A few of these sci-fi movies are stranger than fiction; some are surprisingly related to the fashionable period.
Science fiction is an extremely versatile and encompassing discipline that enables writers, filmmakers, and actors to point out off their creativity with out being hampered by the confines of different genres. All sci-fi movies can have parts of motion, drama, romance, journey, and thriller (with one of the best ones having a mix of sub-genres) with out blurring the traces, so it is a style that provides one thing for everybody. With that in thoughts, we’ve gone by way of and rounded up one of the best sci-fi films on Netflix.
For extra suggestions, try our checklist of one of the best films on Netflix, one of the best sci-fi exhibits on the platform, for one of the best sci-fi films on Hulu or Prime Video.
Editor’s notice: This text was up to date April 2023 to incorporate The Factor.
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The Adam Undertaking (2022)
Picture by way of Netflix
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Director: Shawn Levy
Forged: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, Walker Scobell
For those who’re searching for a enjoyable throwback to the Amblin journey movies of the Nineteen Eighties, look no additional than Shawn Levy’s Netflix unique sci-fi movie, The Adam Undertaking. The movie facilities on a younger boy (breakout star Walker Scobell), who discovers that his future self (Ryan Reynolds) is an astronaut who has crash-landed on Earth. For those who’re anticipating the standard quippy efficiency from Reynolds, you’ll be stunned to see that it’s really Scobell who will get many of the movie’s finest zingers. Reynolds turns in a extra hardened, mature efficiency, and the movie itself does an excellent job balancing humor and coronary heart. Look out for the shifting performances by Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner as Adam’s dad and mom, however stick round for Catherine Keener’s surroundings chewing villain. — Liam Gaughan
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The Factor (2011)
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Run Time: 1 hr 43 min | Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Forged: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
A prequel to John Carpenter’s traditional horror movie of the identical title, The Factor is a haunting survival thriller supposed to evoke the identical eerie vibes. Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., The Factor stars Joel Edgerton as Sam Carter, a navy vet and helicopter pilot, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate Lloyd, a scientist in a Norwegian Antarctic analysis crew who uncovers a mysterious ship belonging to an alien species buried deep under the floor of the ice. Because the insidious alien parasite awakes and latches onto the remoted Arctic outpost group, they activate one another and combat their very own paranoia with the only objective of survival. – Yael Tygiel
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Rim of the World (2019)
Picture by way of Netflix
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: McG
Forged: Jack Gore, Miya Cech, Benjamin Flores Jr.
Motion director McG (Terminator Salvation) helms this alien invasion-driven coming-of-age movie that harkens again to traditional 80s sci-fi films like Crimson Daybreak, E.T., and Predator. The story follows a ragtag group of 4 teenagers who get separated from their summer time camp throughout a devastating alien assault. Left with the literal key to humanity’s survival, the 4 misfits need to work by way of their variations and journey throughout the state to fend off the invaders. Rim of the World is a enjoyable flick for youths that has nice creature designs and loads of inspiring moments that can have viewers pumping their fists. – Tauri Miller
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Jung_E (2023)
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Run Time: 1 hr 39 min | Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Forged: Kang Soo-youn, Kim Hyun-joo, Ryu Kyung-soo
Kang Soo-yeon is extremely spectacular in Jung_E, which sadly serves as her last film earlier than her loss of life. Written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho, Jung_E boldly explores an unnerving and interesting story impressed by the evolution of synthetic intelligence whereas openly broaching questions relating to the hazards of know-how, greed, and our dying planet. With a beautiful technical design, Jung_E is a ravishing, thought-provoking sci-fi drama about humanity, grief, and perseverance. Additionally starring Kim Hyun-joo and Ryu Kyung-soo, Jung_E captivates with the motion and drama, interesting to a sci-fi-loving viewers. – Yael Tygiel
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Undertaking Energy (2020)
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Run Time: 1 hr 53 | Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Forged: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro
Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman brings to life Mattson Tomlin’s fascinating script in Undertaking Energy, an unique movie in regards to the inevitable commodification of superhuman talents. Constructed on a cleverly provocative premise with an thrilling philosophical implication, Undertaking Energy gives the stellar solid with an thrilling playground to discover. Led by Jamie Foxx (Spider-man: No Means Dwelling) with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) and Dominique Fishback (The Final Days of Ptolemy Gray), Undertaking Energy builds on extremely intricate stunts and motion sequences, grounding a CGI-filled movie with tangible points and an alluring thriller. – Yael Tygiel
