Best Indie Sci-Fi 1997-2021 V3.0: 95 Must-see Films, Plus 95 More

by emvan | created - 20 Mar 2015 | updated - 29 Jan 2022 | Public

Q: How Good Are These Films?

A: Only two of the top 23 ranked films here were distributed by a major or mini-major studio. Each received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (even though it was both directors' debut film), Best Adapted or Original Screenplay, and Best Actor / Actress for the lead role (even though one was unknown and the other had never acted before).

That's how good.

Both Monsters in 2010 and Attack the Block in 2011 deservedly opened eyes with their quality-to-budget ratio, and the director of the former and the star of the latter both repeated those roles in Star Wars films.

The two films are now ranked 87th and 56th here, respectively. That's how good.

Today's younger filmmakers grew up on science fiction, and many love and understand it. The cost of making a sci-fi film goes down every year. Hence we've seen an explosion of great indie sci-fi films, beginning in 2012.

All but seven of the top 42 films here were released in the last decade. And I can't stress enough how deep this list is: I can go halfway down the second page before I get to a film I could have missed. There has never been a more fabulous time to be a sci-fi film fanatic than right this moment, and that statement will always be true (unless—until?—a favorite dispiriting sci-fi scenario overtakes us). Q: What's the Idea Here?

A: I love cinematic artistry just as much as I love science fiction [*]. I enjoy bursting the brains of my fellow cinephiles by revealing that my three favorite directors are Ingmar Bergman, Ernst Lubitsch, and ... Christopher Nolan (here's my argument that he's an important narrative pioneer). My all time top-ten favorites list includes The Rules of the Game and A Separation alongside Donnie Darko (#1 on this list) and The Prestige (and of course 2001: A Space Odyssey, which pegs the needle on both).

I've tried to create a ranking for people like me. The films are thus ranked as science-fiction films, with an emphasis on both terms. Intelligence, both cinematic and scientific, is treasured, and their combination in metaphor even more so. A classic comedy that's just barely sci-fi thus ends up at #45 (Shaun of the Dead), and a brilliant piece of arthouse cinema that's scientifically stupid ends up at #66 (Melancholia).

The rankings, however, are very much secondary to my mini-reviews of each film, and there I do try to give information to guide viewers of all tastes, from cinephiles who like sci-fi, to sci-fi lovers with an arthouse allergy.

[*] I assisted the Philip K. Dick literary estate during the 1980's, and was a 2010 World Fantasy Award nominee for a 20-year career as the programmer of the leading literary science fiction and fantasy conference. On the film side, I'm one of The Hollywood Reporter's "hand-selected" "media influentials" for my online reviews (which means I get the mag for free) and a Top Writer on film at Quora, and I'm the assistant runner, scheduler and (pending COVID) current host of the Boston area's cinephile screening group. I have a standing invitation to write film entries for the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and some of the better sentences here should eventually show up there.

Q: What's Included?

A: Which is to say, what's "sci-fi?" What's "indie?" Why start in 1997? And what's your definition of "film?"?

A #1: What's sci-fi? First, while I use "sci-fi" as an umbrella term when needed (as here), the notes to the films make a distinction between "sci-fi" and "sf" (an older abbreviation), and do so consistently. "Sci-fi" uses familiar tropes, which is often a good idea, while "sf" strives for originality (here's more, including a brief history of how the distinction originated).

I use the widest possible reasonable definition of what's "sci-fi" or "sf" to make the list maximally inclusive.

"Slipstream" is a useful term used within the field to describe everything on the interesting borders of sf, especially narratives with non-realistic elements that don't fit comfortably into either sf or fantasy. If the notes to a film explain why I included it, it's slipstream in this broad sense.

"Slipstream" eventually developed a narrower meaning: it's the genre of narratives that consciously defy being classified by genre, by making roughly equal sense whether interpreted as some or all of sf, fantasy, surrealism, postmodern fabulation, or realism (with hallucinations or delusions). When I use the term in the film notes, I mean this "slipstream proper."

Finally, I've coined and use the term "metaphysical fantasy" for stories set in the present with a fantasy element that is fundamental to reality, original (at least in part), and substantively developed. These films feel exactly like sf, and their progenitor, # 113 Ink, was classified as such by some critics. I think they appeal more to sf fans than fantasy fans, and if that's the case, they clearly belong here.

What's not sci-fi? Superhero movies are their own distinct genre, a unique form of science fantasy, so a superhero film needs some actual sci-fi element to warrant inclusion. And I say that as someone who puts the MCU ahead of the Potterverse / Wizarding World as the greatest achievement in popular storytelling after Tolkien. I devoured the classic Claremont / Byrne X-Men and Frank Miller Daredevil comics in the early 80's. I've seen all the MCU films (sometimes twice in the theater) and adore the best as much as anyone, and they simply don't give me the same vibe as sci-fi. They are fables.

In the same fashion, zombie films are excluded unless they address zombie science in some way.

I originally decided to exclude anime, as it has its own distinct audience. Then #6 Your Name. happened, and I couldn't resist including it. What makes sense to me is to include anime films that qualify as must-see films for sci-fi fans, and leave the merely good ones to the devotees. I'll include Paprika when I rewatch it, and I have a list of about a dozen candidates to check out.

A #2: What's indie? I believe that the list will be most useful if it includes all sci-fi films that may have escaped wide notice. It therefore includes all films that did not earn a U.S. wide release, regardless of budget. It also includes widely released films that were made for US $20M or less (inflation-adjusted to the end of 2014), as a proxy for independent production; that trick is straight from Film Independent Spirit.

The "exclusive" films from the major streaming services present a definitional challenge that so far proves easy to meet. To begin with, Netflix alone places this label on films that, like ordinary VOD streamers, started life elsewhere—abroad theatrically, and/or on the festival circuit. "Exclusive" at Netflix just means that the film is not available for rent elsewhere, and won't simultaneously show up for free on the library services Kanopy and Hoopla. What we are really concerned with here are the Video Originals, films produced by the services. And you simply exclude the ones whose cast is headlined by a big-name star, or necessarily casts an unknown in the lead and has mutiple big names in supporting roles (the Okja rule). As long as there's no ambiguous middle ground between the likes of Tom Hanks (Finch) and Frank Grillo (#121), we're cool.

A #3: Why 1997? After three years that produced just two original live-action sci-fi films of any budget worth seeing (Twelve Monkeys and Strange Days), 1997 brought us Gattaca, Face/Off, Men in Black, Contact, The Fifth Element, and #13 on this list. It's the start of the modern golden age of sci-fi cinema.

And it wasn't just sci-fi. In 1996 there were just 2 films that were sci-fi or fantasy (including supernatural horror) in the top 11 at the U.S. box office. But 1997 had 5 in the top 12 and by 1999 it was 10 of 12, including the top 5. It was a huge and apparently permanent change in popular culture (2018 had the entire top 11).

(That this is good rather than bad is a topic for another time and place—specifically, chapter 4 of my work-in-progress, Composing "The Hobbit": A Literary Detective Story).

A #4: What qualifies as a "film"? For years I've been arguing that any "limited series" made for TV where every "episode" was directed by the same person, and where they all shared at least one common writer, should be regarded as a film. Why? The definitive list of the greatest films of all time includes several works that fit that description, most notably Kieslowski's Dekalog and Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz. Bergman's Fanny and Alexander and Scenes from a Marriage were created as TV series, and the full versions are screened theatrically and regarded as the original cuts of the film. Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly recently made the precise same argument (see the link in #111). So I'm doing that here.

Q: How Are the Films Ranked? And can you make the answer interesting to non-geeks?

First, why am I the guy ranking these films?

1) I’m one of those annoying freaky people who can rank every film they see, in order of how much I like them. I grade on a 100-point scale, and I'm willing to use fractions.

2) My responses to well-regarded films hew very close to the consensus.

