What makes a great science-fiction movie can be hard to pin down. At its best, the genre grapples with thought-provoking ideas about the human condition, outer space, artificial intelligence, and the unfathomable mysteries of the cosmos — all while transporting viewers to places and worlds that offer a captivating glimpse into the future and exceed our wildest imaginations.
Though far from exhaustive, the following curated list should come in handy during your next sci-fi binge and if you’re in the mood for films that pull you in and feel fresh no matter how many times you’ve seen them. From escapist space odysseys set in galaxies far, far away, and grungy practical-effects showcases to unsettling visions of a near-future dystopia that can sometimes feel all too real — every title down below is a five-star masterpiece as far as we’re concerned that took the genre to new heights and is sure to satisfy your sci-fi cravings.
1. The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter teamed up with his ol’ pal Kurt Russell for the third time in four years, assembled one of the most stacked character actor line-ups ever, and took on the gig of a lifetime updating Howard Hawks’ 1951 classic film based on John W. Campbell pulp novella, about the 12-man crew of an American research outpost in Antarctica being viciously hunted down one at a time by a shape-shifting alien lifeform disguised among their ranks.
Critics were notoriously lukewarm on “The Thing”, a commercial dud that failed to find much of an audience after playing second-fiddle at the box office to that year’s record-breaking family-friendly crowdpleaser (“E.T.”). But time always puts everything in its place, and there’s something about this chilling, R-rated nail-biter that triggers some primal fear and existential dread in all of us and somehow continues to live rent-free in our minds over 40 years on.
A masterclass in sustained tension, claustrophobic atmosphere, and stomach-churning practical VFX that one-ups the Cold War-era paranoia of its predecessor, Carpenter’s cult hit slowly seeps into your bones, keeps you locked in throughout, and is always worth revisiting for Ennio Morricone’s moody synth score alone.
2. The Terminator (1984)
It’s the year 2029, and artificial intelligence has taken over, leaving the fate of human civilization hanging by a thread. Enter Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular T-800, a cyborg killing machine built like a tank who leaves a trail of carnage in his wake after being sent back in time to 1984 LA to hunt down a young diner waitress by the name of Sarah Connor, who’s destined to give birth to the future leader of the human resistance.
Far and away one of the most relentless slashers of all time, the very pinnacle of James Cameron’s career, and the meanest, leanest, and most refined entry in the Terminator series — there, I’ve said it — this gritty vision of technology run amok launched Arnie’s stardom into the stratosphere, spawned a multi-billion franchise, and birthed a litany of uber-quotable lines (I’ll be baaack) that have since become ingrained in our daily lexicon.
And best of all, the whole thing only cost a meager $6 million total to make, and yet Cameron somehow manages to cram more thrills into 108 airtight minutes than most modern-day actioners do in a full 2-and-a-half-hour runtime. What’s not to like?
3. Jurassic Park (1993)
A mad scientist decides to play God and tamper with nature to bring dinosaurs back from the dead without stopping to think if he should, and to no one’s surprise, things inevitably go sideways, and violence ensues in the 1993 box office juggernaut that went on to become the standard-bearer for today’s crop of CGI-driven blockbusters.
Steven Spielberg had already sealed his reputation as the most reliable crowd-pleaser of his generation with at least a handful of masterpieces under his belt when he chose Michael Crichton’s novel for adaptation, but “Jurassic Park” is the quintessential example of the director’s uncanny ability to turn lowbrow fare into popcorn entertainment of the highest order.
The brachiosaurus reveal, the rippling water shot foreshadowing the T-Rex’s imminent breakout, the velociraptors in the kitchen, Ian Malcolm’s iconic shirtless scene… As far as white-knuckle thrills go, the original “Jurassic Park” goes toe-to-toe with about any title in the sci-fi canon. But it’s by wisely balancing out these nail-biting moments of suspense with character-building beats of downtime that Spielberg bestows his theme-park joyride with an added layer of emotional weight that’s severely lacking in modern-day knockoffs. Not that there’s anything wrong with simply turning off your mind waiting to see a bunch of science nerds being ruthlessly chomped by a 40ft long T-Rex, mind you.
4. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Even with the flood of Star Wars content being constantly pumped out these days, which has left many of us feeling maxed out on George Lucas’ former pet property for the time being, you shouldn’t allow Disney’s baffling mismanagement of this once-esteemed IP to sour your appreciation for the original trilogy.
No matter how many assembly-line spin-offs, tie-ins, and TV series padded with filler just to meet an episode quota are shoved down our throats, it’s hard to deny the sheer force and particular spell “Empire” casts almost half a century later. Darker, deeper, and considerably more ambitious than its lucrative progenitor, the seminal follow-up to the 1977 space Western that sent shockwaves throughout the industry stayed ahead of the curve and breathed new life into the franchise by upping the stakes and allowing the story to wade into bold, and much-darker territory.
The plot twist ending grabs all the attention (because how could it not, after being burned straight into our brains for the past forty-odd years), but it’s a shocking cliffhanger that feels thoroughly in line with the rest of the film after having previously witnessed Luke Skywalker’s development from wimpy brat to disciplined Jedi Knight under the tutelage of master Yoda.
5. Total Recall (1990)
If an Arnold Schwarzenegger-led Philip K. Dick adaptation directed by the “RoboCop” guy doesn’t make you immediately pull the brakes, drop everything on the dot, and reach for the remote as fast as possible, it might help to know that a three-breasted Martian hooker (!) isn’t even in the top-five of the most bizarre things you’ll stumble upon in “Total Recall” (Sharon Stone kicking ass and throwing karate chops at a beefy, 6ft 2” former bodybuilder? Yes, please!)
As noted above, Paul Verhoeven’s gloriously unhinged sci-fi extravaganza about a blue-collar worker in the year 2084 being thrown for a loop after realizing that someone’s been messing around planting fake memories in his head has obviously a lot going for it on paper. There’s also the fact that no other movie before or since has been able to get nowhere near as much mileage out of Arnie’s salt-of-the-earth charm (though we suggest “The Running Man” if you’d like to see the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner plopped into a similar fish-out-of-the-water scenario).
As rad as David Cronenberg’s version would have surely turned out to be, we should honestly count our blessings that everything came together as perfectly as it did.