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Awake (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min | Director: Mark Raso
Forged: Gina Rodriguez, Ariana Greenblatt, Lucius Hoyos, Shamier Anderson, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Gina Rodriguez (Diary of a Future President) stars in Awake, a captivating science-fiction movie a couple of former soldier who discovers that her daughter could be the remedy for a worldwide bout of insomnia. Director Mark Raso, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joseph Raso, fastidiously dictates the specificity of his post-apocalyptic world, navigating the aftermath of a mysterious disaster with deadly penalties. Co-starring Shamier Anderson (Wynonna Earp) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Hunters), Awake reveals Rodriguez’s nimble talent in balancing power and vulnerability as a mom tasked with defending the potential key to salvation. – Yael Tygiel
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The Discovery (2017)
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Run Time: 1 hr 42 min | Director: Charlie McDowell
Forged: Robert Redford, Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough
The Discovery is an intriguing science-fiction romance movie directed by Charlie McDowell, who wrote the provocative screenplay with Justin Lader. Starting with Dr. Thomas Harbor’s (Robert Redford) scientific revelation that an afterlife exists, resulting in a heartbreakingly large improve in suicides, The Discovery leans into discourse about scientific processes, in addition to a detour specializing in how his findings have an effect on the physician’s son’s (Jason Segel) makes an attempt to assist a younger lady, Isla (Rooney Mara), together with her personal points surrounding the idea of loss of life. With a proficient star-filled solid, The Discovery initiates really curious and thought-provoking concepts, leaving audiences longing for extra solutions and discoveries. – Yael Tygiel
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Tau (2018)
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Run Time: 1 hr 37 min | Director: Federico D’Alessandro
Forged: Maika Monroe, Ed Skrein, Gary Oldman
Directed by Federico D’Alessandro (Spider-Man: No Means Dwelling), Tau is a glossy film based mostly on a fascinatingly terrifying idea. The director’s earlier cinematic experiences within the artwork division of Hollywood’s largest options give him a singular imaginative and prescient that’s fantastically carried out in Tau. Starring Maika Monroe as Julia, a girl who finds herself being held prisoner by a sadistic synthetic intelligence voiced sternly by Gary Oldman, Tau additionally sees Ed Skrein (Deadpool) as Julia’s captor, persevering with his impressively plausible villain streak. Written by skilled science-fiction tv author Noga Landau (See), Tau performs with predictable sci-fi themes and parts of horror, however the great casting units it aside, offering an entertaining journey. – Yael Tygiel
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Morbius (2022)
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Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Director: Daniel Espinosa
Forged: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris
Certainly you’ve seen the memes, however now, you possibly can watch the movie that spurred all of them from the consolation of your sofa. Primarily based on the Marvel Comics character, Morbius stars Jared Leto within the titular function – and what a job it’s. The movie focuses on a biochemist making an attempt to remedy his uncommon blood illness. Nevertheless, he as a substitute infects himself with a type of vampirism and should feed on the bogus blood he created to satiate his thirst. As his urges for the actual factor develop into increasingly more highly effective, Morbius should additionally attempt to escape the FBI brokers after him. Although critically panned and a field workplace flop, Morbius’ cultural influence on summer time 2022 can’t be denied. It’s value a watch to see what all of the discuss is about. – Taylor Gates
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I Am Mom (2019)
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Run Time: 1 hr 53 min | Director: Grant Sputore
Forged: Hilary Swank, Rose Byrne, Clara Rugaard
Danish actress Clara Rugaard stars within the intriguing science fiction movie I Am Mom, a couple of lone lady who’s raised by an android she calls Mom. Voiced by the multifaceted Rose Byrne (Bodily), Mom has satisfied her ward that they’re the only survivors of a vicious plague. However when a stranger arrives, performed by Oscar winner Hilary Swank, all the pieces Mom has mentioned known as into query. The I Am Mom screenplay by Michael Lloyd Inexperienced, based mostly on the story written by director Grant Sputore, broaches provocative philosophical factors to be investigated in strikingly sterile sceneries, permitting these proficient actresses to debate and kick ass on the similar time. – Yael Tygiel
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The Mist (2006)
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Run Time: 2 hr 6 min | Director: Frank Darabont
Forged: Thomas Jane, Marcia Homosexual Harden, Laurie Holden
Primarily based on the Stephen King novel, The Mist is among the most chilling sci-fi/horror movies ever made. The plot revolves round a gaggle of individuals trapped in a grocery store as they attempt to keep secure from bloodthirsty monsters lurking proper outdoors. Although the creatures are terrifying, the actual scares come from the people and what folks do beneath essentially the most irritating circumstances. The movie nearly performs out like a darkish, tense social experiment. Marcia Homosexual Harden as non secular fanatic Mrs. Carmody provides an particularly memorable efficiency. – Taylor Gates