3) I firmly believe that by examining your responses to films when they differ from the consensus, you can eventually discover your tastes and biases, and then use that knowledge to make more objective assessments and rankings. It’s taken me a decade, but I finally believe I can do this adequately.

4) I’m actually best known as a statistical analyst.

I’ve got 501 files in my Excel/Movies folder. I’ve discovered some cool useful truths:

(First, note that Rotten Tomatoes ratings based on fewer than 20 reviews, and IMDB ratings with less than 25K votes, are unreliable, and don't necessarily play by the following rules of thumb. Almost all of the newer films here have an unreliable IMDB rating).

A) The best measure of a film’s contemporary critical response is its Rotten Tomatoes Average Rating from all critics (not shown unless you click on the far less meaningful TomatoMeter). It's better than their rating from “top critics,” which is in turn better than the Metacritic score from the best ones. You don’t become a top critic by having more reliable taste (what editor could tell?), but by writing better and more insightfully. Shrink the pool of critics, and all you do is add noise.

B) IMBD User Ratings of widely released films correlate fairly strongly with RT, much more so than people think. We only notice the exceptions (and sometimes the apparent disagreement is just a TomatoMeter illusion).

C) The RT and IMDB ratings are equally valuable; their combination is a better measure of a film’s quality than either one separately. (Why are film buffs, including fanboys, as useful as professional film critics? For one thing, some of the latter will miss the point of a smart commercial film by literally seeing the predictable film they expect rather than the one that's being shown—pure confirmation bias. A full explanation is a long essay or a book chapter. )

D) The two ratings are almost exactly equivalent at 7.1, but the critics’ rating has a spread about twice as large. RTAR at 8.6 and IMDB at 7.9 are actually in agreement, as are 5.6 and 6.2.

E) If you’ve rated a couple of thousand films at DVD.Netflix (as I have), their “guess” for you (their prediction algorithm) is as useful as the combination of RT and IMDB. And no wonder: it’s based on the ratings of people like you.

So … just how are the films ranked?

For this update I've done a massive job of tuning all the numbers involved for greater accuracy; the Film Note Guide below explains how they appear in the list. (And in a long note following the final entries, I outline all the algorithms involved, for those of us who regard algorithms as a form of chocolate.)

Now, we know from the above that the best score for what others think is 50% Netflix (which I can fake fairly accurately when it's missing), and 25% each for IMDB and critics.

So the only remaining question is, how I do mix that combo platter with my own (tweaked) judgement? What seems to work best is 2/3 me and 1/3 everybody else. That seems like a lot of me, but when you factor in how strongly my ratings already agree with the consensus of others, it's the opposite. So the ratings are 2/3 the consensus and 1/3 my informed disagreement with it.

If you read the reviews you’ll find many films that I clearly regard as better or worse than their ranking. Which is as it should be.

Q: What's Next?

A: I plan to start V3.1 without taking a break, watching a film each Friday night and one over the weekend (If I miss a night, I'll try to catch up later in the week. Other nights will be devoted to catching up to 2020-2022 films).

Entries for new films will be posted at Best Indie-Sci-Fi: The Additions List within 24 hours of their screening. Every Monday I'll add a version update listing the newly added film or films, with preliminary rankings, and the results of any re-watches (how much, if at all, their review has been changed, and their new ranking, if they have one). Each update goes at the top of the list, producing a summary of the version additions in reverse chronological order.

Further details, and a list of the films, are at Best Indie Sci-Fi: Watchlist #1, which, in conjunction with two further lists, also outlines future plans through 2027.

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Film Note Guide

The notes on each film contain more than just my mini-review. They begin with a header with a wealth of information about the film's release and distribution, the components of its ranking (which contain useful information about how the film fares with various audiences), and its acclaim. This header is now separated from the review for readability. Here's what you'll see:

First, before the note is the IMDB Plot Outline, and they vary from terrific to bad to absent (the rambling ones that end with ... are Plot Summaries). I'm working on them and am already resonsible for 15.

The header has the following components; all but #4, the ratings, are optional.

1. Status flag. * marks films added in the last major revision, while ^ and < indicate films that have been bumped up or down in the rankings via a recent re-watch.

2. Plot outline attribution. “—EV.” for the ones I wrote.

3. U.S. basic release information in parentheses. The year, if different from the IMDB year (first public screening); release nature when there was no full U.S. theatrical release. The options here are SD (secondary distribution, no box office reported to Box Office Mojo and the like), VO (video original), DVD, and VOD.

4. The ranking info. First is an adjusted IMDB rating, even in the rare cases where it's unchanged (while not perfect, I'm confident that it's significantly more accurate than the official one shown above it). It's followed by "Crit," the critics rating derived from RT and elsewhere (see #6 below) and now rescaled to match the IMDB score for easy, accurate comparison. When two Crit ratings appear, e.g., "6.9 > 7.1", that's by my adjustment. Films with less than 20 reviews get a Crit score in [brackets], created by adding the extra external reviews linked at IMDB to the ones at RT.

An IMDB or rescaled Crit score of 7.2 or better marks a must-see film for serious film buffs, while a 7.6 is a borderline classic. And the difference between Crit and IMDB is usually a good measure of how "arthouse" a film is.

Next come three sub-scores. "Broad," the grade from all viewers, combines IMDB and Crit and scales them upward to match the next two scores. Here, 75 is a should-see film, 80 a must-see, and 90 is extraordinary. "Fans" is from the Netflix prediction (and is occasionally adjusted a la Crit). "Me" always starts with my subjective rating; it may be followed with the number of times I've seen the film if more than once, and / or my separate objective rating when it exists. For instance, #7 Holy Motors is 96 (x2) > 95.

The overall score is last; a * or ** before it indicates a score reduced an extra 0.5 or 1.0 because they're borderline sci-fi (or for a few other good reasons).

(Notes on the film-by-film adjustments—my identified tastes and biases, and reasons for demotion—may at some point be added to the long geek note at the end.) 5. Release and indie status details. First, the theatrical distributor, when they have more than one film here or are well-known; (Mini) means a mini-major distributor and (Sub) means a subsidiary of a major. Unless indicated otherwise, Fox (Sub) = Fox Searchlight, Sony (Sub) = Sony Pictures Classics, and Universal (Sub) = Focus Features. (Wide) indicates a wide release. Following this, $ indicates a mid-budget film (> $20M) and $$ a big-budget (> $40M) one; $½ cost $40M on the nose.

6. Critical reputation ratings. The first, C10 is how well the film performed on year-end top 10 lists according to the invaluable CriticsTop10.com, which lists the top 50 films of each year. The second, TSP is where the film ranks among the top 1000 films of the 21st Century at the equally invaluable They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?. In both cases I give the overall ranking ("C10 = 23Y" means it was the #23 film of the year) followed in parentheses by the ranking among all of these films.

Note that by comparing the two relative rankings in parentheses, the end of year one from C10 and the all-time one from TSP, you can tell whether a film's reputation has grown or faded from its initial reception (the exception being the most recent films, who tend to enter the TSP list low).

7. Award wins and nominations. All Oscar categories; Independent Spirit Awards for (First) Feature, (First) Screenplay, Director, and International Film only; Hugo and Ray Bradbury (= Nebula) Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation.

The mini-rewiews are preceded by their own status flags: + for a review with minor changes and ++ for those with major, and > for one with an update of the director and/or screenwriter's subsequent and/or current activity, and < for new detail about their previous careers.

Finally, I give free-with-subscription sources other than those automatically provided by IMDB. "DVD.Netflix" implies three other alternatives (unless noted otherwise): free streaming services that interrupt the film with commercials (often inelegantly, I'm told), inexpensive VOD, and disks borrowed from local libraries. JustWatch.com is a good source for the first two.

1. Donnie Darko (2001)

R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

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88 Metascore

After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.

Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne

Votes: 850,339 | Gross: $1.48M

IMDB 8.2, Crit 7.5. Broad 86, Fans 93, Me 100 (x c. 12) > 99 = 96. From Newmarket (Christopher Nolan championed this to his Memento producers-turned-distributors). C10 = 31Y (26), TSP = 127 (8). Indie Spirit First Feature and First Screenplay noms.

One of the three greatest sf puzzle films ever (the others being The Prestige and the next entry), and one of the greatest troubled-teen drama / comedies ever, a combination that until recently earned it a spot in the IMDB Top 250. You can watch the original cut for its beautiful Lynchian ambiguity, but you should know that it was not intended by Kelly but only emerged when Jake Gyllenhaal urged him to cut reams of clumsy expository dialogue. I strongly recommend the 2004 director's cut (133 min), which adds significant character and thematic depth and solves the exposition problem, clarifying what has always been a thrilling and profound exploration of the nature of free will. A recent Kelly script attracted serious Hollywood buzz, but he's now working on completing his 2007 followup #111. Kanopy (theatrical); DVD.Netflix (director's).

2. Upstream Color (2013)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

6.5

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81 Metascore

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.

Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Amy Seimetz, Frank Mosley, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig

Votes: 34,973 | Gross: $0.44M

IMDB 6.8, Crit 7.6. Broad 79, Fans 89, Me 100 (x9) = 95. C10 = 13Y (11); TSP = 247 (10). Indie Spirit Director nom.

+> The most challenging sf puzzle movie ever, with clues buried in nearly every shot; I figured something out on my 8th viewing—and it seemed obvious once I got it (Jeff chops down the trees in the yard to make it more resemble the pig farm, which he has no conscious knowledge of). Miraculously, it's also one of the great all-time arthouse-style cinematic experiences, with great cinematography (by Carruth, who also held the camera when he wasn't in the scene as the male lead), great editing (by Carruth with David Lowery of Ghost Story acclaim), and a tremendous electronic score (by Carruth. He produced and distributed it, too). An emotionally potent examination of personal identity, autonomy, and community, it is (like the above) one of my six favorite films of all time. Carruth, who began with #5, signed up a stellar cast for the (non-sf) The Modern Ocean six years ago; in 2020 he announced that he'd do one further major film (seemingly that) and then quit the business. That plan collapsed within months (Google his name and "restraining order"), leaving him with two of the most ambitious and best received unproduced scripts in cinema history, the other being A Topiary, his attempted mid-budget Primer followup. DVD.Netflix.

3. Get Out (I) (2017)

R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

7.8

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85 Metascore

A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.

Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener

Votes: 697,372 | Gross: $176.04M

IMDB 7.9, Crit 7.9. Broad 88, Fans 99, Me 96 (x2) = *95. From Blumhouse via Universal (Wide). C10 = 1Y (1); TSP = 71 (4). Oscar Original Screenplay win and Picture, Actor, and Director noms; Indie Spirit Feature and Director wins and Screenplay nom; Hugo nom and Bradbury win.

> Debut film from the Key & Peele TV comedian is known for scares, grim laughs, and huge smarts about racial identity (see it between the comparably brilliant Dear White People and Blindspotting), but all of that is built on a pure sci-fi premise. Sean McKittrick, one of Peele's two fellow producers, started his production career on #1. Their team next did #30. Peele's Nope is due in theaters on 7/27; that it was shot partly in IMAX by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Interstellar), plus the poster, suggests it's not just horror but sci-fi, and far from indie. DVD.Netflix.

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WARNING: THE IMDB PLOT OUTLINE FOR THE NEXT FILM CONTAINS A MASSIVE THIRD-ACT SPOILER. AVERT YOUR EYES!

4. Until the End of the World (1991)

R | 158 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

6.8

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63 Metascore

In 1999, Claire Tourneur's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash. She rescues Sam and travels the world with him. Writer Eugene Fitzpatrick follows and writes their story as a method of recording dreams is being developed.

Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Pietro Falcone, Enzo Turrin

Votes: 11,341 | Gross: $0.75M

My Plot Outline: A young woman who has left behind her boyfriend to travel in a near-future Europe crosses paths with two reckless men and a stranger on a mysterious mission, whom she chases from city to city with the aid of an atypical P.I..

* (US 2019 DVD, Director's Cut, 4 h 47 min. Ignore the IMDB rating and Metascore for the hugely inferior original "Readers' Digest" cut). IMDB 7.5, Crit [7.8]. Broad 85, Fans n/a, Me 96 = **93. $½.

++ The imagined near-future is so prescient—wireless web searches on correctly-sized laptops, cars with GPS navigation, and ultimately handheld device addiction—that you'd guess it was an alternate, satiric present from a recent film. (Uncredited first-draft screenwriter Michael Almereyda—#17 and #174—seems likely to be responsible for much of this.) The first two acts are an "ultimate road trip" film with brilliantly subverted tropes; things then slow down and darken as the film makes its points. All this is accompanied by the most successful original song soundtrack in the history of cinema; Wenders states that the film's length was largely determined by the quantity of great tracks he received from the musicians he asked. Now that we've seen the whole thing, the consensus is that this is his masterpiece, which is saying a lot, and I hope to present it to my cinephile group during V4.0. Criterion.

5. Primer (2004)

PG-13 | 77 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

6.7

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68 Metascore

Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.

Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya

Votes: 114,210 | Gross: $0.42M

IMDB 6.8, Crit 7.3. Broad 77, Fans 89, Me 98 (x c. 6) = 93. TSP = 347 (17). Indie Spirit Feature, Director, and First Screenplay noms.

++ If you somehow don't know this, try to avoid descriptions. Carruth's first film is famous for being shot for $7000 ($11K today), and for complexity so brain-bursting it leaves some people giddy. Puzzle movies usually have a major third-act revelation that elicits an "oh my God, I think I understand this" reaction from the viewer; here it elicits "OMG, no human being could possibly understand this on a first viewing" (the moment where we learn that the time machines can be folded up and sent back in time), and in fact some movie theaters offered a free second admission with each ticket. It's also been influential for its in-your-face realistic absence of strained expository dialogue, right from the opening scene, where Carruth inserts a wife alongside four jargon-talking engineers and then *doesn't* have her ask any questions. Later one of our leads asks the other "what's the only thing in [physics] that ..." and the other *doesn't answer*, because *they both know*, and that might be my favorite conversational moment in any film on this list (viewers who themselves know get an early reveal as to where the film is headed). If you've seen this and don't think it belongs somewhere near the top of this list ... ignore the rankings and just read everything else. DVD.Netflix.

6. Your Name. (2016)

PG | 106 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

8.4

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81 Metascore

Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryo Narita, Aoi Yûki

Votes: 320,654 | Gross: $5.02M

* (US 2017). IMDB 8.5, Crit 7.7. Broad 90, Fans 93, Me 96 (x2) = **93. From Funimation. Added by a reinterpretation of the qualifying criteria.

+> A fantasy centered around a crucial sci-fi element (cf. #10). Emotionally riveting and thematically deep, it’s more or less the Japanese animated Donnie Darko (whose former place in the IMDB Top 250 it occupies and then some), with the disturbing edge replaced with sweetness that never become saccharine. The visuals are gorgeous—more painterly than Miyazaki, if less striking. And no puzzle film arranges its pieces to more thrilling effect. The inevitable American live-action remake is in good hands, with 2021 Oscar nominee Lee Isaac Chung directing and reworking a screenplay by Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick). Shinkai followed this with fantasy Weathering With You; it's unclear whether his work in progress will have a sci-fi element. DVD.Netflix.

TV-MA | 39 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

7.7

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Two strangers are drawn to a mysterious pharmaceutical trial for a drug that they're assured will, with no complications or side-effects whatsoever, permanently solve all of their problems. Things do not go as planned.

