Great sci-fi movies have the power to take you to another world and even make you consider more of what the universe is capable of. There are countless classic entries into the genre, from visual stunners like Blade Runner and The Matrix to beloved adventure films like Back to the Future. If those are the only science-fiction movies you've seen, you might be missing out on some incredible films.
As sci-fi movies can be overlooked by audiences who aren't already devout fans of the genre, we've rounded up a handful of movies beyond the iconic titles worth watching. These films are underrated and misunderstood upon their release and later reappraised, as well as incorporating elements from other genres, like action, horror, comedy, and romance. From niche '80s movies you haven't heard of to captivating stories set in space to time travel narratives and beyond, these are 32 movies to watch if you like sci-fi.
'2046' (2004)
This Wong Kar-wai film (envisioned as a sort of sequel to his masterpiece, In the Mood for Love) is complex and non-chronological. In brief, it centers around a train that can take people to a place to recapture their memories, but no one ever comes back.
'About Time' (2013)
This movie leans in on the comedy (and tragedy) of what living as a time traveler would be like. We'd argue that About Time nails the nuances of the science, too; it is a smart rumination on what we can't change in our lives and how we understand the limits of our power.
'Annihilation' (2018)
Alex Garland (Ex Machina) takes on the novel of the same name, changing much about the story but keeping the very scary crux: a meteor lands and causes "the Shimmer," an expanding field of energy from which no one escapes. We follow a team of female scientists (Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson) as they enter the Shimmer.
'Another Earth' (2011)
This is an incredibly brilliant concept: a new planet appears in the sky, named Earth 2, in which the two planets have been synchronous. It's all told through the perspective of a young woman (Brit Marling, who co-wrote the screenplay) recovering from a horrible accident—and must decide whether to pursue a new life on Earth 2.
'Arrival' (2016)
Despite largely being considered one of the best sci-fi films ever made, Arrival is still underrated. If you like Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Blade Runner 2049), you will love this: After several alien spaceships come to Earth, a linguist (Amy Adams) is tasked with figuring out a way to communicate before time runs out.
'Asteroid City' (2023)
This throwback film toys with our conceptions of aliens in the 1950s, Wes Anderson makes a characteristically ornate and star-studded film about a space convention that becomes the site of an actual alien visitation. With its large ensemble cast, lots of storylines play out, but just let it wash over you.
'Barbarella' (1968)
Space traveler Barbarella (a delightful Jane Fonda) travels through space and gets up to various shenanigans in this cheesy, sexy movie. Nowadays, this is probably a fun time capsule for anyone who didn't experience this movie when it came out in 1968, but it's also just silly and fun.
'Dark City' (1998)
This film is considered a forerunner for the modern sci-fi film—a man (Rufus Sewell) wakes up with no memory, is pursued by strange creatures, and is thrust into a terrifying dystopia. Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly are all brilliant in this.
'Death Becomes Her' (1992)
This Robert Zemeckis has some incredible-for-its-time special effects, but in hindsight, it's also a brilliant study of constantly chasing youthfulness. Two nemeses (Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn) discover the fountain of youth and begin using it to try and take the other down. This is a dark comedy.
'Event Horizon'
While this horror movie set in outer space had a troubled production, and it was not a commercial success, it's still quite a terrifying film. A starship mysteriously disappears and then reappears—so a new ship goes out to see what happened. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
'Gattaca' (1997)
While this was a box office flop, this dystopian sci-fi imagines a future in which you can practice eugenics has become a cult classic. A person conceived naturally (Ethan Hawke) takes on the identity of a "valid" genetically modified human to get a prestigious aerospace job. This is quite an influential film about the dangers of human genetic modification, FYI.
'Her' (2014)
This is considered one of Spike Jonze's very best films, in part because of how deftly it handles a complicated sci-fi topic. Joaquin Phoenix plays a shy, lonely, soon-to-be divorced man who downloads an AI operating system (played by Scarlett Johansson) and then promptly falls in love with her.
'High Life' (2019)
For French filmmaker Claire Denis' first English-language project, she tackled a dark outer space story. Criminals aboard a spaceship perform research on a black hole and let's just say tensions arise. This film goes to some unexpected places, and it's as visually lush as it is intensely dramatic.
'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (2005)
If you like comedies and don't mind following along with a trippy story, then Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy might be for you. It's based on a book of the same name and follows a human's intergalactic journey after (spoiler alert) the Earth is destroyed by aliens five minutes into the movie.
'Idiocracy' (2006)
This is a '00s movie you might have missed, which has since been reclaimed by modern audiences. In this satirical black comedy, two humans (Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph) are placed in hibernation, and then (after an intervening 500 years) they awaken to discover humanity's collective intelligence and functionality are at an all-time low.
