Film

Project X

Name: Project X
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, William Sadler, Johnny Ray McGhee, Jonathan Stark

Other titles called Project X: the 1968 film, the 2012 film.

Conspiracy mystery

A young soldier assigned to care for military test chimpanzees begins to question what's really happening inside the secret facility. Project X blends sci-fi premise with genuine emotional stakes, building toward something unexpectedly moving. It's for anyone who loves '80s genre films with heart, where the setup promises one thing and the soul demands another.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a gentle, wry film where the real pleasure is watching a reluctant young soldier warm up to a handful of clever chimps, with a pinch of science-fiction unease running underneath.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting or sharp edges; this one moves at an easy amble, its menace stays mild, and its sentiment and 1980s polish may feel dated.

What it asks of you: About an hour and three quarters of patient, unhurried attention; it is light and warm for most of its length, with the mood gradually tilting toward seriousness.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

WarGames1983

Matthew Broderick again in a high-concept thriller that asks uncomfortable questions about authority and systems we trust. Tight, paranoid, grounded in real anxiety about institutions. A masterclass in raising stakes without spectacle.

But The technology looks very 1983, which some find charming and others find distracting. Pacing dips occasionally in the second act.

The Right Stuff1983

Epic ensemble about men caught between personal ambition and institutional pressure, with tremendous heart beneath the adventure. Beautifully shot, genuinely funny, and moves you without trying. Shows what American filmmaking could do in the '80s.

But At three hours twenty minutes, it demands commitment. Some find the mythologising of test pilots a bit much.

Silkwood1983

Meryl Streep in a true story about a whistleblower inside a nuclear facility. Thriller DNA but grounded in character and real moral complexity. Tense without manipulation, angry without grandstanding.

But Deliberately unglamorous. The ending is oblique in a way that frustrates some viewers. Quite slow-burn.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Project X

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Final Countdown1980

Both centre on humans growing attached to chimps in scientific contexts and discovering uncomfortable truths about institutional power and what we're willing to accept in the name of science.

Documentary about a chimpanzee taught sign language and the scientists who love her. Observational, unsentimental, quietly devastating about attachment and what we do to the creatures we study. Real stakes, no manipulation.

But No narrative arc in the conventional sense. Slow and contemplative. You watch researchers, not drama. Requires patience and empathy.

Videodrome1983

Cronenberg's hallucinatory nightmare about technology, bodies, and institutional manipulation. Visually stunning, genuinely disturbing, fascinatingly weird. If you want sci-fi that actually feels alien, this is it.

But Extremely graphic body horror. The plot is deliberately fractured and may feel incoherent. Not for the queasy.

Brainstorm1983

Sincere, ambitious sci-fi about technology interfacing with human consciousness and grief. Natalie Wood's final film, haunting for that alone. Wants to move you and largely succeeds.

But Some of the technology sequences feel dated. The ending is divisive—many find it too much, too fast.

Blade Runner1982

Moody, philosophical sci-fi noir about what we owe to created beings. Visually stunning and weirdly intimate despite the scale. One of the films that actually earned its cult status.

But Deliberately paced. Harrison Ford sounds bored in the voiceover. Takes genuine effort to fully connect with.

Altered States1980

William Hurt as a scientist experimenting on himself with sensory deprivation and hallucinogens. Genuinely disturbing, visually innovative, and deeply strange. Paddy Chayefsky's last film; it shows.

But Very 1980, very weird, very willing to alienate you. Some find the premise silly; it isn't trying to convince you otherwise.

THX 11381971

George Lucas's debut: a bleak, hypnotic sci-fi about dehumanisation in totalitarian systems. Shot in cold, clinical whites and grays. Genuinely unsettling in ways modern blockbusters aren't.

But It's minimalist to the point of coldness. Deliberately does not warm to you. Very long stretches of stark, empty filmmaking.

Dreamscape1984

A scientist can enter people's dreams; he's recruited for a secret military project. Ridiculous premise played with genuine style and stakes. Fun 80s sci-fi that doesn't insult your intelligence.

But Uneven tonal shifts. The climax is a bit overwrought. Some effects haven't aged brilliantly.

Okja2017

Both use fantastical setup to examine how institutions exploit living things for research, and both pivot toward genuine emotional connection with the animal as the moral center of the story.

Bong Joon-ho's adventure about a girl protecting a genetically modified creature from corporate exploitation. Furious, funny, visually dazzling, and morally cleareyed. Tonal whiplash that somehow works.

But Tonal shifts are genuinely jarring—whimsy to horror to action to tragedy. Some find the messaging heavy-handed. Very long at two hours twenty minutes.

Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People2016

Like Project X, it explores the relationship between human researchers and primates, but from documentary reality rather than drama—making the moral questions about our responsibilities to these beings even harder to avoid.

Documentary about Francine 'Penny' Patterson and Koko, a gorilla raised in human language and sign. Gentle, genuinely moving, raises profound questions about consciousness without shouting. Restores your faith that curiosity and love can coexist.

But Very of its era in pacing and editing. Some footage is informal home-video quality. Sincere in a way that can feel quaint now.