Stars: Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Sonoya Mizuno, Justin Theroux

Votes: 86,772

(VO). IMDB 7.8, Crit 7.4. Broad 83, Fans n/a, Me 95 = **91. From Netflix. <+> Created by director Cary Joji Fukanaga (Beasts of No Nation, the first season of True Detective) and writer Patrick Somerville (four episodes of The Leftovers), borrowing the structure and radically transforming the concept of a 2015 Norwegian series of the same name. A bitingly satirical and at times unexpectedly moving examination of mental illness and treatment, with spectacular alternate-present world-building and superb performances. The 9 discrete episodes (the official 7 and 8 are one longer one) total 6 1/2 hours of run time; they're weighty enough emotionally to take a day each to process, but so dense with connections that the mandatory re-watch (scheduled for V5.0) calls for back-to-back evenings. Fukanaga next did Bond flick No Time to Die, while Somerville created and wrote the mini-series adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's pandemic-apocalypse novel Station Eleven.

Not Rated | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

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A young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.

Director: Jae-young Kwak | Stars: Cha Tae-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun, In-mun Kim, Song Wok-suk

Votes: 50,503

(US 2013 DVD). IMDB 8.1, Crit [7.7]. Broad 88, Fans n/a, Me 92 > 91 = **90. $½.

This cult-classic Korean rom-com may have the largest ratio of real depth to apparent depth (at the midway point) of any film I've ever seen. The sci-fi element is small and hidden but undeniable, and because the movie adroitly establishes itself as non-realist via a meta move, it isn't meant to be "taken seriously." And yet I suspect that it's thematically crucial. The Director's Cut (available only in a Region 2 DVD) is slated for V3.1 and may move the film up. Libraries, $ or w/ads; beware the 2008 U.S. remake.

19. Mr. Nobody (2009)

R | 141 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

7.7

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63 Metascore

A boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn't choose, anything is possible.

Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh-Dan Pham

Votes: 245,891 | Gross: $0.00M

(US 2013). IMDB 7.9, Crit 6.8 > 7.0. Broad 80, Fans 87, Me 93 = 90. From Magnolia; $$.

Made in Belgium in English, barely released in the U.S., and now a sizeable success on disk. It makes the differences between alternate, forking timestreams so visceral and emotionally charged it seems as if you lived them all yourself. It'll take a second viewing in V3.1 to see how much the frame story adds to that. Van Dormael's subsequent fantasy The Brand New Testament is still in my queue. Also Hoopla.

20. The Endless (I) (2017)

Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

6.5

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80 Metascore

As kids, they escaped a UFO death cult. Now, two adult brothers seek answers after an old videotape surfaces and brings them back to where they began.

Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington

Votes: 49,432 | Gross: $0.27M

(US 2018). IMDB 6.7, Crit 7.3. Broad 76, Fans 88, Me 94 = 90. From Well Go USA.

+> Best film so far by the only auteurs with four films on the list: Benson writes, Moorhead shoots, both direct and edit. Although it stands perfectly well on its own, it's that much richer as a sequel to #63, which committed viewers should see first (others can start here and go back if suitably impressed). This one broadens the scope and raises the quality of execution (especially the visuals) significantly. The sf content serves simultaneously as a metaphor for lives, memories, and invented stories; I can't think of a film that can match its combination of cool, creepy weirdness and thematic depth. It's also a puzzle movie that I know I haven't fully solved, which puts it near the top of my V3.1 rewatch list. The team did #110 in the interim; followup is #60. Their new film, Something in the Dirt, played Sundance to mostly rave reviews, and they directed but did not adapt Marvel's Moon Knight series that premiers March 30. Hoopla.

21. Train to Busan (2016)

Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Horror, Thriller

7.6

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73 Metascore

While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.

Director: Yeon Sang-ho | Stars: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an

Votes: 258,949 | Gross: $2.13M

IMDB 7.8, Crit 7.4. Broad 82, Fans 87, Me 93 = *90. From Well Go USA.

To call this surprisingly low-budget Korean import either "Snowpiercer with zombies" or the best zombie film since Romero's first two—which it is, by a kilometer—is to sell it short. With nonstop thrills, biting social satire, and genuine heart, it forced me to recognize that zombie films that provide an sf rationale belong here, too, and it'll be rewatched for V4.0 (or sooner if I break down and give in). James Wan is producing a remake in English for New Line. This one's a sequel to the newly streaming animated Seoul Station, and was followed by Peninsula, which appeared in 2020 to OK reviews. Yeon next did Psychokinesis, also set for V4.0. Also Hoopla.

PG-13 | 90 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

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59 Metascore

The near future. Like tomorrow. In a world marked by closed borders, corporate warriors, and a global computer network, three strangers risk their lives to connect, break through the barriers of technology, and unseal their fates.

Director: Alex Rivera | Stars: Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas, Metztli Adamina

Votes: 6,687 | Gross: $0.08M

My plot outline: In the near future, implanted "nodes" allow direct man/machine interface. The new tech entwines the lives of a young Mexican laborer, the ambitious woman journalist who befriends him, and a U.S. drone pilot.

(US 2009). IMDB 6.7, Crit 7.0 (the 5.9 reported by RT is a plain error). Broad 74, Fans 81, Me 92.5 (x2) = 88. Indie Spirit First Feature nom.

++ “Hard sf” is a subgenre where plausible scientific and technological developments are examined, and likely but not obvious consequences deduced; the clarity of the extrapolation into the future provides much of the story’s pleasure. It’s rare in film (the only others here are #91, #131 and #140). This microbudget Mexican exemplar borrows its tech from Samuel R. Delany's classic Nova, smartly extrapolates three different uses for it (one extra-futuristic, but not impossibly so), and knits them together in a moving and socially relevant story. Despite its utter obscurity, it has been used five times by arthouse theaters in the national Science on Screen program, tying it for the tenth most used with Blade Runner, The Abyss, Contact, Children of Men, and #16. Blame its obscurity on the bad title (which does nothing to select its proper audience), viewers who can't get past its necessarily primitive SFX and inconsistently futuristic production design, and general unfamiliarity with the subgenre, especially among those interested in the film's concerns (immigration and labor policies). Rivera co-directed the demi-documentary The Infiltrators, which is in my 2020 watchlist. DVD.Netflix.

32. Extracted (2012)

R | 89 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

6.4

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A scientist who has invented a technology to construct virtual realities from people's memories finds himself in a perilous situation, after he reluctantly allows it to be used for a purpose he never imagined.

Director: Nir Paniry | Stars: Sasha Roiz, Jenny Mollen, Dominic Bogart, Richard Riehle

Votes: 12,514

—EV. (US 2013 DVD.) IMDB 6.8, Crit [6.9] > 7.0. Broad 74, Fans 83, Me 92 (x3) = 87.

> I had to watch this twice within five days to see whether I hadn't somehow hallucinated its excellence, as the originality and smarts of the story had hardly been suggested by the online critics. And it got dramatically better—pun intended, as the human side of the story and the performances from the largely unknown cast are just as strong. It stood up splendidly when I screened it for my film and TV gang, who loved it; my sf writer friend was particularly smitten. This remains Paniry's only significant credit, and the big-buzz spec script he sold to Sony is now in its fifth year of development.

33. The Block Island Sound (2020)

TV-MA | 99 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

5.4

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Something lurks off the coast of Block Island, silently influencing the behavior of fisherman, Tom Lynch. After suffering a series of violent outbursts, he unknowingly puts his family in grave danger.

Directors: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus | Stars: Chris Sheffield, Michaela McManus, Neville Archambault, Ryan O'Flanagan

Votes: 9,484

* (US 2021 VOD). IMDB 6.5, Crit 7.2. Broad 74, Fans n/a, Me 91.5 = 87. From Netflix.

