PKD - The Movies

[reiver33]

If PKD had ever seriously turned his had to horror I think it would have ended up quite unhinged, given his mental problems in later life!

 

[Brian G Turner]

A Scanner Darkly I think is the only PKD movie I've watched that seems to carry a sense of PKD's novel writing onto the screen.

 

[Fried Egg]

I just watched "Paycheck" last night and was pleasantly suprised. Ok, I did go into it with very low expectations being almost universally panned by everyone who's seen it but I really didn't think it was that bad. I should also point out that I haven't read the short story either.

It seemed to me some kind of cross between "Total Recall" and "Borne Identity". The ideas explored were interesting but ridiculously far fetched.

 

[gully_foyle]

I just finished reading Radio Free Albemuth and have just noticed it has been filmed. Apparently the production company got rights to this one and Valis and may film Valis as a sequel. They are also considering putting out RFA under the title Valis. It doesn't seem to have been released yet, but has made it to a couple of film festivals. Looking at the cast listing in IMDB, it seems to preserve all of the characters from the book, so it will be interesting to see if it is a faithful adaptation or not. Also whether it turns into an action movie or not, although I suspect it will be more a suspense driven drama.

Has anyone seen it? Does anyone know more about it?

 

[Diggler]

A Scanner Darkly I think is the only PKD movie I've watched that seems to carry a sense of PKD's novel writing onto the screen.

I haven't read A Scanner Darkly. Though do feel that it is probably the closest to PKD's style of deluded madness.

The only movies to really follow PKD's stories relatively closely are Screamers, Paycheck and Impostor. Unluckily all 3 of these movies were forgotten due to a low budget or other things.

As for PKD doing horror, read "Eye in the Sky". It is a mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

 

[Diggler]

I just finished reading Radio Free Albemuth and have just noticed it has been filmed.

Has anyone seen it? Does anyone know more about it?

Here's a review of it from a lucky person to see it at Sci-Fi London.

Radio Free Albemuth Review

While were on PKD films, this has me intrigued. Adjustment Bureau

 

[steve12553]

I have read the short story Screamers are based on called Second Variety, it was scary as hell. Its a horror version of killing machines working for humans going really wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised didnt know PKD could scare.

I watched part of Screamers quite a while back. I finished Second Variety recently and realized that I'd never finished watching Screamers. I had recorded it a year or so ago so I dug it out and watched it. Not bad although they nearly made the ending too happy. The story was much darker and scarier in that sense.

 

[Rodders]

I thought Screamers was a pretty decent film. Yes, it looked cheap, but i do think that they tried to keep the spirit of PKD in their film.

I also found Next to be a bit of a guilty pleasure. A bit silly, but fun film to switch your brain off and watch. I have A Scanner Darkly, but haven't watched it yet. I can't remember Paycheck, but i remember enjoying it too.

 

[gully_foyle]

Here's a review of it from a lucky person to see it at Sci-Fi London.

Radio Free Albemuth Review

Sounds good enough for me. I hope it gets a cinema release here (and I can sneak away from my domicile for a couple of hours). And I don't know much about Alanis Morrisette, except she once played God in a Jay and Silent Bob movie whose name escapes me, but it had Jason Bourne in it. So when I see her on the screen it won't really distract me as it did this reviewer.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I read "A Scanner Darkly" recently. then, I watched the movie. The movie was a very faithful screen adaption, overall. Robert Downey Jr. stole the show as Barris. Still, the movie had nothing like the impact the novel had for me. It was so very sad, especially at the end. :*(

 

[Hober Mallow]

disregard this message.

 

[steve12553]

I recently heard that the movie Next was based on the short story The Golden Man . Having recently read the story and having seen the promos for the movie, I was a disbeliever. I got the chance to see the movie a week or so ago and realized that it was some of the concepts rather than the narrative that it was based on. This was at least a power of ten more blatant than Blade Runner as far as being much closer to the Science Fiction than the story. With out a spoiler the casino chase in the film and the chase in the military base in the story both came from the same idea and were vere intrigueing.