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Spiderhead (2022)
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Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Director: Joseph Kosinski
Forged: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett
Spiderhead is a psychedelic mind-bending science fiction movie that questions morality, humanity, and freedom, because it’s set in a terrifying close to future the place convicted felons are given the chance to shorten their sentences by changing into human guinea pigs in untested medical trials. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love and Thunder), Miles Teller (High Gun: Maverick), and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Nation), this all-star solid enhances the mystifying premise and charming story from Deadpool and Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, based mostly on the brief story by George Saunders. Hemsworth’s efficiency is a nice deviation from his newer recognizable roles, solely emphasizing the strengths of this movie. – Yael Tygiel
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What Occurred to Monday (2017)
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Run Time: 2 hr 3 min | Director: Tommy Wirkola
Forged: Noomi Rapace, Willem Dafoe, Cassie Clare, Glenn Shut
It’s spectacular any time one actor can play an identical twins, however what about seven totally different siblings? Within the Netflix sci-fi thriller What Occurred to Monday, Noomi Rapace portrays seven sisters, every named after in the future of the week. Rapace makes every of the characters really feel distinct. The movie takes place in a dystopian society that’s coping with overpopulation. A one-child coverage is strictly enforced by the federal government’s Little one Allocation Bureau. After their sister Monday mysteriously vanishes, the six remaining sisters hunt for his or her misplaced sibling. Useless Snow filmmaker Tommy Wirkola provides the proper quantity of camp to the excessive idea premise. -Liam Gaughan
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The Midnight Sky (2020)
Run Time: 2 hr 2 min | Director: George Clooney
Forged: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone, Demián Bichir, Kyle Chandler, and Caoilinn Springall
George Clooney’s directorial efforts might have been a blended bag to this point, however The Midnight Sky is his first enterprise into the science fiction style as a filmmaker. It is one in every of his strongest movies so far. Clooney remarkably brings a lonely sensitivity to his lead efficiency because the scientist Augustine Lofthouse, who should keep on Earth as the remainder of mankind searches the universe for liveable planets. Augustine’s solely companion is the younger lady Iris (Caoilinn Springall), who he raises as his daughter. Alexander Desplat’s stunning rating highlights this touching relationship. The $100 budgeted visible design earned The Midnight Sky an Academy Award nomination for Greatest Visible Results. — Liam Gaughan
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Don’t Look Up (2021)
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Run Time: 2 hr 25 min | Director: Adam McKay
Forged: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Mark Rylance, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchette, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry
Adam McKay’s darkly humorous satire of the local weather change disaster divided audiences down the center; whereas there are people who appreciated McKay’s fiery textual content, others discovered it to be obscure and insulting. Both manner, Don’t Look Up is properly value watching simply to interact within the debate about one of the vital divisive Greatest Image nominees ever. It additionally has an insanely proficient solid, who get the possibility to alter issues up from the kind of performances they normally ship. Has Leonardo DiCaprio ever performed a nerd? Has Meryl Streep ever performed a dictator? Have we ever seen Timothee Chalamet as a philosophical stoner? — Liam Gaughan
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The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
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Run Time: 1 hr 42 min | Director: Julius Onah
Forged: Daniel Brühl, Elizabeth Debicki, Aksel Hennie, Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked, Chris O’Dowd, John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, Zhang Ziyi
The Cloverfield Paradox is the third installment within the Cloverfield franchise, which follows the crew of a world house station that travels right into a parallel dimension whereas attempting to unravel the Earth’s vitality disaster. Because the crew of the Cloverfield Station prepares to check the Shepard particle accelerator, conspiracy theorists again on Earth spin tales about how the accelerator will rip open portals within the material of time and unleash horrors from parallel universes. After two years of unsuccessful exams, the crew is lastly capable of keep a steady beam, nevertheless, chaos ensues because it turns into obvious that the conspiracy theories weren’t unfounded. Because the crew tries to restore the Cloverfield Station after an influence surge, they uncover a girl named Mina Jensen (Elizabeth Debicki) within the wall of the station fused with wires and screaming in agony. It is a excellent instance of how the movie sits on the intersection of science fiction and horror, delivering on scientific technobabble and nightmare-inducing monsters and physique horror.
