This history of science fiction film traces the genre from its earliest days to the two pre-war blockbusters, Metropolis and Things to Come, whose commercial failure put an end to big-budget science fiction film-making for 30 years. It goes on to examine the space adventures of the 1950s, such as Forbidden Planet and This Island Earth, the more horror-based examples such as Invasion of the Body-Snatchers, the hugely successful 2001 and the post-Star Wars boom from the late 1970s onwards. The author is a science fiction critic and author whose novels include the Skylords series.