Every experienced viewer of horror / mystery / thriller films that are also sci-fi knows that there are two levels of suspense, one meta: how the characters will fare, and how satisfying the forthcoming sci-fi rationale for the strange goings-on will be. This one seems to give away most of the premise in the first scene (!), but when it next reveals that the protagonist is regarded as an "asshole" by those who should know, you realize you're in unusually confident storytelling hands. In fact, the previous feature by these young-veteran TV producers earned an audience nomination at SXSW back in 2012, and it seems as if they've been polishing this screenplay ever since. All aspects here are excellent, especially the location use and (yes, it's a pun) sound design. As for our opening question (for those who haven't already deduced an answer from my rating), let's just say that the moment this film was released, the phrase "intellectually provocative Lovecraftian tale" ceased to be an oxymoron. Another V4.0 rewatch (the idea being to see all the best films at least twice for the next re-ranking, in order to get the top of the list as correct as possible).

34. Vanishing Waves (II) (2012)

Unrated | 124 min | Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller

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58 Metascore

A neuron-transfer scientist experiments with the thoughts of a comatose young woman.

Director: Kristina Buozyte | Stars: Marius Jampolskis, Jurga Jutaite, Rudolfas Jansonas, Vytautas Kaniusonis

Votes: 2,861

(US 2013 DVD). IMBD 6.8, Crit [7.5]. Broad 78, Fans TBD, Me 90 = 87.

> This Lithuanian film is pure arthouse, with stunning visuals, and more than enough sf to satisfy. Some viewers have complained that the lead is unsavory, but the point of the story is that he's been placed in an impossible situation where he has no good choice. Due for a V3.1 rewatch, just because it deserves one. Be careful with the trailer, which spoils a climactic moment in its second half. Buozyte is in post-production for an English-language post-apocalypse film, Vesper Seeds. DVD.Netflix.

Not Rated | 153 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

8.1

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An alien on Earth loses the only device he can use to communicate with his spaceship. His innocent nature and child-like questions force the country to evaluate the impact of religious views on people.

Director: Rajkumar Hirani | Stars: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani

Votes: 201,352 | Gross: $10.62M

IMDB 7.8, Crit 7.4. Broad 83, Fans TBD, Me 89.5 > 88.5 = *87.

Hirani's followup to the beloved epic dramedy 3 Idiots was another huge hit in India. The sci-fi element is negligible, but the satire on organized religion is delicious, and there's a romantic side story which is allowed at various points to take over the film, with completely rewarding results. Be sure to blink while watching (Khan's alien never does, and I found myself doing the same!). A long-promised rewatch with friends should happen during V3.1.

41. Midnight Special (2016)

PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

6.6

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76 Metascore

A father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the child's special powers.

Director: Jeff Nichols | Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver

Votes: 84,049 | Gross: $3.71M

IMDB 6.8, Crit 7.3. Broad 77, Fans 81, Me 90.5 (x2) = 87. From Warner (Wide). C10 = 45Y (30).

+ Promises more sense-of-wonder than it can deliver with its budget, but the payoff was never the point. The puzzle-box plot is plenty gripping enough, and provides an insightful and moving metaphor for parenthood, alongside a thought-provoking examination of religion and belief. Nichols (whose best film remains the almost-slipstream Take Shelter—the reading as hallucinations is certain) intended this as a proof-of-capability for genre tentpoles, and that shiny surface may be obscuring its considerable depth for too many viewers, so this gets a V4.0 revisit (my two viewings were eight days apart). Nichols' next film, like his Oscar-nominated Loving, is a true historical drama. Hoopla.

42. High Life (2018)

R | 113 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

5.8

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78 Metascore

A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.

Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André 3000, Mia Goth

Votes: 41,051 | Gross: $1.23M

(US 2019). IMDB 6.5, Crit 7.4. Broad 76, Fans 81, Me 91 = 87. From A24. C10 = 23Y (19); TSP = 379 (19).

Disturbing, intensely evocative and thought-provoking arthouse sci-fi. When acclaimed indie auteurs like Denis (Beau travail) turn to the genre, the results are often problematical (#66; James Gray's big-budget farago of scientific blunders and plot non sequitors; #191), but this easily has the most interesting and convincing science fictional content of the bunch. Credit Philip K. Dick, revered by the French; Denis' first short student film, Le Mai 15, was a PKD adaptation. Metaphorically and thematically rich, this has gotten steadily better in my brain; I'm eager to see if that stands up to an actual second viewing in V3.1. Kanopy, Hoopla.

43. 2046 (2004)

R | 129 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

7.4

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78 Metascore

Several women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.

Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ziyi Zhang, Faye Wong, Gong Li

Votes: 61,799 | Gross: $1.44M

(US 2005.) IMDB 7.3, Crit 7.5. Broad 81, Fans 81, Me 88 = 86. From Sony (Sub). C10 = 11Y (13); TSP = 106 (5).

Technically, this sequel to Wong's arthouse masterpiece In the Mood For Love (see that first by all means) isn't sci-fi, but it devotes a large chunk to visualizing a sci-fi story written by its lead character, and rather brilliantly so. Due for a rewatch in V3.1 and likely to move up. DVD.Netflix.

44. Possessor (2020)

R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

6.5

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72 Metascore

An agent works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.

Director: Brandon Cronenberg | Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rossif Sutherland

Votes: 45,837

> IMDB 6.8, Crit 7.5. Broad 78, Fans TBD, Me 88 = 86. From Neon. C10 = 24Y (17); TSP 839 (32).

Its Canadian origin notwithstanding, it's easy to read this astonishingly stylish and brutally blood-soaked horror film as Cronenberg's smackdown of general corporate rapaciousness. But Abbot's single scene at work as a data-mining drone tips off its more specific agenda: loss of identity and free will (yes, those themes again) in the age of Facebook, who know exactly what you'll click on next. That big data is nowhere else mentioned means you have to do the work of fleshing out the metaphor yourself (I could say more)—the antithesis of what it's arguing against. See #128 for his underrated 2013 debut; his next, horror / sci-fi (what else?) Infinity Pool, is already in post-production.

45. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror

7.9

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76 Metascore

The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.

Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis

Votes: 594,197 | Gross: $13.54M

IMDB 8.0, Crit 7.5. Broad 85, Fans 87, Me 86 = *86. C10 = Y27 (21); TSP = 124 (7).

> My rule for zombie films is that they have to include a sci-fi rationale, and this one, deservedly beloved as it is, pointedly leaves one out. However, it's the only zombie narrative I know that makes the single most important scientific point about them! Not only is there no apocalypse, the zombie outbreak is put down in a single day. In fact, the living outnumber the newly dead 25,000 to 1, so only if there's an incredibly virulent zombie virus, as in #74, do zombies pose much of a problem. And that easily earns it a spot. This debut was the first installment of Wright's U.K. "Three Flavours Cornetto [thematic] Trilogy", which ends with #90; along the way came the increasingly revered fantasy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His 2021 film, Last Night in Soho, is his attempt at fantastic horror and has elements of every known quality. DVD.Netflix.

46. Coherence (2013)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

7.2

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65 Metascore

Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.

Director: James Ward Byrkit | Stars: Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen

Votes: 146,181 | Gross: $0.07M

(US 2014). IMDB 7.4, Crit 7.2. Broad 79, Fans 89, Me 87 = 86. From Oscilloscope.

> Actually much more head-scrambling and Primer-ish than the sub-scores would lead you to believe; the broad appeal comes from it being so entertaining scene-by-scene. It seems to sacrifice some of depth in the process, but I've decided I need to see it again in V3.1, understand everything that's going on, then see it once more with that knowledge. Storyboard artist Byrkit, who earlier co-wrote the story for Rango, will adapt off-broadway sf one-act hit Ideation for Benson and Moorhead's (#20 and others) production company. Also Kanopy, Hoopla.

47. Avalon (2001)

R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy

6.4

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In a dystopian world, a woman spends her time playing an illegal and dangerous game, hoping to find meaning in her world.

Director: Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski

Votes: 13,701

(US 2003 DVD). IMDB 6.6, Crit [7.2]. Broad 75, Fans 73 > 79, Me 90.5 = 86.