Whereas The Cloverfield Paradox didn’t reside as much as the expectations set by its predecessors and is licensed rotten, it has an excellent solid that makes it value watching. The interpersonal relationships and battle between the crew members—Ernst Schmidt (Daniel Brühl), Ava Hamilton (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked), Jason Kiel (David Oyelowo), Monk Acosta (John Ortiz), Gordon Mundy (Chris O’Dowd), Sasha Volkov (Aksel Hennie), and Ling Tam (Zhang Ziyi)—makes up for the uneven storytelling. It’s an formidable movie that will get very misplaced in its personal parallel universes, but it surely’s value it for Mbatha-Uncooked, Oyelowo, and the minor romance subplot between Ernst Schmidt and Ling Tam. – Maggie Lovitt
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Chook Field (2018)
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Run Time: 2 hr 4 min | Director: Susanne Bier
Forged: Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, Lil Rel Howery, Trevante Rhodes, BD Wong, Jacki Weaver
Be careful. Primarily based on the novel of the identical title by Josh Malerman, the sci-fi thriller Chook Field tells the chilling story of Malorie Hayes (Sandra Bullock), a mom of two younger kids who seeks refuge when mysterious entities take over and drive anybody that appears at them to see their worst fears and die by suicide. In an try to guard her kids and navigate this new life, she bands along with fellow survivors and searches for sanctuary and solutions. Clinging to her blindfold and any semblance of hope, Malorie dangers all of it and travels by way of treacherous waters so as to get out of this nightmare alive. — Emily Bernard
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House Sweepers (2021)
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Run Time: 2 hr 16 min | Director: Sung-hee Jo
Forged: Music Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu
It’s arduous to consider a movie that you may have extra enjoyable with in the case of science fiction journey than the fantastic expertise that’s House Sweepers. It focuses on a crew of a spaceship, that fairly actually sweeps up particles in house, who find yourself getting swept up in an intergalactic dispute that’s past something they’ve ever seen. It’s best to go in with as little data as attainable because the heights this story reaches is finest skilled for the primary time in seeing it. All of the characters and the solid are routinely excellent, discovering humor in addition to drama in each second they’ll. There are large house battles galore and an actual sense of pleasure overflowing from each body that makes it one of the vital pleasant science fiction movies of current reminiscence. It’s all the pieces you may ever need from the style after which some, proving to be one of the vital enduringly thrilling movies you may be fortunate sufficient to get to expertise for your self. — Chase Hutchinson
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Synchronic (2019)
Picture by way of Properly Go USA
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min | Director: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Forged: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Ally Ioannides
The Limitless and Spring filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead return to cinema’s strangest, scariest cinematic universe with Synchronic. With intelligent ties to their earlier movies, Synchronic additional unfolds the wonders and the horrors sprung from a mysterious pressure manipulating the world in ways in which ripple by way of time. In Synchronic, these ripples manifest within the type of a designer drug that is abandoning a path of inexplicable deaths and accidents, a sample that shortly catches the eye of a BFF pair of paramedics (Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan). Synchronic establishes a compelling puzzle with putting, unnerving imagery and pays off ever step it takes to unravel it with revelations that shock, generally shock, and all the time up the stakes. Synchronic works simply nice as a standalone movie if you have not seen Benson and Moorhead’s earlier work (although you must), however I’ve to confess, with every new movie, I’ve grown constantly extra intrigued by the sprawling, genre-building world they’re constructing, and the apparent consideration to element they’ve put into their design from challenge to challenge. — Haleigh Foutch
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Oxygen (2021)
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Run Time: 1 hr 41 min | Director: Alexandre Aja
Forged: Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi
Mélanie Laurent provides one of the vital commanding and technically spectacular performing performances of her profession in Oxygen, the intelligent Netflix sci-fi thriller a couple of lady who wakes up in a futuristic medical pod with no reminiscence of who she is, how she received there, or methods to get out. And she or he’s working out of oxygen. Directed by Crawl filmmaker Alexandre Aja, the tightly contained thriller manages to constantly ramp up the stress with every new reveal whereas increasing the world and the stakes of Laurent’s combat to outlive, even whereas trapped throughout the tiny confines of her chamber. The reveals normally aren’t fairly as stunning because the film appears to suppose they’re, however they do make for a twisty-turny survival film that is tightly crafted sufficient to tug off the wild journey, and a full embrace of sci-fi storytelling that enables a film that is nearly solely set in a small field to really feel like a a lot larger journey. — Haleigh Foutch
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