Science fiction has always possessed an incredible power to connect audiences to issues that are hard to grasp through traditional storytelling. From aliens to AI and consciousness to clones, sci-fi has changed a lot over the decades, but what hasn’t changed is its ability to dig deep into our minds.
While the genre is full of action-packed series like Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s a wealth of sci-fi movies out there that connect on a deeper level. These movies tackle serious issues that might very well affect all of us one day — some even cleverly disguise current affairs. In any case, these films will definitely make audiences think twice about the everyday truths we tell ourselves: what is real, and what is a lie?
10 Gattaca
Imagine a world where natural conception is a thing of the past, where scientists selectively choose only the “best” traits for the next generation. That’s the setting for Gattaca, a sci-fi movie that follows the story of Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), one of only a few people who haven’t been genetically engineered in a lab.
People like Vincent are branded as second-class citizens, robbed of nearly all the career and life opportunities we take for granted. Unwilling to accept his fate, Vincent disguises his DNA to land a job at a space center called Gattaca (whose name riffs off on the four bases of DNA: G, A, T, C). With gene-editing tools like CRISPR on the rise, Gattaca is more relevant now than when it was first released in 1997.
9 Annihilation
Writer-director Alex Garland’s star-studded Annihilation takes audiences deep into their own minds. On the surface, this film looks like your ordinary sci-fi alien horror: after a meteorite strikes the Earth, an otherworldly “Shimmer” appears; anyone who enters the affected zone never returns.
But instead of over-the-top aliens à la Independence Day, Annihilation offers something more sinister: the darkness of humanity. Inside the Shimmer nothing quite works. People lose their short-term memory, go mad, and forget who they are. The animals inside the zone have mutated as well, with the DNA of plants and animals mixing into new creatures that are simultaneously beautiful and haunting. A fantastical exploration into the what-ifs of genetics, consciousness, and alien intelligence, Annihilation won’t let audiences look at the world the same way ever again.
8 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick kicked off the conversation on artificial intelligence long before many of the other films on this list. An absolute classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey might at first seem a bit dated, but its messaging (and even its cinematography) remains intact.
2001 doesn’t just deal with artificial intelligence either. From the get-go, Kubrick makes audiences question exactly what it means to be human when he shows mankind’s “intelligence” came from a mysterious alien artifact. With iconic scenes, soundtracks, and one-liners, 2001 played a pivotal role in movie history. Any sci-fi fan should see it at least once.
7 Donnie Darko
Starring as the title character in Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal’s breakout role as a seemingly psychotic American teenager makes for one trippy journey. Donnie, who constantly hallucinates a person in a creepy rabbit costume, narrowly avoids death when a jet engine lands on his house while he was out sleepwalking. From there things only get weirder, with more hallucinations, prophecies, and strange, riddling characters.
Donnie Darko tells a truly unique story. Nothing is really as it seems, with themes of destiny running throughout the film. The only way to uncover the truth is to dive right in.
6 Mr. Nobody
Jared Leto stars in this masterful film which centers around the concept of the butterfly effect. That is, it explores how one single moment in time can have major ripple effects later in life. In the future, humans have pretty much achieved immortality, leaving Nemo Nobody the last person to die a natural death.
Before he goes, Nemo reminisces about his past life, but he can’t remember exactly what happened. What follows is a branching story that explores different what-ifs in Nemo’s life. In some versions of the story, he finds happiness, and in others grief. He falls in love with different women, leading very different versions of his life. Where the truth lies is up to audiences to decide.
5 Arrival
Dune director Denis Villeneuve brings a fresh twist to the "first contact" genre of sci-fi with Arrival. Much closer to The Imitation Game than it is to War of the Worlds, Arrival sees twelve alien spacecraft land in different countries on Earth. Rather than attack, they seem to want to talk.
The responsibility of deciphering their language falls on the shoulders of Louise Banks, a linguist who quickly makes connections with the alien visitors. The film isn’t about the aliens so much as it’s about humanity’s response to our extraterrestrial visitors. Arrival explores concepts like alien intelligence, collectivism, and time manipulation. To see how all these things mesh together, audiences will just have to watch Arrival to find out.
4 The Island
Michael Bay’s The Island features a superstar cast, with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson starring as Lincoln and Jordan. Believing that the outside world is contaminated after some unknown apocalyptic event, Lincoln and the other residents are promised the opportunity to leave and travel to “the island” once they win the lottery. But Lincoln soon learns the grim truth of the lottery, and he and Jordan flee.
Realizing his entire life has been a lie, Lincoln takes Jordan on a quest to find the truth, but not before the facility’s mysterious leaders hire a team of assassins to hunt down the escapees.
3 Inception
An all-around great movie, Christopher Nolan’s Inception takes audiences on a wild, mind-bending ride. With incredible performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and the film’s ensemble cast, a thrilling soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, and memorable action sequences across an exotic range of environments, Inception will surely appeal to sci-fi fans.
The film follows Cobb (DiCaprio), who steals secret information from the minds of his clients’ targets by invading their dreams. Cobb, a criminal on the run, hasn’t seen his kids in years. When he’s offered the chance to see them once more, he accepts a risky mission: go into a dream within a dream in order to subconsciously convince his target to break up his corporate empire. A stunning film all-around, fans are still guessing the meaning of the film’s cryptic ending.
2 District 9
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
South Africa has long struggled with the specter of apartheid, which saw black and white citizens segregated by official government decree. District 9 tackles many of these social issues, but through an interesting lens. When a spaceship full of stranded aliens appears in the sky over Johannesberg, they become refugees relegated to a slum called District 9.
After a workplace accident, Wikus — an employee of a company overseeing the slum — begins mutating into a “Prawn” (a local nickname for the aliens). No longer viewed by his own family and friends as human, Wikus becomes a fugitive fighting for his survival. District 9 tells a fascinating story about perception and the way humans treat each other. Whether or not you like sci-fi, District 9 is a can’t-miss classic. And with news of a sequel on the horizon, fans may soon get a “District 10”.
1 Ex Machina
Alex Garland has a talent for making riveting sci-fi about some of the world’s most important topics. This psychological thriller sees Caleb, an accomplished young programmer, whisked away to a secret high-security estate to work on an unknown project. There, he meets his company’s mysterious CEO Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), who informs Caleb that he’s created a female robot with artificial intelligence.
Amazed by the powers of technology, Caleb grows attached to Ava, the robot, and they begin having deep conversations about the meaning of life and existence. All the while, Nathan — a raging alcoholic with a secret or two — grows more and more hostile and unhinged. And in the middle of nowhere, anything can happen.