8 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies You Need to Watch This Week

Big movie.guru scores, way smaller fan clubs than Star Wars or The Matrix. Skip one rewatch of an old favorite this week and try these.

Number one cost $5 million and beats a famous Nolan space epic.

1. 8
   Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)8.0

   Audiences skipped it because it wasn't Fury Road. Their loss.

   Chris Hemsworth's Dementus is a gloriously unhinged villain, and the war rig sequence is a whole movie by itself. $174.4 million worldwide on a $168 million budget. Ouch.
2. 7
   Predestination (2014)7.5

   Go in knowing nothing. Seriously, stop reading after this.

   Ethan Hawke plays a time-traveling agent, Sarah Snook gives a star-making performance, and a big chunk of it is two people talking in a bar. It grossed $68,372 domestically. Criminal.
3. 6
   Face/Off (1997)7.9

   The most ridiculous premise in sci-fi, played completely straight.

   An FBI agent and the criminal he's chasing literally trade faces. It's John Woo, so expect doves and slow motion. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences place it above just 66%.
4. 5
   The Lobster (2015)7.6

   The only rom-com where losing means becoming a lobster.

   Colin Farrell's David checks into a very strict matchmaking hotel, and Olivia Colman runs it like a nightmare HR department. 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, and not one normal line reading.
5. 4
   Serenity (2005)8.3

   The Firefly send-off fans fought for, and newcomers can jump in.

   Nathan Fillion's Captain Mal runs a scrappy smuggling crew with the snappiest dialogue in space. Audiences rank it above 92% of notable movies. Worldwide gross: $40.4 million. Rude.
6. 3
   The Thing (1982)8.1

   The audience got this one right. Critics are still catching up.

   Kurt Russell's MacReady leads a snowed-in Antarctic crew where nobody can trust anybody. Audiences rank it above 99% of notable movies, critics 64%. Box office: $20.9 million worldwide.
7. 2
   Snowpiercer (2013)8.1

   Chris Evans's best performance, and there's no shield in sight.

   Bong Joon Ho puts what's left of humanity on one endless train, sorted by class, car by car. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Domestic gross: $4.56 million. Tilda Swinton deserved a raise.
8. 1
   Moon (2009)8.4

   Better than Interstellar, with one guy and $5 million.

   Sam Rockwell plays a lunar miner near the end of a lonely solo contract, and he carries nearly every frame. Audiences rank it above 95% of notable movies. It made $9.76 million worldwide.

$656 says you pick number eight tonight because it's the only one you've heard of.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it