Back in 2010 the Review AE published a much-needed introductory guide to Middle Eastern science fiction. Until that time, the terms ‘science fiction' and 'Middle East’ were rarely found together in the same sentence online unless in reference to those ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in Iraq. Since then the article has been duplicated, improved and expanded on by various news sources both online and in the mainstream media. Yet unfortunately today, a quick glance at Arab and Middle Eastern television and cinema would be enough to tell you that the regional entertainment industry is in a creative rut when it comes to producing features that have a fantastical component to them.

Within the realms of fictional entertainment, the local television industry is dominated by soap operas, romance, historical dramas and situational comedies, while fantasy, Horror, science fiction and other similar genres, albeit relatively rare, are primarily relegated to books and if we are very lucky, cinema. That is not to say 'sci-fi and horror' are not popular in the Middle East as both classical and contemporary Arabic literature published in these genres do have a significant fan base, while the most successful Hollywood movies released in the region’s cinemas are indeed from these genres. Yet as to why there is little content produced by Arab and Middle Eastern storytellers for the screen remains an enigma, with some producers pointing their fingers at regional economics, stating that it is simply too risky and costs too much money to produce entertainment that goes beyond your typical soap opera storyline.

With the debacle surrounding the release of Tobe Hooper’s ‘Emirati' horror thriller Djinn serving as a case study of how not to make a successful fantasy genre movie, regionally produced features tend to be failures. Although Star Trek 13 is rumored to feature scenes set in a 23rd Century Dubai, fantasy genre movies are usually only filmed in the region due to our ‘exotic’ landscapes that can serve as suitable alien backdrops, and of course tax free filming incentives. Stories that focus in and around Middle Easterners and our culture remain extremely rare. While Morocco and now Abu Dhabi have become well known for the filming of the Star Wars movies, other unexpected locations such as Jordan are also becoming a 'go to’ place for the filming of those aforementioned alien landscapes. Most recent features that have been filmed there include The Last Days on Mars and Matt Damon’s The Martian, in addition to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with its laughable understanding of basic Middle Eastern geography. If however you are looking for other movies and television shows that are actually set in and across the region then we need look no further than the below list. With various degrees of quality some are locally produced, some are international, but all are interesting.

Make no mistake; Monsters: The Dark Continent is a film you may well want to avoid. As the sequel to the 2010 cult classic Monsters, this sophomore entry in the franchise that advances the story from Mexico to Jordan, is a literal pain to sit through, at least for the most part. An odd hybrid of Cloverfield and The Hurt Locker, Monsters: The Dark Continent finds an American platoon battling Arab insurgents in an inexplicably war torn Jordan. However an invading force of Americans is the least of the country’s problems as a rapidly spreading infestation of giant alien organisms have taken over large parts of its deserts. Ignoring a painfully dull first hour that primarily consists of sexually explicit scenes and dialogue, boring and clichéd ‘war’ dialogue, and just plain boring characters, its second hour ascends to levels of potential greatness where the sublime backdrop of the Jordanian desert and its kind Bedouin culture take center stage. An underlying subtext about what it means to be an aggressive ‘alien invader’ makes up the fabric of this movie, where both the aliens and the American troops, despite attacking each other, are also both viewed as unwanted aliens who have corrupted the country with their presence. With some beautifully rendered CGI monsters and scenery that compliments the movie’s overall tone and cinematography, to enjoy this film, you just need to avoid its first hour.

Essentially an Arabic remake of a similarly themed English language film released in 2005, When Time Becomes A Woman is an arthouse feature that is somewhat more esoteric and surreal in its concept than all of the other movies on this list. Here our main protagonist, who is on a quest to not only save his country but the fate of humanity, has to convince a woman that the power for him to do so rests in her. Essentially a play made for the screen, this ambitious yet dialogue heavy science fiction drama is set in one location by the Dead Sea and features only two characters. Erroneously marketing itself as the ‘first Arab sci-fi movie’ which it is not, how successful it is in its execution is debatable. Despite having a fascinating premise, When Time Becomes A Woman fails in much the same manner many an indie arthouse movie has done before. Just like The Man Who Fell To Earth and Daranosky’s The Fountain, the everyday ‘reality’ our protagonists hails from quickly fades away due to the sometimes absurd dialogue they utter, moving the plot from science fiction to an unnecessary course in metaphors and philosophy.

Set in Egypt at the height of the January 2011 Arab Spring, The Pyramid is an American sci-fi/horror that focuses on a group of archeologists who discover an underground pyramid in Giza. Just as the streets of Cairo are beginning to be swarmed with protestors, this international group of tomb raiders that is comprised of both locals and foreigners, defy orders set by the local authorities to leave, in order to explore the vast structure.

Although horror movies set in and around Egypt’s Pharaonic history are nothing new in Hollywood, The Pyramid had the potential of being something unique as it features Egyptian characters (played by actual Arabs) that have a little more depth to them than normally seen in this horror sub-genre. However what follows upon the team entering the pyramid is just another generic monster flick where the characters are picked off one by one by cruel booby-traps, ‘demonic' animals and an otherworldly creature that looked like it could have escaped from one of those The Mummy movies made in the late 90s early 2000s - complete with bad CGI and all.

Vampires are scary again in the critically acclaimed Iranian arthouse horror A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. Moving away from the sparkly antics of the Twilight series and returning back to the grim celluloid mythos made famous by the likes of Ann Rice, this black and white movie that was released in 2015 puts a Middle Eastern spin on the genre where residents of a small Iranian town are hunted by a frightful creature: a girl on a skateboard... who also happens to be a vampire. Although a less than subtle feminist subtext runs throughout this feature in a manner that threatens to derail the story, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is a genuinely creepy and sometimes disturbing tale that features an unsettling mix of dark comedy, David Lynch styled surrealism and more than a passing reference to the classic 1922 vampire movie, Nosferatu.

With production beginning just before life in Syria began falling apart due to the Arab Spring, Ladder To Damascus is a supernatural love story that was filmed in the war torn country amongst gunfire and falling bombs. What was originally scripted to be a fusion of mild Japanese horror and an Arabic love story focusing on the death of a girl and her possession of the living, quickly turned into a character study on the lives of all of its protagonists and secondary characters mid production. With the crisis of the Syrian war beginning to directly impact the filming of this feature, its director felt that the real life horror of day-to-day living was more compelling than his original script. More can be read about it here.

Clearly the team who wrote that episode of the Agents of Shield set in Bahrain, have more than likely never actually been to Bahrain. A quality spinoff of The Avengers movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe made for television, this spy series that is a whimsical mix of Alias and Angel (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), features a weekly mix of 'spies with gadgets' and the occasional super-powered hero. On more than one occasion this globetrotting show has landed in the Middle East, the first time being in a sensibly portrayed Morocco, followed a season later in an abnormally represented Bahrain.

'Abnormally bad' if just for the lack of research done on the country before filming, this episode makes the wealthy Gulf country look like a poor and dangerous Middle Eastern backwater. Filmed on a soundstage designed to look like a clichéd mix of an old Sinbad movie and war-torn Iraq, our Agents find themselves hunting a dangerously super powered villain and her daughter, with their efforts continuously hampered by Local Bahraini gangsters and even the Bahraini police.