++ Foolproof formula for undeserved obscurity: be the acclaimed anime director of Ghost in the Shell; get your hands on an original screenplay from its adapter, Kazanuri Ito; embrace its crazy subgenre mash-up: a puzzle story, set in a bleak dystopia—about wargamers; do it as your first live-action film—in Polish; shoot it as a slowly paced arthouse film with a washed-out color palette. It takes a while for things to start Not. Adding. Up. here; by the time it finishes, it’s a tougher nut to crack than anything but #2. I think I know what's going on, and I think it's extraordinary. Oshii's subsequent live-action sci-fi films have tanked hard, but this one's high in the V3.1 rewatch queue. DVD.Netflix.

48. A Scanner Darkly (2006)

R | 100 min | Animation, Comedy, Crime

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73 Metascore

An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.

Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Rory Cochrane

Votes: 117,161 | Gross: $5.50M

IMDB 7.1, Crit 7.2. Broad 78, Fans 87, Me 87 (x2) = 86. From Warner (Sub). C10 = 29Y (23); TSP = 714 (28). Hugo nom.

This rotoscoped adaptation of Philip K. Dick's masterpiece doesn't quite capture all of the book's heartbreak and philosophical depth, but it hits almost all of the high points spot-on. Downey (post-sobriety, pre-Iron Man) is tremendous in the key supporting role. DVD.Netflix.

49. The Congress (2013)

Not Rated | 122 min | Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi

6.4

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63 Metascore

An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.

Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Jon Hamm, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Votes: 19,915 | Gross: $0.14M

(US 2014). IMDB 6.7, Crit 6.9. Broad 73, Fans 81, Me 89.5 (x2) = 85. From Drafthouse.

+> This loose adaptation of a Stanislaw Lem novel from Waltz with Bashir's creator is a remarkably potent exploration of the notion of escapism, the retreat from the real to the imagined. (The recent revelation that Lem was a Holocaust survivor, combined with the film's Israeli production, adds unexpected resonances.) There is a sudden transformation in style at the end of the first act (it becomes animated) that has an sf *explanation* that's easy to miss, and is necessary to fully grasp the story. And given the extrapolated future, there are some plot holes, so how well this works for you very much depends on how much the characters grab you (one reason it's getting a third look in V4.0). Folkman's educational children's fantasy Where is Anne Frank debuted at Cannes in 2021 to some strong reviews, but awaits U.S. distribution. Hulu, Kanopy, Mubi.

50. The Hole (1998)

95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Musical

7.4

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While never-ending rain and a strange disease spread by cockroaches ravage Taiwan, a plumber makes a hole between two apartments and the inhabitants of each form a unique connection, enacted in musical numbers.

Director: Tsai Ming-liang | Stars: Kuei-Mei Yang, Kang-sheng Lee, Miao Tien, Hui-Chin Lin

Votes: 4,408

* (US 2000 SD). IMDB 7.2, Crit 7.1. Broad 77, Fans n/a, Me 88 = *85. From Fox Lorber.

This near-future entry from the director of Viva L'Amour and Goodbye Dragon Inn is arthouse only, as it's relatively plotless and at times very slow. But it's shot full of moments of absurdist deadpan black humor (like a more coherent and less random Roy Andersson), and is periodically interrupted by the nameless female lead lip-syncing songs by 50's Hong Kong pop icon Grace Chang, in production numbers set in the characters' decaying, rain-drenched and largely evacuated apartment building. It sticks the emotional landing, too, no small feat for a film whose takeoff is barely apparent. The sci-fi element is just an excuse to examine human loneliness in extremis, yet Tsai gets at least one pandemic detail spot-on. Kanopy.

113 min | Action, Comedy, Music

7.5

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Several seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.

Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura | Stars: Atsushi Itô, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Noriko Eguchi, Hidekazu Mashima

Votes: 3,433

—EV. (US 2011 DVD). IMDB 7.4, Crit [7.4]. Broad 80, Fans 87, Me 86 > 85 = 84. (Note that the content of my original note is now in the plot outline above!)

+ A multi-threaded narrative like Magnolia, Babel, or Philip K. Dick's early 60's novels, but the intersecting threads are happening years apart from one another. After the opening scenes we therefore know that certain causal relationships must exist between them, but what they might be remains a mystery until very late. It's also, like That Thing You Do, a film whose plot requires a song that actually has to be great—and succeeds. Another film I might well get to before its scheduled rewatch (in V4.1). Both Nakamura and his screenwriter, adapting a novella by acclaimed mystery writer Kotaro Isaka, are prolific and unheralded; this appears to be the best known film from each. DVD.Netflix only (you're going to join, right?).

58. Fast Color (2018)

PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

6.1

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64 Metascore

After years in hiding, a woman is forced to go on the run when her superhuman abilities are discovered. Years after having abandoned her family, the only place she has left to hide is home.

Director: Julia Hart | Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, David Strathairn

Votes: 7,023 | Gross: $0.08M

(US 2019). IMDB 6.7, Crit 6.9. Broad 73, Fans 86 > 83, Me 88 > 87 = 84. From Lionsgate (Mini).

The sci-fi element is actually so arbitrary and unlikely that it's essentially fantasy; what makes it sf is that it's bracingly original, and not just deeply metaphoric but supports unexpected, equally metaphoric story beats. Perhaps those beats should have been understated rather than a bit hammered home, but you can hardly fault it for its desire to inspire (since it succeeds). Great production design and terrific performances, and another entry that adroitly mixes commercial and arthouse styles. Also Netflix.

59. Light of My Life (I) (2019)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

6.6

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67 Metascore

A father and his child journey through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half the world's population. As the father struggles to protect his child from, their bond and the character of humanity are tested.

Director: Casey Affleck | Stars: Anna Pniowsky, Casey Affleck, Tom Bower, Elisabeth Moss

Votes: 15,445

* IMDB 6.9, Crit 6.9. Broad 74, Fans 85, Me 86 = 84. From Saban.

+ Complaints about the story's knowing lack of originality (The Road meets Children of Men) miss the point completely; it's not about what might happen given the setting, it's about the love between parent and child, here drawn necessarily closer. That some critics and viewers miss this even though the film begins with a long (12 minutes, in one take) bedtime story just tells you how often folks see and review the movie they expect to see rather than the movie in front of them. Only the latter provides an emotional wallop. Some heady moral issues are raised, too, fueled by a more realistic and far more nuanced view of post-apocayptic behavior than is typical. Affleck's feature debut; he also produced and wrote the screenplay.

60. Synchronic (2019)

R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.2

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64 Metascore

Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.

Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally Ioannides

Votes: 40,228

* (US 2020). IMDB 6.5, Crit 6.9. Broad 71, Fans 84, Me 87 = 84. From Well Go USA.

In which the directors, who mastered ambiguity in #63 and #20, prove they can construct a completely satisfying conventional narrative. Like #63, it's very much a character-driven buddy tale, but this time the issues troubling our pair are much more universal and cut deeper; a somewhat flat performance here by Dornan is the film's only flaw. The sf story is of course equally the focus, and it features the third-best and tied-for-best-justified use of its sf trope (the closed causal time loop is topped only by #1 and #11, and it joins Arrival as the only films I know that specify we're in a block universe, where they are less problematical). This BOGO is pulled off the classic way: the two sides mirror and merge with one another thematically, via deft and resonant strokes. The visuals are as great as always; the before-title prologue could win awards as a short film. Also Hoopla.

61. Spontaneous (II) (2020)

R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror

6.5

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78 Metascore

Get ready for the outrageous coming-of-age love story about growing up...and blowing up. When students in their school begin exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.

Director: Brian Duffield | Stars: Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, Yvonne Orji, Hayley Law

Votes: 17,438

* (VO). IMDB 7.1, Crit 7.7 > 7.5. Broad 80, Fans TBD, Me 85 = *84. From Paramount+.

