Science fiction is a tremendously fun and flexible genre of cinema. But even still, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. (Earl Grey. Hot.) But might there be sci-fi movies that go against the galactic grain to be worth checking out, even for people that otherwise haven't enjoyed it?
With the towering influence of classic science fiction movies like Metropolis, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Star Wars, the science fiction genre permeates the art of movies and takes on different forms. Sci-fi comedies, sci-fi horror, sci-fi romances – there's a flavor of sci-fi for everyone. Except, of course, if you're someone who hates sci-fi.
Whether your eyes glaze over at wacky time machines or you fall asleep to well-dressed aliens debating intergalactic politics, you might think that science fiction just isn't for you. But what if, and hear me out, you're just waiting to see something that actually draws you in? You might not like conventional sci-fi. but what about unconventional sci-fi?
From the romantic to the horrific, to the eccentric to the irreverent, here are 32 sci-fi movies to check out if you claim to "hate" sci-fi. Who knows? You might change your mind after this.
32. Save Yourselves! (2020)
War of the Worlds meets millennial anxieties in this hilarious send-up of space invasion thrillers. John Reynolds and Sunita Mani co-star as a couple from Brooklyn who recognize their addictive dependencies on their phones and other technology. In an attempt to unplug and enjoy the outdoors, the two head to a rural cabin with no cell service for R&R – all while civilization is under siege from freaky aliens. With dynamite chemistry between its leads and a fun, modern spin on classic sci-fi themes, Save Yourselves! is a worthwhile movie night selection even for the sci-fi averse.
31. Never Let Me Go (2010)
Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is considered one of the finest novels of the 21st century, and director Mark Romanek's film version earns similarly reverent recognition. Based on Ishiguro's novel, Never Let Me Go follows a group of boarding school graduates - played by Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley - who discover their true purpose as clones whose organs are to be harvested for others until they die. After leaving the school and entering the outside world, the clones struggle to adapt to their environment whilst navigating feelings like love and jealousy. A moving story about empathy with feet firmly grounded to Earth, Never Let Me Go is a sci-fi movie all about the nature of being human.
30. Arrival (2016)
Many sci-fi films deal with the thrilling terror of first contact. But few are as riveting, emotional, and compassionate as Arrival. In this acclaimed picture from Denis Villeneuve, released in 2016, Amy Adams plays a linguistics professor recruited by the U.S. military for a high-profile mission: communicate with aliens after their arrival on Earth. With magnificent direction by Villeneuve, a rich score by Jóhann Jóhannsson, and a non-linear story with a gut-punch twist ending, Arrival is less about the aliens and more about we as humans who find it so difficult to understand one another.
29. District 9 (2009)
This sci-fi smash from Neill Blompkamp was deep in the Oscars race in 2010, and for good reason. This gritty sci-fi movie sports the grimey aesthetics of a news documentary, but District 9 follows an alternate timeline in which bug-like aliens landed on Earth in 1982 to become second-class in South Africa; the movie follows a government bureaucrat who gets in the way of an alien trying to make their way back home. Underscored by South Africa's real history of apartheid, District 9 does what all great sci-fi should: Make us recognize the ugliness of our own species.
28. Come True (2020)
Humans have gone to sleep for thousands of years, yet there's still so much about this basic function of our own bodies we don't know. That's where Come True comes in. Released in 2020 from director Anthony Scott Burns, this sci-fi horror follows a teenage runaway, Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone), who joins a sleep study in exchange for food and safe shelter. But the experiments become a fight for survival as Sarah descends further into a recurring nightmare haunted by a shadowy figure. Evocative of '80s sci-fi horror like Altered States and Videodrome, Come True is a sci-fi movie that is sure to keep you awake at night.
27. Next Exit (2022)
Imagine if the afterlife is proven true. In the speculative near-future of Mali Elfman's Next Exit, death is not the end, and a lucrative company in San Francisco has cornered the market on painless suicides. Two strangers, played by Katie Parker and Rahul Kohli, embark on a cross-country road trip from New York to end their miseries - but the journey just may show them how much life is still worth living. A moving and affirming film about the joy of connections, Next Exit is a ride that eschews the cleanliness of most other sci-fi for the dirt of something real.
26. Children of Men (2006)
In this sinewy dystopian thriller set in 2027, society is on the brink of collapse after all of humanity becomes infertile. Clive Owen leads the movie as a civil servant in the UK who escorts a pregnant refugee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) to safety away from the chaos of a world teetering on the edge. Helmed by auteur Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men uses science fiction to imagine a very plausible future battered by xenophobia and ecocide. Years after its release, the movie remains a blaring alarm about our self-destructive apocalypse.
