Science fiction movies can often go underappreciated, with many phenomenal entries in the genre going bitterly overlooked across the ages. Compared to other genres, science fiction movies push boundaries with increasingly creative or far-out premises that present totally unique ideas for what the future might look like. Sadly, the most daring among them can sometimes get lost in the shuffle, leaving a curiously faint pop culture footprint.

It could be said that audiences simply didn’t “get” such films, perhaps indicating some science fiction movies can go too far in establishing a complex, interesting premise. More realistically, some aspects of them simply didn’t resonate, or they otherwise weren’t able to build enough of a profile for most people to even realize they exist. It’s a shame that such great science fiction films can so often go tragically underseen.

10

Annihilation

A dreamy horror movie that never got its just deserts

Considering Annihilation is directed by Alex Garland of Ex Machina fame, a sci-fi movie that gained a high profile of critical acclaim, it’s a shock more people don’t talk about it. The concept centers on a mysterious bubble of shimmering energy that appears and envelops a huge area, with research teams who are sent in going missing. Natalie Portman plays one of the latest explorers to brave the dangers of the so-called “Shimmer”, with her husband’s body rapidly breaking down after surviving a trip himself.

The mechanics of how the mysterious ethereal energy of the Shimmer works are quite captivating, and allow for some impressive visuals. The quiet, understated performances help sell the Lovecraftian sense of cosmic dread the setting brings, complete with terrifying mutant bears and body horror. The mind-blowing finale is the perfect cherry on top of a satisfying sci-fi experience.

9

Ad Astra

A bold thriller that had no reason to fail

Far be it from a Brad Pitt star vehicle to flop at the box office, but that’s exactly what happened to Ad Astra, directed by James Gray. Pitt stars as astronaut Roy McBride, who goes on a dangerous mission to Neptune in an attempt to find his missing father. Before long, it’s revealed that his father’s obsessive quest to find alien life has a chilling connection to the inexplicable yet disastrous phenomena happening all over the solar system.

It’s quite puzzling that Ad Astra was a financial failure and left little pop culture impact despite its glowing reviews from critics and audiences alike. Despite interesting worldbuilding, complex and fascinating characters, and a high-profile star at its center, the film somehow remains bitterly underseen 6 years later. This just goes to show that sometimes, in the movie business, failure is a possibility even when everything is done right.

8

Moon

Eerily similar to another disposable space worker story

The most recent science fiction entry in the filmography of Korean director Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17, bears some striking surface-level similarities to 2009’s Moon. Sam Rockwell stars as a lowly worker running an agonizingly lonely solo contract on a mostly-automated mining station on the moon. As the isolation nearing the end of his three-year journey begins to set in, a personal crisis soon unfolds into a devastating reveal as to what his employer is really doing on the moon.

Moon plays with a similar dystopian hyper-capitalistic exploitation of expendable workers like Mickey 17 does. But whereas the latter is more comedic and soon moves on to other plot elements, in Moon, this ghastly exploitation is focused on and fully explored as the horrific waking nightmare it truly is. Sam Rockwell is also incredible in an uncharacteristically serious role, truly selling the despair of a maddeningly isolated worker being taken advantage of by a gutless corporation.

7

The Midnight Sky

A thoughtful, contemplative post-apocalyptic film

Yet another science fiction movie about an isolated worker in a desolate environment, The Midnight Sky is a shockingly underrated Netflix original starring and directed by George Clooney. Clooney plays a scientist with a terminal disease that is left behind on Earth after an unspecified disaster forces humanity to seek out a new home among the stars. Manning an Arctic communications center, he attempts to warn a returning ship that the Earth is no longer inhabitable, only to find a young girl has stowed away in the facility.

The Midnight Sky flutters back and forth between three stories; the active plot in the research base, Clooney’s character reminiscing on his past via flashbacks, and the dangerous return of the incoming astronauts. Each sub-plot has its merits as the film ponders the graceful nature of human connection, something that may have been unfairly dismissed as too contrived by cynical viewers. Considering how phenomenal Clooney is with his role and direction, it’s a shame his efforts haven’t been more appreciated.

6

Dark City

The original film that laid the foundation for a more-famous classic

The Matrix is one of the most widely recognized and beloved science fiction movies ever, but it was far from the first stylish film to explore its supposedly original ideas. Enter Dark City, a brooding noir film from the 90s that centers on an amnesiac man who wakes up with no memories, only to find himself wanted for murder. In the search to prove his innocence (or guilt), he encounters a mysterious group of pale humanoids called The Strangers with some vested interest in his plight.