+> Debut film from the Love and Monsters co-writer, adapting a novel by YA author Aaron Starmer. The sf content is not in the least credible, and no attempt is made to justify it, but given that, it becomes surprisingly well-developed. It's thus effective as two nested metaphors: a general one for the existential dread enveloping the generation growing up with global warming and without a functional democracy, and a more obvious and pointed one for school shootings. All of the resulting drama and horror is tightly integrated with a very recognizable and well-executed character-driven teen romantic comedy, with an especially effective turn by Plummer (from acclaimed indie Lean on Pete). Duffield sold sci-fi spec script No One Will Save You to 20th Century. Hulu, Paramount+.

62. She Dies Tomorrow (2020)

R | 86 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

5.1

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81 Metascore

A woman becomes strangely convinced she will die the next day. Her friend initially disbelieves her before becoming paranoid herself that she too will die the next day.

Director: Amy Seimetz | Stars: Kate Lyn Sheil, Jane Adams, Kentucker Audley, Katie Aselton

Votes: 7,175

IMDB 6.4, Crit 7.3. Broad 75, Fans TBD, Me 89 > 86 = 83. From Neon. C10 = 42Y (32); TSP = 998 (35).

Contrary to nearly all reviews, what's going on here is explicitly science fictional rather than possibly psychological (the pizza delivery guy is our gang's patient zero), which makes the all-encompassing existential dread metaphor that much more powerful. It's full of perversely effective stylistic touches that almost mock the conventions of horror films, though it isn't one, even though all the characters are in fear of imminent death. And it has a structural move that creates a brilliant cause-and-effect reversal; all of this contributes to the low official IMDB rating. It's full of stylistic shout-outs to #2, which Seimetz starred in, even though her relationship with director Carruth ended horrifically. And if that's not enough food for thought, it's obviously completely about COVID-19 but was made before it happened. If this were half as engaging to watch as it is brilliantly thought-through, it would be a masterpiece, but thinking about it makes you want to watch it again (in V4.1), and up your rating in anticipation. Also Kanopy.

63. Resolution (III) (2012)

Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.4

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80 Metascore

A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies of San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.

Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | Stars: Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, Emily Montague, Kurt David Anderson

Votes: 19,535

(US 2013 SD). IMDB 6.7, Crit [7.1]. Broad 74, Fans 79, Me 89.5 > 87 = *83. From Tribeca.

Benson and Moorhead's debut is so perfectly slipstream that it actually specifies which genres it might belong to. It's a meta-genre film like The Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale vs Evil, but it's not quite horror, as no characters ever fear for their lives or become terrified, and instead of satire, there's a genuine exploration of why we like profoundly creepy, unsettling stories like this one. While the other films lose steam while they finish their plots, this one has a great ending that slingshots into #20 The Endless (note the titles). Hoopla.

64. Space Sweepers (2021)

TV-MA | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

6.5

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64 Metascore

Set in the year 2092 and follows the crew of a space junk collector ship called The Victory. When they discover a humanoid robot named Dorothy that's known to be a weapon of mass destruction, they get involved in a risky business deal.

Director: Sung-hee Jo | Stars: Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu, Yoo Hae-jin

Votes: 28,719

* (US VOD). IMDB 6.9, Crit 6.9. Broad 73, Fans n/a, Me 86 = 83. From Netflix.

> "You've seen this before, but nothing like this" is a winning formula for sci-fi. "Korea's first space blockbuster" not only checks every subgenre box ("formulaic" is praise!), it puts something new in a wholly satisfying proportion of them: we get dazzling visuals, strong dying-earth world-building, effective use of Clarke's Law, humor, and above all, characters worth rooting for. It seems impossible on a first viewing to tell who's doing what to whom in the battle sequences, but you're always certain that the filmmakers know. And like many Korean films, the story hinges at every moment on actual, rather than metaphoric, wealth inequality. Jo's 2012 A Werewolf Boy appears to be sci-fi rather than fantasy, and hopefully arrives here at some point on this one's coattails.

65. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

R | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

6.9

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72 Metascore

Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.

Director: Colin Trevorrow | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni

Votes: 130,868 | Gross: $4.01M

IMDB 7.1, Crit 7.3 Broad 78, Fans 83, Me 84 = 83. C10 = 44Y (33). Indie Spirit First Screenplay Win, First Feature nom.

Its inclusion here almost counts as a spoiler, but what can you do? It somehow manages to maintain suspense, largely because we see the story from Plaza's POV, and she's terrific in her breakout role (see the widely misunderstood Ingrid Goes West); more thoughts after a V5.0 revisit. Trevorrow (with screenwriter Derek Connolly) went on to do Jurassic World and its sequels and get fired from Star Wars: Episode IX. Their sci-fi screenplay Intelligent Life keeps threatening to be made someday. DVD.Netflix.

66. Melancholia (2011)

R | 135 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

7.1

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81 Metascore

Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.

Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård

Votes: 195,995 | Gross: $3.03M

IMDB 7.3, Crit 7.6. Broad 82, Fans 89, Me 78 > 81.5 = 83. From Magnolia. C10 = 6Y (6); TSP = 18 (2). Indie Spirit International Film nom.

++ Controversial Danish auteur's sole foray into sci-fi is an exquisite piece of cinema that gets its science so wrong that it's impossible to identify a coherent set of character motivations. Orbital mechanics at the giant asteroid (let alone planet) level are so straightforward that in all such tales, the entire world is aware of the imminent event. Von Trier (and every person who read the script) seems to believe that they are so complex that the planet's true path could be kept secret by a handful of experts and their governments and only made available at conspiracy-fighting websites. It's thus neither credible that Dunst's character is initially unaware of the impending doom, nor clear at all what her husband is supposed to know or believe. And yes, I know it's a metaphor, but I swear that I largely fixed the science and dramatically improved the metaphor while walking to my car from the movie theater. In a small parking lot. Still, I plan to see it again in V3.1 to see if sense can be made. Also Hulu, Kanopy.

67. Little Fish (2020)

Unrated | 101 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi

6.9

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71 Metascore

A couple fights to hold their relationship together as a memory loss virus spreads and threatens to erase the history of their love and courtship.

Director: Chad Hartigan | Stars: Olivia Cooke, Jack O'Connell, Soko, Raúl Castillo

Votes: 7,250

* (US 2021). IMDB 7.1, Crit 7.3. Broad 78, Fans TBD, Me 85 > 84 = 83. From IFC.

+ This adaptation of non-sf writer Aja Gabel's contest-winning short story appeared mid-pandemic—unfortunately, because the contagious memory loss here is just a McGuffin, not a topic (their pandemic take is hit-or-miss). The film examines the role of shared memories in forming and sustaining loving relationship (something we haven't seen before), and the details of the love story—what our couple needs to remember—are fresh and funny and romantic and ring true. My score reflects the film's modest ambitions and mild sf content; it does what it wants to do as well as you could ask for, with emotionally potent results. Screenwriter Mattson Tomlin is better known for Project Power and Mother/Android, due in V5.0 and V6.0 respectively; Hartigan is best known for Morris From America.

68. Night Watch (2004)

R | 114 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror

6.4

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58 Metascore

A fantasy-horror set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime do battle.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Vladimir Menshov, Mariya Poroshina, Valeriy Zolotukhin

Votes: 55,393 | Gross: $1.49M

(US 2006). As the first half of a single film only: see the next entry.

69. Day Watch (2006)

R | 132 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror

6.4

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59 Metascore

When Anton, a Warrior of Light, is falsely accused of murdering some vampires, he embarks on a journey to find the real killer and search for an ancient object that has the power to alter destiny.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina

Votes: 35,396 | Gross: $0.45M

(US 2007). IMDB 6.9, Crit 6.6, Broad 71, Fans 69, Me 90 = *83. From Fox (Sub).