25. Inception (2010)
It's one of the biggest blockbusters of the 21st century, and the movie that cemented Christopher Nolan as a big-name director even without any superhero IP. In Inception, a professional thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) who specializes in infiltrating dreams is hired for a lucrative gig: to implant the idea of corporate dissolution in a dangerously wealthy executive (Cillian Murphy). While assembling his crack team, DiCaprio's character is haunted by memories of his deceased wife (Marion Cotillard). A sharp-dressed heist thriller in the guise of a science fiction epic, Inception inspires us to question reality, but there's no debate: the movie rips.
24. Primer (2004)
In Shane Carruth's debut feature, two engineers (played by Carruth and David Sullivan) inadvertently discover time travel. Amid their experimentation, they realize time travel is more complex than they ever anticipated. Still an underground cult hit to this day, Primer is remembered for its experimental plot structure and a mixture of ethical philosophy with hardline mathematics. The movie's grounded aesthetics, earthbound perspective, and cerebral approach to time travel make it a standout in the sci-fi genre.
23. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Before Colin Trevorrow helmed the 2015 summer smash Jurassic World, his twee sci-fi Safety Not Guaranteed showed us the meaning of placing trust in the impossible. In this indie gem from 2012, a group of magazine journalists - Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnston, and Karan Soni - seek out a lonely man (Mark Duplass) who placed a classified newspaper ad inviting someone to join them on a time travel adventure. Safety Not Guaranteed will not woo everyone, but its playful tone, clever humor, and generally life-affirming message about seizing the day make it a winner.
22. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a defining movie of the 2000s, influencing too many Tumblr posts and indie rock lyrics to count. It's also a science fiction movie, just without a spaceship or lightsaber in sight. Jim Carrey stars as a man who finds out that his ex-girlfriend (Kate Winslet) has just undergone an experimental procedure in which she's cut him out from all her memories. Feeling hurt by her actions, Carrey's character sets out to do the same thing. But in the deep recesses of his fading memories, he realizes her memory is still what holds him together. Beautiful and sentimental to a fault, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a precious one to remember.
21. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
You've probably heard of the Planet of the Apes franchise. Most of the movies are phenomenal. (Not all of them, mind you.) But only one film in the series takes place in the modern day (sans time travel plots) to depict the start of apes' unnatural evolution. 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, takes place in contemporary San Francisco to follow a chemist (James Franco) who conducts experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's. What he finds instead is an ape with rapidly evolving intelligence. Unlike other movies in the series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a surprisingly grounded and heartfelt tale about creation, friendship, and the consequences of man's challenge against the natural world. No space suits or ape kingdoms here.
20. Nope (2022)
The third horror film from Jordan Peele, Nope is a simmering science fiction horror about man's willful arrogance to try and tame nature. The movie follows sibling horse wranglers in Hollywood who come across an alien monstrosity that hides in plain sight and feeds off organic matter. And as anyone would in Hollywood, they race to snap proof of its existence. With its ingenious riffing over classic alien invasion symbols - we're talking flying saucers and floating cows kind of stuff - Jordan Peele's Nope is a movie with teeth that condemns the predatory ways Hollywood swallows up and spits out dreams.
19. Ex Machina (2015)
In Alex Garland's revered sci-fi thriller, a computer software programmer (Domnhall Gleeson) is awarded a rare opportunity to spend a week with his company's elusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). While there, he meets Nathan's mystifying creation: a beautiful, advanced A.I. named Ava (Alicia Vikander). As Gleeson's character grows close to Ava, he finds Nathan to be a lethal narcissist and races to help Ava escape. Though Ex Machina is quintessential "prestige" sci-fi, it's still an accessible movie even for those allergic to the genre, being about the nature of humanity and the dastardly default settings in evil men.
18. Underwater (2020)
William Eubank's sci-fi horror from 2020, Underwater, takes heavy cues from other movies like Alien and The Abyss. But even with all its obvious inspirations, this handsome gem unearths new depths in the genre. In Underwater, Kirsten Stewart anchors as one of several scientists and engineers at a deep-sea facility in the Mariana Trench who must escape its collapse following freakishly strong earthquakes. Of course, there is something very big, very old, and very mean causing the ruckus. Half escape thriller, half monster horror, Underwater floats more than it sinks.
17. Ad Astra (2019)
The exquisite Ad Astra stars Brad Pitt playing the son of an astronaut who ventures to rescue his previously presumed dead father (Tommy Lee Jones) after he's suddenly found near Neptune. Set in a speculative vision of a near future where space travel is common but no less dangerous, Ad Astra is all about the lengths we go for the ones we love - or, at least, put to rest the things that keep us awake. Impossibly beautiful in its stagecraft, Ad Astra calls to mind other sci-fi like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Interstellar, but its emotionally-driven storytelling and harrowing setpieces make it appealing for anyone and everyone.
