Low-budget science fiction is spectacularly hard to pull off. The effects demanded by most good sci-fi scripts are too grandiose, too complicated, impossible to do on a limited budget. When someone does manage to pull it off though, it's pretty special. The last time anyone really did it, it was Richard Kelly with Donnie Darko.
Quality sci-fi on a budget is a rarity, but I root for it. I haven't heard many great things about Mutant Chronicles, but wouldn't it be great if they managed to pull something cool off, right under Hollywood's nose? The first five minutes of the low-budget Thomas Jane movie is online, and worth watching. Take a look:






