Scottish Science Fiction Movies

by Rona Humphreys
(Orkney)

Hi Guys,
I am doing a dissertation on Scottish Science Fiction, so far the only movies I have found are "Doomsday" and "The Planet". Does anyone know of any other Sci-Fi either made in Scotland, or with a Scottish Setting or influence?

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From SF Movie Explorers:

Your question launched ESFM on an exciting mission of SF movie exploration and here are our findings. :)

Movies whose plot is set in Scotland (sorted by year):

- The Man from Planet X (1951)
"As a mysterious planet hurls itself toward Earth, an enigmatic extraterrestrial scout arrives on a remote Scottish island with unknown intentions." (source: IMDB)





- Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
As it says on the poster "The Fantastic Night of Terror That Menaced the Fate of the World". This cult favorite black and white movie features a flying saucer, ray guns, giant robot and aliens. A Martian lady dressed in black crashlands somewhere in Scotland. Men on Mars are dying so she came to Earth to "borrow" a few. Click to watch the movie.





- X: The Unknown (1956)
After an unusual underground explosion people in the Lochmouth area of Scotland start to disappear.





- Night Is Day: Scottish Superhero Movie (2011)
Title says it all. :)





...and series:

- The Nightmare Man (1981)
is a scary science fiction thriller released in 1981 as a four-part mini series.
A snarling creature (which sees the world as if through a red tinted glass) attacks and savagely murders people on the island of Inverdee. The police with a help from a dentist Michael Gaffikin (James Warwick), mapmaker Fiona Patterson (Celia Imrie) and Dr. Goudry (Tom Watson) try to work with puzzling evidence to stop the killer. It is based on David Wiltshires' novel "Child of Vodyanoi". Click to watch the series.





- Invasion: Earth (1998)
is a BBC's, 6 episodes long, mini-series and it's a real treat. Flight Lt. Chris Drake, despite his orders not to, shoots down a glowing, spherical unidentified object. This event leads to an astonishing discovery that the Earth is on the verge of alien invasion. Click to watch the series.





Movies which have references to Scotland (characters, part of the plot is set in Scotland):

- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Movie is based on Jules Verne's novel. In this version "professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason), a newly knighted geologist from the University of Edinburgh" (Wikipedia) who makes an extraordinary discovery.

- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Professor Terry Rapson (Ian Holm) of the Hedland Climate Research Centre in Scotland and his team help paleoclimatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) and NASA's meteorologist Janet Tokada (Tamlyn Tomita) to create a forecast model and predict extreme weather changes.


Here is also a list of movies which were shot on location in Scotland:

Doomwatch (1970 TV Series; Episode: High Mountain (1972)), Death Watch (1980), Intergalactic Kitchen (2004 TV Series), My Friend Helen (2008 Short Film), Jar (2010 Short Film).


We hope this helps. All the best with your dissertation!