16. LFO (2013)
A "mad scientist" thriller with black comic sensibilities, LFO is a Swedish-language indie gem from director Antonio Tublén that explores how trying to keep control means you ultimately lose it. An ordinary man named Robert (Patrik Karlson), a hobbyist who suspects his wife is cheating on him, stumbles upon an audio radio frequency that enables him to hypnotize other people. His experiments escalate into severe abuses of power which ultimately threatens the world. Unconventionally funny and darkly entertaining, LFO begs turning up the volume.
15. Godzilla Minus One (2023)
All around the world, even in Godzilla's native Japan, the King of the Monsters is a pop culture mascot who gets into wrestling matches and stars in commercials. But the 2023 blockbuster Godzilla Minus One, from director Takashi Yamazaki, restored the icon's true magnificence. A politically minded disaster thriller with a raw heart at its core, the movie follows a World War II kamikaze pilot who returns home to start a "family" with strangers, all of whom lost their own during the war. But when Godzilla rises from the sea to terrorize postwar Japan, the pilot bravely tries to follow on his original mission. For anyone who thinks Godzilla movies are too kitschy and corny to take seriously, allow Godzilla Minus One to blow you away.
14. Donnie Darko (2001)
Suburban ennui meets psychological horror in this pseudo-time travel epic from director Richard Kelly. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a troubled teenager who receives cryptic psychic messages from an ominous entity dressed in a frightening bunny costume. The messages ultimately spell doom for everyone around him, and it's up to Gyllenhaal's lethargic, mopey teen to save the day. A discomforting meditation on the nature of reality, Donnie Darko enjoys cult status for its abundantly nihilistic tone, surprisingly star-studded cast, and an overall engaging portrait of adolescent angst and depression as told through sci-fi and superhero comic book tropes.
13. Contact (1997)
If most alien invasion or "first contact" movies feel too explosive for your taste, seek out Contact. Released in 1997 from director Robert Zemeckis, the movie centers around a SETI scientist (Jodie Foster) who finds evidence of extraterrestrial life and is thrust into a position of becoming Earth's primary emissary with another intelligent lifeform. A brainy blockbuster that trades the bombast of Independence Day and War of the Worlds for mathematics and suspenseful arguing in boardrooms, Contact is a movie perfect to watch under the stars.
12. Sorry to Bother You (2018)
In this subversive social satire from Boots Riley, LaKeith Stanfield stars as a telemarketer named Cassius Green who finds out he has a secret power - a genial, alternate voice that makes him sound like a white dude, which Cassius uses to skyrocket to success at his job. While Cassius' career takes off, even currying favor with his manic CEO, his friends and co-workers band together to overthrow their corporate oppressors. With utterly original direction by Boots Riley and profound commentary on race, class warfare, and capitalism, Sorry to Bother You makes no apologies. It's a damn fine picture.
11. Drive (1997)
While its plot concerns the delivery of a bleeding-edge device that turns whoever wears it into a butt-kicking super soldier, sci-fi takes a backseat to high-flying kicks in this late '90s barnburner from director Steve Wang. Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison play two men on a deadly road trip to deliver a piece of experimental technology worth millions to buyers in Los Angeles. With gravity-defying martial arts action choreographed by Power Rangers director Koichi Sakamoto and Brittany Murphy in a supporting role as a motel manager, Drive is a cult riot that never lets go of the wheel.
10. Déjà Vu (2006)
In their third collaboration, actor Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott teamed up for the time travel thriller Déjà Vu, released in 2006. Washington stars a special federal agent who is tasked with going back in time to stop a domestic terrorist attack in New Orleans. In doing so, he falls in love with a beautiful victim (Paula Patton) and becomes determined to save her despite her assured fate. A gritty action blockbuster with a novel science fiction spin, Déjà Vu is worth watching over and over and over and over and over again.
9. The Abyss (1989)
James Cameron isn't just a movie director. He's also a passionate diver with a genuine love for the ocean blue. In 1989, Cameron dove into the dark depths with his cinematic stunner The Abyss. The picture follows an oil crew tasked by the government to track down a U.S. Navy submarine that's gone down in the Caribbean. Time is of the essence when both a major storm and nearby Soviet ships close in on the last known location. In the middle of the mission, however, things take a turn when the crew comes face to face with an alien presence. While Cameron is most known for movies like The Terminator, Titanic, and Avatar, The Abyss is a muscular sci-fi movie that dazzles even those who can't stand blue aliens and aquatic VFX.
