38 Movies That Use Cheap Props

Resident Evil

The main characters use, ta-da, a glucose meter to crack access codes to the secret lab. We didn’t know it had this function. Perhaps it’s all about the antenna that is not there in the original model?

Blade Runner 2049

The tablet that Ryan Gosling uses at the beginning of the movie is actually a negative holder for a 1920s camera

Lost

Viewers managed to find a guitar tuner in the pulse meter monitor from the Lost series.

Moreover, the high-tech GPS-transponder that Daniel Faraday suspiciously carries reminds us of the Travelon 4-In-1 Emergency Car Tool. It has a special spike that can break through a windshield and cut through safety belts, a flashing red beacon, and a heavy-duty magnet, but it has no GPS tracker.

Licence to Kill

The maggot tub that James Bond puts his hands in is actually a large bucket of fishing lures. A twister tail, also known as a soft plastic bait, is made of silicone and doesn’t look disgusting. But, if you put them in a bucket and dim the lights, you might see them a little differently.

Back to the Future Part II

At the very beginning of the second part of the famous trilogy, Doc Brown arrives from the future on an improved time machine that can now run on recycled waste fuel. But for some reason, he puts the waste in a “Krups” coffee grinder. Oh, sorry, that’s the energy generator that runs on waste.

Doctor Who

In the first episodes of the cult fantasy series Doctor Who, that was released in the 1960s, filmmakers used lava lamps that had just appeared on the market in the design of TARDIS (the device for time travel). They were supposed to create a futuristic look for the device.

Look closer at the cyber people’s hands. Those are cricket gloves dyed silver.

Equilibrium

If you slightly modify the Fresia SP 200 airfield tractor, remove it from the airport, and add some dull gray decorations, it will easily play the role of a police car in a bleak totalitarian future.

Star Trek

We wonder why there is a Dyson Airblade in a compartment of the “Enterprise.” Ah, that’s a scanner for fingerprints — now we get it.

Captain James Kirk takes his place on the pilot’s bridge and starts to scan goods, oops… we meant to say control the ship. Barcode scanners are there for beauty and to give it a futuristic look.

In order to understand what the spaceman is sick with, the on-board doctor uses a vegetable peeler. That’s totally normal, right?

The creators didn’t bother with the special effects in the first episodes of Star Trek, which is why they used dogs in lion’s manes and with horns on their heads to portray alien animals.

Star Wars

The Star Wars franchise is a champion for using witty ideas to make their props. “A deer rear” in the role of Endor proves this. Further, we have collected other bright examples.

Why is the brave Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn holding a Gillette Sensor Excel women’s razor? Is he going to shave off his beard? Nope, he is using it for communicating because, in his world, it’s not a razor but a super-advanced communication device.

Despite the fact that the young Anakin Skywalker doesn’t have a dog and only has various robots and devices, there is a dog toy hanging on his wall. Dog owners use this toy to play push-and-pull games with their pets. However, future Darth Vader fixes various mechanisms with its help.

V for Vendetta

One of the Reddit users recognized a book light from the early 2000s with a red LED in Finch’s ultra-modern anti-listening device.

The Mandalorian

The Child, or Baby Yoda, in The Mandalorian is found in a food container painted in a different color with some lights glued to the front. These cans are called “Mermite” and they are used in the US Military.

Meet the Fockers

Robert De Niro’s character, Jack Byrnes — a retired CIA operative, who wants to spy on his future relative, puts the lid from a uni-ball pen into the mouth of the fake gator. This “nanny cam” helps him watch many interesting scenes.

Total Recall

How does the hand computer of soldiers from Total Recall look? Wait, that’s an engineering calculator — a Casio FX-250D, to be exact!

Ghostbusters

The psychokinetic energy meter looks impressive, especially when you know that it’s made of a shoe polisher.

The Fifth Element

Korben Dallas, played by Bruce Willis, holds an intercom from the future. These devices can be seen today too. Perhaps you even have one in your car because it was a Sony Remote Commander that decided to play this role.

The detonator used by the Mangalore alien to detonate the cruise space liner is actually just a combination lock. It can be seen on lockers in gyms or high schools.

Also, the parasites that appeared in the landing gear of the spaceliner are actually Bumble Rubber Balls. They were just wrapped in artificial leather.

The Expanse

The ventilation on the wall in the shaft is made of a laptop cooling pad.

This pressure chamber is just an ordinary car top carrier.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

In the movie, this device is used for reading to a kid with artificial intelligence. However, in reality, it’s a computer microphone from Radio Shack. Filmmakers changed its color, removed the cable, and added the LED lamp.

Virtuosity

Here is another extremely important controller. It’s pretty weird to see the speed gear from LEGO railways on it.

Doomsday Book

The “Advair Diskus” dry powder inhaler plays the role of a futuristic telecommunication device.

Galaxy Quest

It wasn’t for nothing that Sigourney Weaver got scared of the scanner in the alien’s tentacle — perhaps she knows that it’s a gynecological speculum.

Amphibian Man

Ichthyander’s underwater suit was made from dyed scraps of old white film and it turned out to be a fantastic idea.

Alien Resurrection

The control device in Alien Resurrection is a handheld game called “Lights Out.”

Alias

The high-tech device for opening any doors in the Alias series is in fact a crème brûlée torch.

Mad Max: Fury Road

If you look closer, you’ll see that Max’s mask is made of a gardening fork, which looks pretty appropriate in the post-apocalyptic future.

Mutant X

A Reddit user was pretty surprised when she saw that one of the series characters, Jesse, uses this device. In this “high-tech looking” device with buttons, she recognized an eyeshadow compact she has had since high school.

The Spy Next Door

Jackie Chan uses a Dymo LetraTag handheld label maker that can be bought for $25 to program a satellite. That’s definitely not much for such advanced technology.

XXX: Return of Xander Cage

The rocket launcher at the end of the movie is actually a TV camcorder for shoulder-mounted use, that has been decorated with fake pipes.

Westworld

Bernard Lowe gives his girlfriend a GPS tracker hoping that the park’s security will spot her. But in real life, it’s a road flare. They can be used to mark a detour during repair work at night. Amazon has them for sale online for $7.

Bonus

One of the most creative props was used on the set of the Bengali TV series called Krishnokoli. It’s not easy to get a defibrillator, while you can find scrubber brushes in any supermarket. Why not resurrect the patient with their help?

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