The sci-fi genre is a wide umbrella for all sorts of movies, and this means that some masterpieces can fly under the radar. It isn’t always easy to find the true hidden gems with so many competing sci-fi comedies, alien invasion stories, animated movies, spacebound adventures and more.

While true sci-fi fans will be familiar with the classics like Alien, Star Wars and The Matrix, everyone has their own tastes. This means that sci-fi fans have their personal favorites that might be underrated within the genre as a whole. The weirder and more experimental movies that lack mainstream appeal can be the most interesting.

10

Okja (2017)

Okja isn’t often cited as one of Bong Joon-ho’s best movies, and it was soon overshadowed by Parasite two years later. Still, it’s an admirable blend of sci-fi and fantasy, as Bong constructs an environmental fable that comes into conflict with the emotionless gears of industry.

Okja feels like a dream at times, with an introduction that borders on the surreal fantasy of Spirited Away. This is soon replaced by ridiculous media stunts and hapless bureaucrats, as Bong’s dark capitalist satire kicks into high gear. There are surprising performances from the likes of Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano and Jake Gyllenhaal, who each help flesh out the bizarre world of Okja.

9

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation

7/10

Release Date

February 23, 2018

Runtime

115 Minutes

Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer, but Alex Garland has to make plenty of changes to bring the story to the big screen. He visualizes certain concepts that are intentionally inconceivable, bringing a new kind of horror to his vision of a dangerous scientific anomaly.

It isn’t always easy to decipher the true meaning of Annihilation, since Garland creates so many confronting images in quick succession. These concepts are often designed to provoke a visceral reaction, rather than obscuring layers of metaphorical meaning. This doesn’t mean that Annihilation is empty, however, since it’s worth examining closely for new hints.

8

Attack The Block (2011)

Attack the Block

9/10

Release Date

May 12, 2011

Runtime

88 minutes

Director

Joe Cornish

Writers

Joe Cornish

Attack the Block is perfect for fans of the Cornetto trilogy. Not only is Edgar Wright a producer, with Nick Frost in a supporting role, but Attack the Block has the same sense of loving genre satire that can be seen in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Joe Cornish takes aim at the sci-fi genre two years before The World’s End.

Attack the Block uses a council estate in South London as the setting for its alien invasion story. The characters are completely unlike the typical scientists, politicians, and military men who normally comprise these sorts of movies, and this gives the story more unpredictability and flair. John Boyega has hinted that Attack the Block 2 could finally be on the horizon.

7

Robot & Frank (2012)

Robot & Frank

Release Date

August 16, 2012

Runtime

85 minutes

Director

Jake Schreier

Writers

Christopher Ford

Producers

Galt Niederhoffer, Lance Acord, Sam Bisbee, Stefan Sonnenfeld, Jenna Schultz, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Jeremy Bailer, Ann Porter, Bill Perry, Bob Kelman, Danny Rifkin, Tom Valerio

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Robot and Frank tracks the unlikely friendship that blossoms between a retired cat burglar and his new robot companion. There’s a lot of mileage in this unique comedic concept, but Robot and Frank also shows that it has plenty of heart, and it offers some food for thought.

Robot and Frank is a disarmingly thoughtful exploration of artificial intelligence, casting a quizzical eye on the ways that humans might use this new technology, and what that says about our deepest fears and desires. There are also some touching sentiments about the nature of memory, aging and experience that take Robot and Frank beyond simple comedy.

6

Moon (2009)

Moon

8/10

Release Date

July 10, 2009

Runtime

97 minutes

Director

Duncan Jones

Writers

Nathan Parker

Moon proves that great sci-fi doesn’t need an immense budget for explosive effects and jaw-dropping scenery. The film squeezes every last drop out of what it is, which includes a limited setting, Sam Rockwell in an outstanding dual role, and a fiercely intelligent script.

With some relatively simple elements, Moon uses sci-fi to cut to the heart of some human issues, namely the intersection between memory and identity. It’s easy to watch Moon and draw parallels to our own modern lives on Earth, although it’s even easier to get wrapped up in the story from the very beginning.

5

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

A Scanner Darkly is one of Richard Linklater’s best movies, and another example of how he is pushing rotoscope animation to new places. His unique style often blurs the lines between reality and fiction, which is perfect for a story like A Scanner Darkly. He also masters the art of intentionally ugly and confronting composition at times.

A Scanner Darkly performed poorly at the box office, as any animation aimed at a mature audience is likely to do, but it’s a fascinating sci-fi movie for those who can appreciate its unusual flavor. It takes inspiration from a Philip K. Dick novel published in 1977, but its strange muddled battle between right and wrong feels perfect for the 21st century.

4

Fantastic Planet (1973)

Fantastic Planet

Release Date

May 11, 1973

Runtime

71 Minutes

Director

René Laloux

Fantastic Planet is considered a landmark in the medium of big-screen animation, and it still looks remarkably creative. It questions every traditional limitation of animation, coming up with a bold new style that has to be seen to be fully believed. It’s always been too strange to ever break into the mainstream.

Fantastic Planet is the perfect example of how sci-fi and animation go hand-in-hand. The medium allows Fantastic Planet to concoct several bizarre otherworldly sequences, as a group of humans try to survive on a surreal planet dominated by giant blue aliens and chaotic beasts.

3

The Vast Of Night (2019)

The Vast of Night

8/10

Release Date

June 1, 2019

Runtime

91 Minutes

Director

Andrew Patterson

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The Vast of Night is one of Prime Video’s hidden gems that any sci-fi fan should seek out. Made on a budget of just $700,000, Andrew Patterson’s directorial debut bristles with creativity. Not only is it a masterclass in economical filmmaking; it’s also a gripping sci-fi story regardless of the budget.

The Vast of Night takes place during the 1950s in New Mexico, and the story captures the essence of the distinctly American phenomena of small-town alien paranoia that rippled throughout the nation at the time. It’s a thrilling story about people dealing with extraordinary circumstances, but it also grapples with the idea of modern American mythology in interesting ways.

2

Under The Skin (2013)

Under the Skin

7/10

Release Date

April 4, 2014

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

Jonathan Glazer

Writers

Jonathan Glazer, Walter Campbell

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Scarlett Johansson has often mixed some unexpected and unpredictable roles into her filmography, even at the height of her Hollywood stardom. Under the Skin came out one year after the first Avengers movie, but it’s hard to find a more different kind of alien invasion film.

Johansson plays a shape-shifting alien stalking the Scottish countryside in search of male victims, who she then banishes to an abstract ink-black void. Under the Skin is the kind of movie that invites different interpretations, and critics have described Jonathan Glazer’s film as a feminist allegory, a surreal slasher and a meditation on modern life.

1

Ad Astra (2019)

Ad Astra

7/10

Release Date

September 17, 2019

Runtime

124 minutes

Director

James Gray

Writers

James Gray, Ethan Gross

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Ad Astra came out at the end of the 2010s, when space exploration movies like Interstellar, Gravity and The Martian dominated the box office. Perhaps owing to fatigue or the simple fact that Ad Astra is much slower than these other movies, Brad Pitt’s sci-fi epic never got the attention it deserves.

Ad Astra is a futuristic retelling of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness by way of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, with an appropriate sense of scale and grandeur. It’s rare to see a modern blockbuster that’s so content to let its imagery speak for itself, but Ad Astra‘s broad brushstrokes are full of life.