Before long, the protagonist starts scratching at the surface of a disturbing truth regarding the reality of the city he inhabits, realizing that it’s always nighttime for a reason. Dark City turns its slick noir aesthetics on the viewer with shocking efficacy, unleashing a terrifying and clever reveal that deserves more attention to this day. Though it’s a relatively obscure film, Dark City deserves more credit for beating the тιтular simulation of The Matrix to the punch by a single year.

5

Flatland

A thought-provoking, but hilarious geometric adventure

Sometimes, certain science fiction books seem impossible to adapt for film, yet Flatland manages to somehow bring visual life to one of the most esoteric ideas for a story ever conceived. The majority of the film takes place in the тιтular Flatland, a 2-dimensional world in which every living creature is a simple geometric shape that has to maneuver a strange, caste-based society where an individual’s worth is determined by their number of sides. Protagonist A Square is prosecuted as a heretic when he begins to conceive of a 3-dimensional world.

True to its bizarre premise, Flatland is intriguing yet bleakly hilarious, perhaps unintentionally so at times. Mathematically accurate to a fault and philosophically pondering the possibility of higher dimensions beyond the third, Flatland should be far more popular than it is. But as a solo-animated film made by a single artist with simplistic animation, it’s not exactly surprising that it doesn’t have a higher profile.

4

The Vast Of Night

A thrilling stop on the search for extraterrestrial life

Science fiction movies aren’t always conducive to low budgets, but some low-budget sci-fi movies are able to work wonders with lean resources. The Vast of Night is one such film, which takes one of the more realistic approaches to what first contact with aliens would actually look like. The plot centers on a DJ and switchboard operator who come across a strange radio signal, eventually realizing that it may be communications from an alien broadcaster.

The Vast of Night is a relatively quiet, unᴀssuming film that makes great use out of some stunning practical effects. With the plot having such a heavy focus on audio, the sound design of the film also bears special mention, creating an eerie atmosphere that gradually ratchets up the tension to alarming levels. Pair that with a charming duo of protagonists and a fun 1950s period setting, and it’s a wonder The Vast of Night didn’t get more acclaim.

3

A Scanner Darkly

A striking exploration of drug abuse

With a stacked cast consisting of Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson, it’s a shock A Scanner Darkly isn’t more popular. Based on the Phillip K. Dick novel of the same name, A Scanner Darkly explores a dystopian future in which the War on Drugs has led to some catastrophic results. A potent new narcotic called “Substance D” begins sweeping the nation, prompting undercover agent Bob Arctor to be ᴀssigned on a mission to stamp out the source of the drug.

Before long, Arctor begins taking Substance D himself, triggering a mind-altering reality crisis thanks to its powerful psychoactive effects. A Scanner Darkly‘s striking rotoscoped animation sets it apart from any other peer, and it’s valuable insight into real-life drug addiction, psychedelics, and the very nature of idenтιтy itself. It’s astounding that such an innovative science fiction film with such a talented cast isn’t more well known.

2

Chronicle

A dour superhero story

Though director Josh Trank might be more well-known for his infamously bad Fantastic Four reboot in 2015, his debut remains an underappreciated gem. Chronicle follows a group of teen friends in Seattle who end up with telekinetic powers after exposure to a mysterious object. They use these powers as one might expect teen boys to at first, but the fun soon turns to terror as the outcast Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan, begins increasing the strength of his telekinesis for sinister purposes.

Chronicle just might be the single most realistic look at what would actually happen if teenagers got powers. The slow descent of Andrew into madness spurred on by his vastly different life experiences to the other two boys is incredibly fascinating, and Michael B. Jordan is fun to watch in such a green role. A potent tragedy with high-flying effects and a startlingly real found-footage gimmick, Chronicle is somehow not talked about as often as it should be in a world of forgettable superhero stories.

1

High Life

An underrated spacefaring epic

Plenty of science fiction movies center on dangerous jaunts through space, but none of them are as unfairly overlooked as High Life. The 2018 film sees a group of expendable criminals sent out to space as part of their sentence, sent rocketing towards a black hole in hopes of discovering valuable information about the ominous celestial bodies. As the ship approaches, the paranoid and Sєxually frustrated prisoners begin to take out their rage on one another.

It’s surprising that High Life isn’t more well-regarded compared to its A24 horror movie peers. Clinically disturbing and depraved to a fault, the movie presents a raw and terrifying vision of space travel that postulates what happens when the worst elements of human nature collide with the cold indifference of the cosmos. Artsy, horrifying, and beautifully sH๏τ, High Life might be an unpallatable science fiction movie to many, but it at least deserves to be discussed.