The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Liquid Sky
Science Fiction · Thriller · Drama · 1982
An alien creature invades New York's punk subculture in its search for an opiate released by the brain during an orgasm.
Movie details
Liquid Sky
“Strange aliens having bizarre orgasms!”
1982 Science Fiction · Thriller · Drama 1h 53m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.8 / 10
Community rating
An alien creature invades New York's punk subculture in its search for an opiate released by the brain during an orgasm.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Liquid Sky?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
A Scanner Darkly
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An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
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A man becomes obsessed with facts and events that have been collectively misremembered by thousands of people. Believing the phenomena to be the symptom of something larger, his obsession eventually leads him to question reality itself.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Sci-fi · 1976
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
Limitless
Thriller · 2011
The life of an unsuccessful writer is transformed by a top-secret 'smart drug' that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life.
The Zero Theorem
Drama · 2013
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
Light of My Life
Sci-fi · 2019
Parent and child journey through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half the world's population. As a father struggles to protect his child, their bond—and the character of humanity—is tested.
Omni Loop
Sci-fi · 2024
Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest and stuck in a loop reliving the last five days of her life, a 55-year-old wife and mother from Miami, Florida decides to solve time travel in order to go back and be the person she always intended to be.
Strange Days
Crime · 1995
In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
Prodigy
Thriller · 2017
Jimmy is a committed child psychologist who uses his own playbook, but when he is brought in to work with Ellie, he is completely unprepared for his subject—a 9-year-old psychopathic genius with nothing to lose. As he begins to understand the extent of her capabilities and the fate that has been planned for her, he struggles to overcome her defenses before it is too late for them both.
Not Without Hope
Thriller · 2025
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Slava Tsukerman
Written by
Slava Tsukerman · Anne Carlisle · Nina V. Kerova
Anne Carlisle
Margaret / Jimmy
Paula E. Sheppard
Adrian
B
Bob Brady
Owen
Susan Doukas
Sylvia
E
Elaine C. Grove
Katherine
S
Stanley Knapp
Paul
Jack Adalist
Vincent
Court is in session
Put Liquid Sky on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.