In an undefined time and place, a group of aliens called "Strangers" are dying in their planet and are experimenting new options of life with humans.

A amnesiac man awakens in a bathtub and receives a phone call from a Dr. Daniel Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) warning him that he should leave the hotel room since he will be captured. Before leaving the room, he finds the corpse of a woman and a knife. Soon a group of Strangers hunts him down but he succeeds to escape. Before leaving the hotel, the front desk informs that his wallet is in a restaurant. He retrieves his wallet and learns that his name is John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) and is married with Emma (Jennifer Connely). He is followed by the persistent police inspector Frank Burnstead (William Hurt) that believes he is a serial- killer. Murdich also learns that he has uncontrolled powers called tuning similar to the Strangers and he flees using the powers. Murdoch notes that the city does not have daylight and every midnight the Strangers rearrange the city and change the people memories. Further, everybody knows the coastal town Shell Beach by heart but nobody knows how to go there. He teams up with Burnstead and Emma and apparently Dr. Schreber is the only human who knows what is happening in the city. What will be the fate of the humans in the hands of the Strangers?

"Dark City" is a timeless cult sci-fi noir that has not aged and uses references from other films that perfectly works. The noir style is a tribute to the period between 1939 and 1950; the "Strangers" and the Gothic style are visibly inspired in "Nosferatu" and "Metropolis"; the aliens that take the human bodies are inspired in 'Body Snatchers". Further, it certainly has influenced "Matrix" that was released one year later. The cinematography and special effects are astonishing and the performances are top-notch. Like a wine, this film seems to be better as years go by. Fortunately the writers and director have not been seduced with the success and there is no sequel of this little masterpiece. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Cidade das Sombras" ("City of the Darkness")

This is one of the more difficult films to describe. Part of this is because I really don't want to ruin the suspense for anyone who has yet to see the film. Part of it is because this sci-fi film is so incredibly "foreign"--having very little in common with previous sci-fi films. I loved the fact that there were no robots, space battles or a traditional quest and hero. Lovers of adventure-oriented sci-fi may dislike this and many may be put off by the dark tone and colors of the film which give it almost a Film Noir quality. However, if you have longed for something that is not derivative or predictable, then this film is for you!

The film starts off in a dark 1940s-like world. In many ways, it looks like post-WWII America--with the fashions, buildings and hair styles. Yet, despite the presence of fedora hats and old time cars, something is not right. You see, this place can't be Earth because it's forever night! And, to top this off, periodically everything stops--everything. And then, seemingly from out of no where, odd looking aliens (who look a lot like Uncle Fester, the guy from HELLRAISER and Nosferatu combined) appear and begin doing strange experiments on the people. Oddly, however, after seemingly doing this for years, one of the subjects does NOT fall asleep when the others do and he realizes that there is something very, very wrong. Much of the rest of the film consists of these nightmarish creatures pursuing him--trying to stop the one guinea pig who is different from the rest.

Bizarre and possessing a terrific otherworldliness that no other film can replicate, DARK CITY is amazingly original, tense and worth seeing. However, for those who want cute sci-fi like ET or STAR WARS, you may be disappointed--this film is far from cute and is not a film oriented towards kids.

THE CROW director Alex Proyas followed up his stylish debut with this even more stylish slice of sci-fi film noir. It's a complex yet eminently watchable beast, featuring a twisted, world-changing plot and using all manner of innovative ideas to create a true work of science fiction. Where THE MATRIX took a sci-fi principle and used it as a basis for a straightforward action flick, DARK CITY remains about the ideas and their implications all the way through.

The film kicks off as a straightforward murder mystery, featuring the ever underrated Rufus Sewell (in a rare Hollywood good guy role) as a wronged man on the run from the authorities. So far so Hitchcock, but throw in a dogged cop (William Hurt, who's never been better) and a series of repugnant baldies led by the camp but excellent Richard O'Brien, and you have the recipe for one uniquely thrilling film.

There are missteps along the way, including the infamously bad judgement of the studio to include an opening narration which makes redundant all the genuine twists and surprises later on in the story, but for the most part this is an exhilarating slice of film-making and much more mature than the better known Keanu Reeves-starrer. Proyas elicits some fascinating performances from his assembled cast, including an alluring debut for Aussie starlet Melissa George, a creepy turn for British character actor Ian Richardson, a bug-eyed role for MAD MAX 2's Bruce Spence, Jennifer Connelly as a paragon of virtue and the surprisingly excellent Kiefer Sutherland, cast against type as a twitchy doctor whose role owes much to Peter Lorre. The special effects involving the buildings are superb and the film as a whole is a refreshingly original piece of sci-fi done on a grand scale.