Lawnmower Man (1992)
Scientist Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) conducts VR-based intelligence experiments on Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey), a simple gardener. As Jobe’s intellect rapidly evolves, he gains psychic powers and begins to manipulate both the digital and physical worlds. Loosely inspired by a Stephen King short story in name only, the film became one of the earliest pop-cultural depictions of virtual reality. While the CGI hasn’t aged well, The Lawnmower Man became a cult film for its exploration of digital transcendence, identity, and unchecked scientific ambition.
Liquid Sky (1982)
A tiny, frisbee-shaped UFO lands on the roof of a grungy Manhattan penthouse occupied by bisexual, New Wave model Margaret (played by Anne Carlisle). Aliens emerge, initially seeking the pleasure derived from heroin, but quickly discover the stronger energy released by human orgasm. Margaret's abusive sexual partners begin to die upon climaxing, their energy harvested by the alien craft, which gives Margaret a strange, accidental power over those who exploit her. This cult classic is a visual benchmark for the cyberpunk aesthetic, capturing the urban decay and high-tech/low-life contrast of early 80s downtown New York. Its themes center on body modification (via fashion/androgyny, with Carlisle also playing the male model Jimmy), sexual exploitation, and a search for transcendence through extreme pleasure/pain. The film's unique, neon-drenched cinematography and minimalist synth soundtrack by the director, Slava Tsukerman, cemented its status as an influential, fiercely queer and punk vision of a dystopian urban future.
Logan's Run (1976)
In the year 2274, the remnants of humanity live inside a sealed geodesic dome city, a technological utopia run by an unseen central computer. To maintain population control and resource equilibrium, all citizens are required to submit to "Renewal" at age 30, a ritual that is actually death. Logan 5 (Michael York), a police enforcer known as a "Sandman," is tasked with hunting down those who try to "run" from their fate, until the computer orders him to infiltrate a secret rebellion. This sci-fi film is an early landmark of the dystopian-utopian narrative, providing a colorful and glossy vision of a high-tech society built on a murderous flaw. Its core cyberpunk themes revolve around totalitarian AI control (the central computer dictates all life and death) and the dangers of a society trapped in enforced hedonism and ignorance. The contrast between the sterile, pleasure-filled domed city and the neglected, wild world outside illustrates urban decay and the ultimate failure of a perfectly engineered system.