-
THX-1138 (film)
Written and directed by George Lucas, THX-1138 is considered a precursor to the cyberpunk genre as we know it today. A critical and commercial failure on release, it has been embraced as a cult classic in the years since. -
Logan's Run
Another genre precursor, Logan's Run sees the remants of humanity living in a domed city overseen by a computer that informs and enforces every part of their daily lives. -
Web of Angels (Novel)
Web of Angels is a novel by John M. Ford published in 1980 about a hacker of the Web, a communications network that allows some users to manipulate data, create programs, and travel between various human worlds. It is notable in that it predates the publication of William Gibson's Neuromancer by four years. -
Blade Runner (Film)
Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", Blade Runner was Ridley Scott at the height of his powers. Starring a Return of the Jedi-era Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a Blade Runner tasked with hunting down four rogue Replicants, synthetic human beings who are taking their frustrations with being treated as second class citizens out on the very real human beings who get in their way. -
Ronin (Graphic Novel)
Part samurai epic, part techno opera, Frank Miller's Ronin set the stage for all of Miller's work to come. Books like 300, The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City would not exist without Ronin blazing the trail. -
Neuromancer (Novel)
Neuromancer is a novel by WIlliam Gibson published in 1984. Considered a defining work in the cyberpunk genre, it was Gibson's first novel and began what he came to call The Sprawl Trilogy. The novel follows a down-on-his-luck hacker hired by a mystery client to pull off "the ultimate hack." -
Brazil (Film)
Terry Gilliam's infamous science fiction project met with stiff resistance from producers who weren't wild about its content. It follows a man named Sam Lowry on a quest to find the woman who appears in his dreams while he works a crummy job and lives in a crummy apartment. Set in a dystopian consumer-driven society, it is one of the true classics of the genre. -
Burning Chrome (Novel)
A collection of short stories by William Gibson, many of which take place with the Sprawl, the megacity featured in most of Gibson's cyberpunk novels. -
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a TV satirical sci-fi TV series that sprang from a made-for-TV movie called Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. Set in a dystopic future ruled by a tv network oligarchy and satirised the growing dependency on television as an information conduit. -
Akira (Film)
The film that launched a thousand imitators. Akira tells the story of a number of genetically engineered children in a post-nuclear near-future Tokyo. The crown jewel in Katsuhiro Otomo's catalogue. Not for the faint of heart. -
Total Recall (Film)
C'mon. It's Total Recall. -
The Lawnmower Man (Film)
Loosely based on a Stephen King story, The Lawnmower Man revolves around an intellectually disabled man chosen to undergo various scientific and technological experiments designed to foster his intelligence and allow him to live a normal life. -
Demolition Man (Film)
Demolition Man is easily one of the dopiest action movies ever made but it is steeped in cyberpunk lore. A secret cryogenics facility underneath the LAPD? Check. An ultra repressed futuristic society? Check. An insane anarchist from the past coming to wreck up the place? Check. 10/10. -
Macross Plus (TV Series)
An important milestone in hand-drawn and CGI animation, Macross Plus features a world on the verge of a silent AI takeover. A new automated fighter jet system is unveiled and a connection to a computer-generated singing idol is made. The mystery builds. -
Hackers (Film)
Released during the height of 90's internet fascination, Hackers starred an extremely young Angelina Jolie and a bunch of other m4d l33t h4ckz0r types as they caused problems for corporations through improbably obvious computer programs. -
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Considered one of the most important entries in the Cyberpunk genre to date, Mamoru Oshi's Ghost in the Shell is as much a cyber thriller as it is a meditation on technological augmentation and cybernetics. A must see for anyone interested in the genre. -
Transmetropolitan (Graphic Novel)
A cyberpunk, transhumanist oddysey by Warren Ellis, it follows Hunter S Thompson-esque gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem who embarks on a relentless quest to keep the world from becoming even more dystopian than it already is. -
The X-Files S05E11 "Kill Switch" (TV series)
The first of two episodes of The X-Files written by genre pioneer William Gibson, both of which contain cyberpunk elements. "Kill Switch" is a classic "monster of the week" episode that stands apart from the series overarching plot. -
System Shock 2 (Video Game)
Created by Looking Glass Studios, System Shock 2 was one of the first truly atmospheric, terrifying video games to become a cultural touchstone. Set upon a derelict spaceship upon which an evil AI has turned rampant, it tsill holds up today. -
The X-Files S07E13 "First Person Shooter" (TV Series)
The second of two episodes of The X-Files written by genre pioneer William Gibson, "First Person Shooter" sees The Lone Gunmen call Mulder and Scully to the HQ of a video game developer when a new VR title the Gunmen designed is taken over by a female character whose power bleeds from the virtual world into the real one. -
Deus Ex (Video Game)
Deus Ex was a roleplaying game that offered players something that was, at the time, revolutionary. The ability to augment their character with any number of cybernetic upgrades that would allow them to tailor their playstyle. Opt for sneaky or a weapons specialist? A master hacker or mechanical engineer? In the future, the solution is just an augment away. -
Dark Angel (TV Series)
Created by James Cameron and starring Jessica Alba in the role that launched her career, Dark Angel follows Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced super soldier who escapes from a secret military facility as a child. Now an adult, she attempts to lead a normal life in post-apocalyptic Seattle while dodging government operatives who want to take her back in. -
Dollhouse (TV Series)
Created by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers), Dollhouse focuses on a secret facility that "wipes" people using a device of their own design. These people have their memories replaced by ones created by the Dollhouse in order to complete certain contracts, be they romantic in nature, violent or even top secret. -
Watch_Dogs (Video Game)
Featuring an open world rife with hackable devices and systems, Watch Dogs sadly failed to set the world on fire the way its developers at Ubisoft had hoped. It did create an interesting and unique world for future stories to be told in, however.
