Sci-Fi Movies People Think Are Criminally Underrated

Redditor.AlbinoPlatypus913.Enemy Mine

Enemy Mine.(1985).

The concept, execution, and message are great. Four instances exist.Star Trek.People made episodes based on it.

Redditor.DJSchmidi.Enemy Mine

Enemies learning to cooperate and become friends shows a rare message. We need more like this.

Redditor.Pg21_SubsecD_Pgrph12.Dark City

Dark City.It fits if you like noir or paranoia-laced stories.

Redditor.BuckRusty.Dark City

Dark City.This film is the worst luck; it came out around the same time as The Matrix.The Matrix.It shares a similar look.

It is completely overshadowed despite its strong visuals. [Rufus] Sewell, [Kiefer] Sutherland, and [Richard] O’Brien give solid performances. The story hook grabs attention.

Redditor.MyMomSaysIAmCool.Dark City

Anyone who has not seen it should skip the Kiefer Sutherland exposition at the start. It reveals everything and destroys the mystery and discovery the movie should have offered.

Redditor.TheFeshy.Dark City

Watch the director's cut without the spoiler narration. That is the edition you should see.

From a formerRedditor.Outland

Outland.It is a classic western. The sheriff stands alone against the mining company drugging their workers on the moon of Io.

Redditor.Number_06.Outland

It is essentiallyHigh Noon in space, featuring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, and Frances Sternhagen, who played the broken-down old outpost doctor. It is one of my all-time favorites.Outland in space, featuring Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, and Frances Sternhagen, who played the broken-down old outpost doctor. This remains one of my all-time favorites.

Redditor.FenrirIII.The Ice Pirates

The Ice Pirates.It is campy and sci-fi fun.

Redditor.henrycaul.The Ice Pirates

My parents taped it from TV onto VHS. I watched it a hundred times. I was too young for the adult jokes; I knew they were salacious, but I did not know what they meant.Ice Pirates.The Ice Pirates moved from TV to VHS. I watched it a hundred times. I was too young for the adult jokes; I knew they were salacious, but I did not grasp their meaning.

Redditor.magusjosh.The Ice Pirates

It is a King of the "So Bad it's Good" list. The cast is great.

Redditor.Brendissimo.Brazil

An absolute favorite of mine isBrazil.Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam (ofMonty Python). It is Gilliam's take on1984.1984. Dystopian authoritarianism, but with Gilliam's strange and whimsical ideas for world-building.

Redditor.farnabinho.Silent Running

Silent Running is a beautiful movie, and it is the opposite of an action blockbuster.Silent Running is a beautiful movie, and it is the opposite of an action blockbuster.

Redditor.rubygeek.Silent Running

I love Silent Running. I like the feeling ofSilent Runningcaptures a certain feeling of that era.

Redditor.palordrolap.Silent Running

I saw it once a long time ago and cannot watch it again. It breaks my heart.

Redditor.last_angry_moose.Colossus: The Forbin Project

Colossus: The Forbin Project.It is a truly underrated movie that I almost never see mentioned.

An AI meant to control US defense forces spirals out of control through the Paperclip Maximizer problem, while humans try to stop it.

Redditor.heelspider.A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly.It is a 10 out of 10 movie for me that you rarely hear about.

Redditor.baumer028.A Scanner Darkly

They adapted the book well, and I love the style.

Redditor.rabuf:

Of all the movies I've seen where I've read the book/story, this one is probably the most faithful. I read the book shortly before learning the movie existed, so I had a good chance to compare them then.alsoThey compressed two characters into one. They removed one moderately significant, but not critical, character. They added no new characters, or at least no new significant characters. The only significant scenes cut happened near the end, but the visuals showed the same story those scenes would have told. Any other cut scene was either unimportant to the story or moved its importance to other parts.significantcharacters

Every change made sense given the change in medium, not for the writer's or director's ego. The movie told the same story with the same purpose as the book, making no major cuts or changes. I still keep a physical copy of this film.

From Redditor NetMassimo:

Hardware.

This film is somewhat derivative. It has a good atmosphere with a post-apocalyptic future and rising tension. It is a B-movie, but a good one.

From Redditor robotomized:

This one. It is overlooked and a gem.

Great man versus machine in a post-apocalyptic world.

Low budget creativity.

From Redditor DeLoreanAirlines:

Yes, Richard Stanley, the writer/director, is definitely on the edge. I really wanted to see his version ofThe Island of Dr. Moreau but the studios messed it up.

From Redditor Yog_Sothtoth:

Brainstorm.

This movie stars Chris Walken. It is about developing technology that lets you record and play back people's experiences. Douglas Trumbull, the legendary visual effects artist (like Kubrick's2001), so expect mind-bending visuals.

It is very flawed. Trumbull is an excellent visionary, but not a good director, in my opinion. This movie matters to me. Watching it first, I became deeply into William Gibson's cyberpunk novels. The film works perfectly as a prequel showing how they developed simstim technology. If you like fringe sci-fi and some mindf***, this film suits you.

From Redditor icky_boo:

The Man From Earthis my surprise pick. It is a cult classic now. When I watched it, it was not on anyone's radar, and it shocked me with how good it was for an ultra-low-budget movie set in a cabin with no action.

From Redditor marcuzt:

One of my all-time favorites. It is a perfect start to philosophy, mostly epistemology.

From Redditor KamikazeOtter:

Coherence (2013)

I am surprised no one has mentioned it yet. It is a low-budget Canadian sci-fi movie where multiple dimensions affect a dinner party (my summary is bad). Even my wife put her laptop away and watched the whole thing because it was gripping, even though she dislikes most sci-fi.

This movie is cleverly done and one of my go-to picks for a hidden gem.

From a former RedditorRedditor:

IIRC, it feels more like horror than sci-fi.

From a Redditordrebunny:

My favorite thing about CoherenceCoherenceMy boyfriend got really frustrated with the ending, lol. I liked it, but he dislikes movies that end like that.

From a former RedditorRedditor:

Never Let Me Go(2010). This film is a coming-of-age drama, not strictly science fiction, though it uses big scientific ideas. I prefer the book, but the movie handles the subject matter's complexity well. Avoid reading too much, especially the trailer, which reveals too much.

From a formerRedditor:

It is science fiction, though. I liked both the book and the movie.

From a Redditorspacednlost:

Creation of the HumanoidsThis is insane. It feels like a lost 1960s prequel to Westworld.Westworld.

From a RedditorClearAirTurbulence3D:

The movie stays with you; it is one of my favorite SF movies. Cheap sets? Yes. Clunky acting? Yes. Wordy (it's all dialogue!)? Yes.staysit is one of my favorite SF movies.

From a RedditorAntiShansky:

Maybe it is a bit out of left field, but Ikarie XB-1Icarie XB-1is a Czech sci-fi movie from the '60s that I enjoyed. It acts like a classic Twilight Zone episode.

From a Redditormmreviews:

Ikarie XB-1This is a Czech sci-fi film fitting between '50s campy sci-fi and late '60s heavy sci-fi. It has cheap looks but shows beautiful shots with many interesting ideas.

From a RedditorClearAirTurbulence3D:

Ikarie XB-1is a real gem of SF.

[American International Pictures] edited it into English dubbedVoyage to the End of the Universe, but they added a pointless ending.