8. Contagion (2011)
Once upon a time, Steven Soderbergh's Contagion was merely speculative science fiction. By 2020, however, it was all too real. In this riveting disaster thriller with an all-star ensemble cast (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, and Marion Cotillard are among its many famous faces), modern society buckles at the outbreak of a deadly pandemic. Upon release, the movie was celebrated for its devotion to realism; experts from the World Health Organization consulted on production, advising the filmmakers on how governments and communities may respond to such disasters. While Contagion was creatively inspired by the SARS outbreak and the swine flu pandemic of 2009, it received significant attention years later when the Covid-19 pandemic forever altered how people live and work.
7. Sleight (2016)
Gritty crime epics meet coming-of-age superhero origin stories in J.D. Dillard's filmmaking debut. Sleight follows a troubled orphan teenager named Bo (Jacob Latimore) who lives a double life as an L.A. street magician and a low-level dealer for a bloodthirsty crime kingpin (played by Dulé Hill). When Bo's sister gets kidnapped, he must use his ingenuity and expertise of magic tricks to rescue her from harm. The movie's central setpiece revolves around Bo "hacking" his own body to possess artificial superpowers, leading to an awe-inspiring climax. Sleight is a quality experience that is no illusion.
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
It may be the most unlikely movie to ever win the Best Picture Oscar, but that's just a testament to its universal appeal. Directed by the Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once dives into the multiverse through a middle-aged immigrant (Michelle Yeoh) who must stop its destruction by tapping into the talents of her other selves in parallel worlds. An elaborate metaphor for family, love, and understanding in an increasingly complicated world, Everything Everywhere All at Once combines Marvel-style imagination, kinetic Shaw Brothers action, and R-rated potty humor to deliver an experience unlike anything seen before - in this reality or any other.
5. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001)
There has never been an anime series as cool as Cowboy Bebop. In 2001, the series got a theatrical spin-off in Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Set between episodes 22 and 23 of the show, Knockin' on Heaven's Door follows the crew of the Bebop as they stumble upon a conspiracy and race to stop the spread of a virus on densely populated Mars. The universe of Cowboy Bebop is singularly fresh, an expansive noir sandbox where ships fly across space to melancholic jazz. Its movie contains all the same hallmarks of the show with theatrical embellishment, making it perfect for hardcore anime fans and casuals alike.
4. Aniara (2018)
From filmmaker Pella Kågerman, Aniara adapts Harry Martinson's 1956 poem. Both the poem and Kågerman's movie version follow a passenger ship full of colonists who've left a ravaged Earth for a new life on Mars only to veer way off course, leaving the colonists to deal with the uncertainty of their future. Kågerman's movie takes a tremendously realistic approach to the story (most of the movie was filmed in a public shopping mall), with Earth's destruction wrought by manmade climate change. In the end, the movie reveals our unwillingness to do anything to fix our only home except run away with vague wishing for something better, somewhere else.
3. The Vast of Night (2019)
Vintage-flavored sci-fi gets a modern spin in this delectable, minimalist period mystery that fittingly opened in drive-in theaters in May 2020. In The Vast of Night, by director Andrew Patterson, a radio deejay and a switchboard operator in 1950s New Mexico come across a strange signal that may be a message from aliens. A handsome mix of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with American Graffiti, The Vast of Night impressively overcomes its low-budget limitations and sci-fi cliches to deliver a truly suspenseful experience like no other. As drive-in theaters found customers returning during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, The Vast of Night premiered in them nationwide, ensuring that all that was old was new again.
2. Asteroid City (2023)
Wes Anderson's cinematic magnum opus is ostensibly a retro-style science fiction comedy about a youth astronomy convention that becomes ground zero for mankind's first contact with aliens. But this multi-layered movie is so much more than that. Zooming out, Anderson's movie evolves into a meta-textual odyssey concerning themes like grief, longing, and love; the movie's "main" story is revealed to be a stage play whose production is chronicled by a television documentary. Anderson's film is thick with artifice, but deep down there are hard-earned truths about how we as a species have the greatest power in the universe: the power to carry on.
1. Under the Skin (2013)
Don't let its inclusion of Marvel superstar Scarlett Johansson fool you. Jonathan Glazer's distressing and discomforting sci-fi thriller is truly unforgettable in how much it dwells in the darkness of humanity. Based on Michel Faber's 2000 novel, Under the Skin follows a drop-dead beautiful alien (played by Johansson) who lures men in rain-soaked Scotland before devouring them. Celebrated by critics for its mystifying exploration of sexism, classism, and identity, Under the Skin really gets, well, under the skin, with a hypnotic Johansson feeling otherworldly.
