EntertainmentMoviesSci-Fi MoviesHate sci-fi movies? 32 movies to change your mindWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesSci-Fi MoviesHate sci-fi movies? 32 movies to change your mindWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
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 likeconventionalsci-fi. but what aboutunconventionalsci-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)
(Image credit: Bleecker Street)
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)
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures)
30. Arrival (2016)
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)
Arrival$22.59at Amazon$22.59at Target
Arrival
$22.59at Amazon$22.59at Target
$22.59at Amazon
$22.59at Target
29. District 9 (2009)
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)
District 9$4.99at Amazon$9.99at Amazon$19.99at Amazon
District 9
$4.99at Amazon$9.99at Amazon$19.99at Amazon
$4.99at Amazon
$9.99at Amazon
$19.99at Amazon
28. Come True (2020)
(Image credit: IFC Midnight)
27. Next Exit (2022)
(Image credit: Magnolia Pictures)
26. Children of Men (2006)
(Image credit: Univers)
25. Inception (2010)
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)
Inception8.8/10$8.40at Amazon$10.99at Amazon$17.92at Amazon
Inception
8.8/10
8.8/10
8.8/10
$8.40at Amazon$10.99at Amazon$17.92at Amazon
$8.40at Amazon
$10.99at Amazon
$17.92at Amazon
24. Primer (2004)
(Image credit: Paramount Global)
Primer$2.79at Amazon
Primer
$2.79at Amazon
$2.79at Amazon
23. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
(Image credit: Focus Features)
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)
(Image credit: Focus Features)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind$11.99at Amazon$11.99at Target$17.59at Amazon
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
$11.99at Amazon$11.99at Target$17.59at Amazon
$11.99at Amazon
$11.99at Target
$17.59at Amazon
21. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
20. Nope (2022)
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
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)
(Image credit: A24)
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.
Ex Machina7.7/10$5.99at Amazon$7.38at Target$12.08at Amazon
Ex Machina
7.7/10
7.7/10
7.7/10
$5.99at Amazon$7.38at Target$12.08at Amazon
$5.99at Amazon
$7.38at Target
$12.08at Amazon
18. Underwater (2020)
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
17. Ad Astra (2019)
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
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)
(Image credit: MPI Media Group)
15. Godzilla Minus One (2023)
(Image credit: Toho)
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)
(Image credit: Arrow Films)
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)
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)
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)
(Image credit: Annapurna Pictures)
11. Drive (1997)
(Image credit: A-Pix Entertainment)
10. Déjà Vu (2006)
(Image credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution)
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.
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
8. Contagion (2011)
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Discovery)
7. Sleight (2016)
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
(Image credit: A24)
5. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven’s Door (2001)
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)
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)
(Image credit: Magnolia Pictures)
3. The Vast of Night (2019)
(Image credit: Amazon Studios)
2. Asteroid City (2023)
(Image credit: Focus Features)
1. Under the Skin (2013)
(Image credit: A24)
Under the Skin$14.75at Amazon$99at Amazon
Under the Skin
$14.75at Amazon$99at Amazon
$14.75at Amazon
$99at Amazon
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
1
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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”