The lost film from the early-90s, 'Simulacrum,' has a messed up tagline: "Terminator 2 meets Twin Peaks". I had a go at some Dall-e art using variations on that prompt. This was the one that seemed to most capture David Lynch + James Cameron.

I think this might be the lost film from the early 90s I'm trying to track down. This bit of movie news says something called 'Hate Machine' went into production at Pinewood in '92. Maybe using the 'Alien 3' sets?

That's not the title I remember, so likely it got retitled. I checked these actors and director on IMDB, but nothing by that name (or 'Simulacrum') listed. So, this is a real mystery.

I love the concept, "Terminator meets Twin Peaks," which was used to promote the lost film, 'Simulacrum'. It sparks all kind of visual and story potential - Laura Palmer in place of Sarah Connor. It's like the alt universe where David Lynch directed 'Return of the Jedi'.

The 'Red Room' could then be some kind of virtual, AI space. Maybe the whole thing would just end up being 'The Matrix'.

Lost film from 1992 - 'Simulacrum'

Over the years, among my filmmaking group from college, 'Simulacrum' has become an adjective we often use: "That look is very simulacrum," for example. Or, "That storyline feels very simulacrum".

I saw these retro chairs at work, in front of an old reel-to-reel tape recorder. The whole setting looked very 'Simulacrum' - I have cut out these parts from my photo and superimposed onto a background. The movie, Simulacrum, featured a lot of old-feel tech and it had these two suited guys (who, turns out, are AI agents - um, yeah, totally 'The Matrix') who spend most of their screen-time sat around, talking in cool spaces.

Expanding upon an earlier scene I recreated from 'Simulacrum' (1992), this one has added flying death creatures, who try to attack the female slaves at night. In the film, the creatures are more cloaked and concealed (not unlike 'Dementors,' but more bio-mechanical). I remember, as mouths, they had long feeding tubes which extended from their masks.

I like the style of this Dall-e image - it's very 'concept art' and makes the movie look far more epic than it was in reality (bearing in mind this was a low-budget art/horror flick from the early-90s)!

Lost film - slightly found?

I had a great tip off on a subreddit: someone who remembers a short 'coming attractions' mention in a mag called Film Threat about the movie 'Simulacrum' back in the early-90s. They reckon 1992 would fit. It definitely had an AI theme - it promised "Terminator 2 meets Twin Peaks!" I'm here for that! They kept an eye out for the movie, but it never seemed to surface. They are pretty sure the article mentioned how the vacated sets for 'Alien 3' were reused. That sounds cool. It would also mean the movie was filmed in the UK. That gives me another potential lead.

'Simulacrum' poster, Summer '92 edition

There is a scene I strongly remember from the first section of 'Simulacrum' (lost film?). I already mentioned the female slaves who are chained to some kind of slim telecoms tower. They are made to dig the ground around their feet. Why, we never really know.

The scene I've tried to AI generate takes place at night. Each woman has to dig a hole for herself to sleep. This is for protection against the screeching, flying creatures which only come in the dark. The women lay down in their soil 'beds' and sleep under their shovels for protection. I gave up trying to visualise the shovel part - this was the closest I could get without the whole thing looking too disturbing.

Seriously, the kid droid in 'Simulacrum' looks nothing like this (neither does the main character or the setting) but I really like this composition. It could be a Minimalist, J-Horror remake, perhaps.

It's taken a lot of Dall-e prompting, but I've finally gotten somewhere, trying to capture another memorable sequence in 'Simulacrum' (1992?) - bear in mind this is all from memory, and those memories are old. In fact, the scene I've tried to capture looks nothing like this, but I wanted to get across the main elements: this female captive in a dark, tunnel-like cell who is chained (Dall-e is quite strict on generating that kind of stuff) and can't see much because she's wearing this weird, kind-of-organic helmet which has distorting eye goggles. A feeding tube attached to the helmet keeps her alive.

This character (sorry - I don't remember her name) can move around the space. She finds out she's not alone. There is this droid, which I would say is like a mini R2D2. I got the sense this little robot is supposed to be a surrogate child. Funny thing I do remember is that it leaks acid out of a duct when it gets nervous. Anyway, I shall post something else about the droid. What I've added to this scene is the mysterious figure who stays in the shadows and messes with the mind of the main character by whispering things and hurting the droid.

This is my first attempt at using Dall-e to recreate some of the scenes in the film (as best I can remember - it's been quite a few years since I last watched 'Simulacrum'). The first section of the film has these female prisoners chained to a tall (infinite) comms tower which is controlled somehow by the AI. I remember various symbols flashing up and down. The women (four to a tower) are mostly just digging - we never really find out the reason for the digging, although one of them does find a small crystal, so maybe that's the reason. It gets really violent - these flying biomechanical creatures attack at night; they use a kind of feeding tube to suck out a person's insides. All the women die a grim death for one reason or another, although the two main characters somehow reappear in altered forms later in the film.

Lost film?

I'm trying to track down a horror/sci-fi movie which was never given a proper release. I think it was called 'Simulacrum' (possibly among other titles). It would have been in production in 1991/1992. My friend at college had a bootleg assembly cut on tape - there were (practical) effects shots missing and no proper soundtrack. This version was black-and-white, so I never knew if that was the intention. We had a lot of fun coming up with our own soundtrack. The film was batshit crazy! I don't think it had any well-known actors in the cast. It had an AI theme, but was more body horror. It definitely had queer vibes. We often watched it after a night out. Such a shame it was never released!

UPDATE: A subreddit user remembers mention of a 'coming attraction' called 'Simulacrum' in an old issue of Film Threat mag way back in, probably, '92. They loved the description, "Terminator 2 meets Twin Peaks"!

They also recall mention of the Simulacrum movie using some of the left-over sets from 'Alien 3,' but that might be a false memory.