Humanity's End | |
---|---|
Directed by | Neil Johnson |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by | Neil Johnson |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Narrated by | Neil Johnson |
Cinematography | Massimiliano Trevis |
Music by | Nedy John Cross |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | US$100,000 (est) |
Humanity's End is a 2009 American fantasy science fiction film directed by Neil Johnson. Based upon a story concept by Johnson, and with a screenplay by Johnson and Michael Jonathan Smith, the film stars Jay Laisne, Rochelle Vallese and Cynthia Ickes. [1] [2] [3]
Several hundred years into the future, mankind has been relegated to the position of a minority species being replaced by a clone-race called "Homo technis" or "Konstrukts" which is itself being supplanted by the genetically engineered race "Homo superior". The Homo superior have enhanced themselves with DNA from a race of hostile extraterrestrials called Nephilim who are known for their superior military skills, to wipe out all the Homo sapiens and Homo technis "lesser" races from the galaxy. In order to save the "lower" races, Homo technis develops a genus of sapiens called "breeders", with an ability to bring multiple births to term quickly.
The Nephilim Homo superior manage to destroy all of Earth's "breeders", save one man and one woman. As a "breeder" himself, disgraced military man Derasi Vorde (Jay Laisne), has the duty of bringing the last female "breeder" from Earth to the safety of an off-world rebel base.
Quiet Earth praised the expectations created by release of the film trailer, writing they were "immediately blown away by what a SFX extravaganza it was shaping up to be," [4] and that even if the CGI did not live up to expectations created by such as James Cameron's Avatar , the release of the film was anticipated. [4]
DVD Talk made note the film suffered from low-quality CGI but, based upon its original film trailer, the concept appeared intriguing. They offered that the film itself came off as an effort that appears to use parts of Serenity , post-modern Battlestar Galactica , mixed with old-school 1950s B-movie sci-fi, overstated machismo male characters, and an inventive intergalactic tech-speak, to create a product that is "unintentionally hilarious cinematic cheese". [1] In noted director Neil Johnson's love for "interstellar overdrives", [1] they observed that he borrowed plot devices from such as Children of Men , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , and '50s B-movies, and how like Raul Gasteazoro did with 10,000 A.D.: The Legend of a Black Pearl and Cory McAbee with The American Astronaut , he created his own version of the future universe, and stuck to its constraints, even though his characters were caricatures, "no matter how irritating or aggravating." [1] They concluded that the result was "far from space junky", [1] but that the director's single-mindedness gave a result which ended up "looking a bit silly." [1] They gave him "kudos for being so brave" [1] and "a few demerits for being so bafflingly brazen." [1]
Home Media Magazine makes note that the film does not result in the destruction of humanity, but that the resemblance of the various forms of humans to one another adds to confusion for the viewer. They praised Jay Laisne as Derasi Vorde, writing his "Han Solo impressions will be enjoyed by sci-fi fans disappointed by Harrison Ford's appointment with the natural aging process". [2] They also approved of the film's focusing on the characters rather than the technology, offering that this created a science fiction story "that is above the norm." [2] They found flaw in the film's concentration on "petty drama between the characters" [2] when the far more crucial battles of earth-humanity vs Nephilim is played out off camera and in the background. [2]
Virtual DVD Magazine offered that the film would be appreciated by lovers of B-movie science fiction, but that its low-quality CGI visuals would require getting used to. They noted as a flaw, the film concentrating on characters to the exclusion of the backstory, in that in omitting the battles between humanity and the Nephilim, the film did not give viewers as much as it could have. [3]
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a 2001 adult animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy franchise. It was the first photorealistic computer-animated feature film and the most expensive video game-inspired film until the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2010. The film stars the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin, and Steve Buscemi, and follows scientists Aki Ross and Doctor Sid in their efforts to free a post-apocalyptic Earth from the Phantoms, a mysterious, deadly alien race who has driven the remnants of humanity into "barrier cities". Aki and Sid must fight against General Hein, who wants to use more violent means to end the conflict.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a 2002 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Two Towers, the second volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the film is the second instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, and Andy Serkis.
The Silurians and Sea Devils are two fictional related ancient species created by Malcolm Hulke for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Silurians are a race of scientifically advanced reptilian humanoids from the dawn of man which first appeared in Doctor Who in Hulke's 1970 serial Doctor Who and the Silurians. The two species will foreground the plot of the upcoming Doctor Who spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea by Russell T Davies.
Species is a 1995 American science fiction horror film directed by Roger Donaldson and written by Dennis Feldman. It stars Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker, Marg Helgenberger, and Natasha Henstridge in her film debut role. The film's plot concerns a motley crew of scientists and government agents who try to track down Sil (Henstridge), a seductive extraterrestrial-human hybrid, before she successfully mates with a human male.
Pak Breeders and Pak Protectors are two developmental stages of fictional life in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The Pak first appeared in "The Adults", which appeared in Galaxy in 1967; this story was expanded into the novel Protector by Larry Niven (1973). The Pak also appear in several of Niven's later novels, notably those set in the Ringworld.
Abraham Sapien, born Langdon Everett Caul, is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Ichthyo sapien", the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date the Oannes Club abandoned Abe's body in a suspended animation tank beneath a Washington D.C. hospital, leaving only a cryptic note as explanation. He is occasionally referred to as an "amphibious man."
Casshern is a 2004 Japanese tokusatsu superhero film adaptation of the anime series of the same name, written, directed, shot and edited by Kazuaki Kiriya. It is one of the few films released in the mid-2000s to be shot entirely on a "digital backlot", along with Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Immortal (2004), and Sin City (2005) among others.
Jay Jay the Jet Plane is an American live-action/CGI-animated musical children's television series created by David and Deborah Michel and first aired on The Learning Channel and later moved to PBS Kids, with reruns on Qubo and TBN's Smile. The series aired for a total of 4 seasons and has 62 episodes.
"House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of an eight-issue comic book limited series with a number of crossover tie-in books written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel. it's first issue appeared in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled storylines. The Scarlet Witch, her twin brother Quicksilver, and Magneto play major roles in the series. Like the Age of Apocalypse (1995–1996) storyline, House of M replaced the Earth-616 as the main reality for a brief time until Scarlet Witch reverted it to normal. The events of the storyline were later indicated to have occurred on Earth-58163.
Not of This Earth is an independently made 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman, that stars Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Morgan Jones, William Roerick, and Anna Lee Carroll. The film was written by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna and was distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation as a double feature with Attack of the Crab Monsters. Its theatrical release had a running time of 67 minutes, that was expanded to 70 minutes in 1962 for TV syndication.
Panic in Year Zero! is a 1962 American black-and-white survival science fiction film from American International Pictures. It was produced by Arnold Houghland and Lou Rusoff, directed by Ray Milland, who also stars with Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel, and Joan Freeman. The original music score was composed by Les Baxter. The screenplay was written by John Morton and Jay Simms. The film was released by AIP in 1962 as a double feature with Tales of Terror.
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon or simply Flash Gordon, is a 1979–1982 animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions. Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly as a reaction to the mammoth success of Star Wars in 1977. The series was an homage to the original Flash Gordon comic strip and featured many of the original characters, including Flash's girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Hans Zarkov. The series is still regarded as one of the most faithful adaptations, and one of Filmation's finest overall efforts.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is a 2007 American science fiction action film starring Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis and Ariel Gade. The directorial debut of The Brothers Strause, the film was written by Shane Salerno and is a direct sequel to Alien vs. Predator (2004) as well as the second and latest installment in the Alien vs. Predator franchise, the sixth film in the Alien franchise and the fourth film in the Predator franchise, continuing the crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises.
Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as Convoy, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Transformers franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight against the Decepticons. The Transformers characters were developed for the American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the coloring was changed; notably, Optimus Prime was colored red, chrome, and dark blue. The popularity of the Transformers toys resulted in comics, movies, and a TV series.
Justice League: The New Frontier is a 2008 American animated superhero film adapted from the DC Comics limited series DC: The New Frontier. The film was written by Stan Berkowitz, with Darwyn Cooke providing additional material.
In American comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is a human being that possesses a genetic trait called the X-gene. It causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that manifest at puberty. Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies Homo sapiens superior or simply Homo superior. Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens, and are actually revealed to be the next stage in human evolution. The accuracy of this is the subject of much debate in the Marvel Universe.
Neuthrone is the third full-length album by the Polish blackened death metal band Crionics. The album was originally released under Candlelight Records, but it was also released under Mystic Production. The album was released as an enhanced audio disc with a video of Humanmeat Cargo and bonus track Black Warriors and was recorded at Zed Studio 2006 till 2007 and was produced, engineered and mastered by Tomasz Zalewski who also recorded the last albums of Thy Disease, Totem, Horrorscope and many others.
The Incredible Human Journey is a five-episode, 300-minute, science documentary film presented by Alice Roberts, based on her book by the same name. The film was first broadcast on BBC television in May and June 2009 in the UK. It explains the evidence for the theory of early human migrations out of Africa and subsequently around the world, supporting the Out of Africa Theory. This theory claims that all modern humans are descended from anatomically modern African Homo sapiens rather than from the more archaic European and Middle Eastern Homo neanderthalensis or the indigenous Chinese Homo pekinensis.
Neil Brook Johnson is a British film and music video producer, director, and editor best known for his long association with heavy metal band Manowar, and for directing and writing science fiction films.
Nephilim in popular culture are depicted as descendants or offspring of Demons and human women. The Nephilim of Genesis 6 have become a notable motif; this interlinks with other similar motifs regarding Christian demons in popular culture.