'The Invisible Man' (2020)
This retelling of a classic horror novel by H.G. Wells becomes an intense tale of domestic violence. The Invisible Man is about an obsessive, abusive partner (Olivia Jackson Cohen) who fakes his death and starts stalking his ex (Elisabeth Moss). The sci-fi comes in with the tech he uses to become invisible, to incredible effect.
'Legend' (1985)
This is a sci-fi/fantasy film by Ridley Scott, and it's not as well-known as some of his other movies (although it's now considered an '80s cult classic). It's conceived as a fantastical nightmare, with the characters—including a young Tom Cruise—trying to prevent eternal night and the death of all unicorns.
'Life' (2017)
This film was a commercial hit but (at the time) was considered less innovative than similar movies like Alien. The film is quite scary—think of it as a horror sci-fi film—that involves a rapidly growing alien organism that some astronauts are desperately trying to keep from making it to Earth.
'The Lobster' (2015)
This Yorgos Lanthimos movie has one of the weirder sci-fi premises on this list: In an alternate reality, if you become single, you have 45 days to find a partner, or you are transformed into an animal of your choice. And yet—it's a funny, devastating film.
'Moon' (2009)
This is probably the best example of an underrated, classic, reclaimed sci-fi movie—so if you like the genre, this is a must-watch. In the future, an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) labors by himself on the moon, and then he discovers a doppelgänger who insists he's the same person.
'Paul' (2011)
What if Seth Rogan played an alien? Such is the concept of this film, which is generally a satire of other movies that feature similar plots. It's also kind of a road trip comedy, with two BFFs (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) trying to get Paul back to his home planet.
'Primer' (2004)
This is a low-budget, experimental, independent film that hardcore sci-fi fans love. It features two engineers who accidentally discover time travel; absolutely no effort is made to translate any of the technical jargon, so you might feel a little lost, but the movie's incredibly cool.
'Poor Things' (2023)
With Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos offers his take on a Frankenstein-inspired narrative. It begins with a mad scientist who implants a baby's brain into the body of a woman (Emma Stone). As she begins to develop rapidly, the hysterical gothic fantasy examines what it means to step into one's personhood.
'Serenity' (2005)
This Joss Whedon film (based on the underrated and beloved show Firefly) combines the genres of a Westerns and a space film together in a glorious mashup. You don't need to have watched the series: It centers around a ragtag group of space travelers on the run from some very scary forces.
'Slither' (2006)
This is a gruesome film, in all the best ways. Directed by James Gunn, it follows a bunch of characters trying to outrun an extraterrestrial parasite that manifests in the form of huge slugs or takes over its human hosts. If you've got a strong stomach, though, this is entertaining as heck.
'Solaris' (2002)
While most people are familiar with the 2002 remake with George Clooney, this original Russian film is considered one of the best sci-fi films of all time. A psychologist is sent to a space station after the astronauts report strange visions. Best to know nothing else before you watch.
'Super 8' (2011)
If you like Spielbergian films like E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, J.J. Abrams pulls heavy inspiration from them in Super 8. Without spoiling too much, a group of kids run afoul of a government train carrying a creature and complications ensue.
'Snowpiercer' (2014)
Before Parasite wowed audiences and received critical acclaim, Snowpiercer was Bong Joo-ho's first film to receive breakout success in the U.S. and marked his first English-language film. In a dystopian future, the world is frozen except for the remnants of humanity circling the globe in an ever-moving train. The trip from the tail to the engine is a violent, fascinating, visually rich journey.
'Spirited Away' (2001)
Even if you're unfamiliar with Japanese animated fantasy films (or this director, Hayao Miyazaki), you may like Spirited Away as an incredible sci-fi fantasy tale. After Sen and her family accidentally step into the world of spirits, she must figure out how to save them.
'The Wandering Earth' (2009)
One of China's highest-grossing films of all time, this is a cool interstellar film. It's set in the near future when Earth's population has either fled underground or to a nearby space station after the sun died. Years later, the survivors are content with the wreckage of humanity.
'Under the Skin' (2014)
This artsy film was not a box office success but is considered a classic of the genre; if you missed it the first time around, you should reconsider it. Scarlett Johansson is an alien who's dropped off in the middle of Scotland and has malicious designs for the men she meets.
'The World's End'
Ostensibly a story about several friends doing a pub crawl that they attempted as teens, this quickly takes a left turn into sci-fi territory. Directed by Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead) and co-written with his frequent collaborator, and star Simon Pegg, this didn't get quite as much love as their earlier films.
