10 Sci-Fi Rip-Off Movies (That Messed Up What They Copied)
6. Metamorphosis
Another highly influential sci-fi filmmaker whose work has been imitated and flagrantly ripped off for decades? The great David Cronenberg.
And there's surely no more egregious example of this than 1990's Metamorphosis, George Eastman's ropey hybrid of both Cronenberg's The Fly and Stuart Gordon's cult classic 1985 horror-comedy Re-Animator.
Much like Cronenberg's joint in particular, Metamorphosis centers around a brilliant scientist (Gene LeBrock) whose attempt to test one of his scientific experiments on himself causes him to begin transforming into a revolting monster.
The thing is, it's clear that Eastman put effort into the movie and wasn't driven by pure shady cynicism, but Metamorphosis ultimately still lacks both the beating heart of Cronenberg's film and, perhaps most crucially, its state-of-the-art practical makeup and gore effects.
If the climax of The Fly is devastatingly sad, the rubber dinosaur-looking suit used for Metamorphosis' finale is instead guaranteed to invoke riotous laughter wherever the film is shown.