co.

If any of the three people who directed Supernova had made a science-fiction film with little studio interference, you'd likely have a good movie. In fact, if you divided Supernova¡¯s approximate budget of $90 million into three and gave portions to Walter Hill, Jack Sholder, and Francis Ford Coppola, you could end up with three compelling, creative mid-budget genre films that, at the very least, would have bombed far less publicly.

The version of Supernova released 25 years ago bore none of the fingerprints of the artists who made it (nor any credits, as the Directors Guild of America allowed Walter Hill, who was responsible for the lion¡¯s share of directing duties, to be credited under a pseudonym). Set on a medical spacecraft that can quantum jump between dimensions to recover their targets, Supernova tries to make up for its lack of narrative ingenuity ¨C a small ship rescues a mysterious, charismatic man (Peter Facinelli) with sinister intentions and uber-powered space matter ¨C with tired hallmarks of ¡®90s sci-fi.

The sets are lit moodily, the effects are colorful and plasma-heavy, and there are more lit-up displays than you know what to do with. James Spader and Angela Bassett, two of the best actors of their generation, are denied the chance to perform as urgently and instinctively as Sigourney Weaver in Alien, instead forced to make the same concerned faces as the slasher-tinted carnage unfolds.

Supernova doesn¡¯t drag, but only because it¡¯s been edited down to the shortest possible length and quickest possible pace by studio decree; it cuts poorly, and there¡¯s a lot of off-screen (read: slapped in later) lines that scream of being built in post-production and reshoots. This is peak studio slop; at 90 minutes, Supernova is both bloated and truncated, a tension-free and flavorless whistle-stop tour of all the ways space movies never flourished in the 1990s.

Many genres blossomed in the commercial and independent boom of American ¡®90s cinema, but despite the number of exemplary and profitable sci-fi hits, films set in space suffered. It was a decade of reckoning with modernity ¡ª explosive blockbusters freely imagined country-leveling destruction before the images of 9/11 were burned into America¡¯s psyche. Sci-fi fixated on future dystopias, alternate realities, and artificial intelligence rather than intrepid voyages beyond the stars. Independence Day, T2: Judgment Day, The Matrix, 12 Monkeys, Contact, and Men in Black all thrived, while Alien 3, Event Horizon, Lost in Space, Starship Troopers, Soldier, and poor old Space Truckers froze in the vacuum.

Our soon-to-be-slaughtered crew.

MGM Distribution Co.

The failure of ¡®90s space movies wasn¡¯t solely sociological; like many box office flops, few looked appealing. With the exception of cult films like Starship Troopers, which leaned into cliche to expose the brain rot of fascist society, most space films were difficult to distinguish from one another, either malformed clones of Ridley Scott¡¯s Alien or expensive productions that failed to clear the bar set by multiple Star Trek shows over the decades. It wasn't that space exploration had become irrelevant ¡ª Voyager 2 had spent the past decade beaming us incredible images of the Solar System, and in 1997, the first Mars rover began surveying the red planet ¡ª but the movies just weren¡¯t very good.

Supernova may not be exciting, but it is revealing, as it demonstrates all the in-built obstacles a space movie needs to overcome to stand out from genre innovators. If we spend the whole film on a spaceship, then our locations are limited to those a ship would have; if we¡¯re floating through space, then our characters can only be a crew and their unexpected guests; if their survival is the biggest concern, then the drama will involve breached airlocks, irradiated compartments, and deep space explosions. All of these expected and necessary story beats make it difficult to convince an audience that your space film is truly unique, especially because the infancy of CG-heavy projects ensured that every rendering of space action looked pretty similar.

Supernova wasn¡¯t the last of its kind ¡ª a trifecta of Mars action films followed swiftly in its wake, and Red Planet, Mission to Mars, and Ghost of Mars hammered home the fact that the genre needed a Solaris, Sunshine, or Moon-style shake-up (artistically speaking, at least; none of those titles made much money either). But none of the studio disappointments that followed Supernova dealt with this much creative interference, or ballooned into such a cosmic catastrophe that only made back $14 million worldwide. Twenty years after Alien, the film demonstrated all the ways the unique sensibilities of Ridley Scott¡¯s horror had been regurgitated and sanitized, revealing a simple structure and narrative design that was only compelling if it was ingeniously and meticulously expanded.

For space films to thrive, they had to look inward as much as they do outward, mapping how our desires and possessiveness are mirrored in humanity's conflicting goals of capitalist expansion and romantic discovery. That is to say, there¡¯s a movie where a zero-gravity love scene is beautiful, but it is not Supernova.

Related Tags
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top