These two Russian films form a single continuous narrative—despite the titles, most of the plot is reportedly drawn from the first of Sergei Lukyanenko's novels. I think they're massively underrated because folks are not regarding them that way ... and because they are admittedly, in places, confusing as hell (they'll be revisited in V4.0). Quintessential metaphysical fantasy: they're epic fantasy translated to today and feel exactly like sci-fi. Apparently big studios were impressed, because they let Bekmanbetov lose a lot of money on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and a fortune on Ben-Hur. DVD.Netflix.

R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

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66 Metascore

A troubled couple vacate to a beautiful getaway, but bizarre circumstances further complicate their situation.

Director: Charlie McDowell | Stars: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson, Kiana Cason

Votes: 43,533 | Gross: $0.51M

IMDB 6.9, Crit 7.0. Broad 75, Fans 87, Me 83 = 82. From Weinstein (Mini). Indie Spirit First Screenplay nom.

> Well, I've already spoiled the fact that it is sci-fi, which isn't at all obvious at first. Ratings seem to be depressed by the marginal likeability of the characters, which undercuts the appeal of its terrific psychological puzzle (which I plan to revisit in V5.0). Look for McDowell and his screenwriter Justin Lader's second film The Discovery in V3.1. Their two upcoming collaborations are not sci-fi. DVD.Netflix.

Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

7.8

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An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.

Director: Richard Schenkman | Stars: David Lee Smith, Tony Todd, John Billingsley, Ellen Crawford

Votes: 200,255

(DVD). IMDB 8.0, Crit [7.7]. Broad 87, Fans 83, Me 74 > 80 = 82.

This tale by Jerome Bixby is fairly negligible as a film (the "Crit" score would be much lower had it been reviewed by more professionals), and you'll value it in direct proportion to your unfamiliarity with its very thought-provoking ideas (I'll see it again in V5.0 pretending I'm unaware of them). If the films above it are natural geek communities, this one's Mensa. Belated sequel The Man From Earth: Holocene is slated for V5.0. Hoopla.

R | 83 min | Action, Horror, War

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66 Metascore

A female WWII pilot traveling with top secret documents on a B-17 Flying Fortress encounters an evil presence on board the flight.

Director: Roseanne Liang | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Beulah Koale, Taylor John Smith

Votes: 30,600 | Gross: $0.16M

* (US 2021). IMDB 5.6, Crit 6.7 > 7.2. Broad 70, Fans TBD, Me 87 > 85 = 80. From Vertical.

New Zealand entry begins as a satisfying though seemingly too unsubtle feminist tale. Halfway though there's a change in tone, superbly handled by Moretz; most but not all get that the film knows exactly what it's doing thereby (it becomes increasingly preposterous, and so well executed that disbelief is not so much willingly suspended as gleefully abandoned). Not everyone gets that the tonal shift adds an exhilarating meta level to the feminist argument. Moretz's character may well be the baddest-assed action hero in all of sci-fi cinema, any gender, but unlike Ripley, she is is pointedly as feminine as possible—and that's the glorious last two story beats! (Department of raised middle fingers: Liang completely rewrote an original screenplay by Max Landis, whose defense against comparisons to Weinstein and Cosby was that he wasn't famous). I've corrected the lukewarm critic's score by eliminating those who gave it a 6/10 or worse and either faulted the tonal change or (seriously!) missed the feminism, two objective mistakes I wouldn't have believed possible. The 14.3% "1" votes at IMDB, alas, vouch for the film's continuing necessity. Also Kanopy, Hoopla.

———

I regard these first 95 entries (counting Night / Day Watch as one) as must-see films for fans of intelligent sci-fi cinema. While certainly incomplete, this update added much that was missing, and V3.1 (due in late August) and V4.0 (spring 2023) should grab nearly all of the stragglers.

The remainder of the list is fairly thorough through 2014 and decidedly incomplete thereafter. Many further updates are planned; see Best Indie Sci-Fi Watchlist #1.

———

The next 15 entries (counting Happy Death Day / 2U as one) are must-see films in an alternate reality with fewer candidates, and should-see films in any case. Read the mini-reviews and promote the ones that speak to you!

97. The Nines (2007)

R | 100 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

6.2

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52 Metascore

A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.

Director: John August | Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, Elle Fanning

Votes: 34,615 | Gross: $0.06M

IMDB 6.3, Crit 6.5 > 6.6. Broad 68, Fans 81, Me 85 (x2) > 83.5 = 80. From Newmarket.

++ In fact, three short films, each featuring Reynolds in one of those roles, McCarthy as his closest friend, and Davis as a colleague. Anomalies in all three segments suggest that there must be a single meta-story that explains everything; it proves to be fresh and thought-provoking (I actually watched it a second time to verify my take on it). August is a big-time screenwriter (Big Fish, etc.); this remains his only film as director. DVD.Netflix.

———

WARNING: THE IMDB PLOT OUTLINE FOR THE NEXT FILM CONTAINS A MAJOR SECOND-ACT SPOILER. AVERT YOUR EYES!

98. Minor Premise (2020)

95 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

5.1

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66 Metascore

Attempting to surpass his father's legacy, a reclusive neuroscientist becomes entangled in his own experiment, pitting ten fragments of his consciousness against each other.

Director: Frederick Schultz | Stars: Sathya Sridharan, Paton Ashbrook, Dana Ashbrook, Nikolas Kontomanolis

Votes: 4,816

My revised plot outline: Attempting to surpass his father's legacy, a troubled neuroscientist becomes entangled in his own experiment.

* (VOD). IMDB 6.7, Crit 7.1. Broad 75, Fans TBD, Me 82 = 80.

The science, though solidly grounded in the real, is ultimately impossible, even nonsencial if overly scrutinized. But as with a lot of successful sf, it's a satisfying metaphor, created by takings an abstract truth literally (we actually do have separable aspects of our personality in conflict with one another), and it furthermore provides both the story's engaging puzzle and the engine for its thriller plot. The filmmaking is strong across the board, especially the editing (or, I suspect, storyboarding), and Sridharan's performance earned him a supporting role in Darren Aronofsky's next; only his character's relatively unsympathetic nature holds the film back. First-time writer / director Schultz, who has a strong track record as an indie producer, is a talent to watch. Also Kanopy.

99. The Platform (2019)

TV-MA | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

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73 Metascore

A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. Only one food platform and two minutes per day to feed. An endless nightmare trapped in The Hole.

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia | Stars: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan, Emilio Buale

Votes: 272,737

* (US 2020 VOD). IMDB 7.3, Crit 7.1. Broad 77, Fans n/a, Me 80 > 81 = 80. From Netflix.

+ Spanish debut plants one foot in the grindhouse and two toes of the other in the arthouse, with impressive minimalist visuals, then immediately feeds us a metaphor for wealth inequality that's more interesting and even more obvious and in-your-face than #24. In fact, it seems to be allegory, but (unlike Aronofsky's mother!) only the most basic elements are obvious, and because the film’s argument that wealth acquisition produces sociopathic behavior is dubious at best (it’s the other way around), I for one have no interest in what others may have pieced together, let alone in working it out myself. Still, it's unafraid to be transgressively thought-provoking (e.g., when it connects cannibalism to the Eucharist while labeling our hero a Messiah); first-time collaborating screenwriters David Desola and Pedro Rivero are also worth watching.

100. Diamantino (2018)

96 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

6.3

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75 Metascore

A fallen soccer superstar vows to adopt a refugee child, while becoming the naive unwitting centerpiece in in a bizarre plot to Make Portugal Great Again.

Directors: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt | Stars: Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira, Margarida Moreira

Votes: 3,183 | Gross: $0.07M

—EV. (US 2019). IMDB 6.9, Crit 7.2. Broad 76, Fans TBD, Me 81 = 80. From Kino Lorber.

Delightfully entertaining gender-bending gonzo-ness with a side order of political satire; you may never see a film as simultaneously "woke" and irreverent. If I ever decide that the story line is a metaphor for the politics, this will jump way up, but right now they seem unrelated, rendering the net affect slighter than it might be. Criterion.