7 Nigerian Sci-Fi Movies That Will Make You Question Everything
Fantasy and supernatural movies? Nollywood has them on lock. From ghosts that wear designer wristwatches to gods that are always angry, and sometimes even dragons that pick people up and fly away with them, supernatural dramas have been our bread and butter for the longest time. But there’s one niche we have barely touched; science […]
Fantasy and supernatural movies? Nollywood has them on lock. From ghosts that wear designer wristwatches to gods that are always angry, and sometimes even dragons that pick people up and fly away with them, supernatural dramas have been our bread and butter for the longest time. But there’s one niche we have barely touched; science fiction.
Alien invasions, robots taking over the world, and post-apocalyptic settings are themes that would fit right in with present-day Nigeria. After all, we’re already living in a dystopia at this point. Surprisingly, there are only a handful of Nigerian movies in this genre, and we’ve gone to great lengths to bring you 7 Nigerian science fiction movies that will make you question everything.
Ratnik
The film is set in a remote African town during the early days of World War III. A brazen special trooper returns home from the war-front to find her only sister at the verge of becoming the undead due to the abuse of a certain chemical substance. The race to save her life begins a new kind of war where the most advanced war machine known to man is unveiled. While we can’t promise you spectacular graphics, we can guarantee that the story is gripping and you will definitely be entertained.
D.O.D. – Day of Destiny
With their family facing financial woes, two teenage brothers seize an opportunity to reverse their bad fortunes by traveling 20 years back in time. It is the first Nigerian family adventure film as well as Nigeria’s first-ever time traveler film and was also the first Nigerian film to be released in 2021.
Day of Destiny tries to toe the line of Afro-futurism in a way that’s reminiscent of Kizazi-Moto: Generation Fire, an animated series with each episode telling a story from a different part of Africa. It doesn’t entirely achieve it, but you can go for the Sci-Fi and stay for the comedy, because there is quite a lot of it.
Hello Rain
A scientist who is also a witch uses technology and magic to give superpowers to herself and her friends. When their powers grow uncontrollably, she must stop them by any means necessary. A wild ride of sorcery, science, sisterhood and supervillainy, the short story Hello, Moto by World Fantasy, Nebula, and Hugo award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, was brought to life by C.J. “Fiery” Obasi, director of O-TOWN and OJUJU. Hello Rain is a whimsical short film that starts with the main character, Rain saying, “Don’t ever mix juju with technology. There is a witchcraft to science and a science to witchcraft.” It seems Day of Destiny didn’t get the memo.
The film is entertaining, and the graphics are acceptable. We think laser vision is the icing on the cake, personally.
Kajola
Set in the year 2059, Nigeria had witnessed another civil war. The war had ravaged the mainland area of Lagos and the government plans to destroy it and rebuild the city. Allen, a rebel leader, hears of this plan and leads a rebellion against the government. Niyi Akinmolayan’s debut film, it was released in 2009 to much fanfare. Akinmolayan was tired of Nollywood filmmakers, implying that they didn’t know how to make cool stuff. He believed he was going to change Nollywood forever by making “the greatest Nigerian movie ever. It will be action/sci-fi with lots of effects and we are going to win an Oscar.”
However, Kajola had terrible graphics and reports say moviegoers didn’t finish the film at cinemas. “They stormed out of the hall. Threatened the ticketing guys. Demanded their money back,” Akinmolayan wrote on his blog. The film was thrown out of cinemas after two days. What will it make you question? Your sanity, for one.
The Day They Came
The Day They Came is a zero-budget sci-fi short directed by Genesis Williams, a student of Akinmolayan. It was shot in Lagos in 2013 and follows a man witnessing an alien invasion in Lagos. The trailer shows the main character walking out of his compound in the morning, looking left and right, before lighting a cigarette. He stands there smoking until he looks to his left and suddenly sees a giant robot that has seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and breaks into a run. While the graphics here still look amateurish, it is an upgrade from Kajola.
The Sim
The Sim, directed by Eri Umusu, is an animated sci-fi short that takes place in a virtual world that’s quite dangerous. The main character, Simisola “Simi” Williams, is an assassin who’s there to get a target by the name of Reloader. Various robots come in to attack her and Simi has to fight for her life to make sure she completes her mission.
The short film was produced by Anthill Studios, and was supposed to be the first part of a web series that never came to fruition. The CGI and fight scenes are top tier, something we’ve come to expect from Anthill studios.
Sector Zero
In Sector Zero, aliens invade Lagos and colonize the people through the government. As a sign of allegiance, every citizen is forced to carry a mark on their forehead. Everyone takes the mark except a man named Michael, played by Instagram comedian, Brother Shaggi.
The trailer is explosive, but noticeably absent of any aliens. This is probably because the creatures themselves are the stuff of nightmares. However, the alien ship ominously cruising through the horizon, and a gun battle with tactical teams in DSS vests are fairly good. It will make you question what might happen if aliens really showed up though.
