12 Best Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Stream After You’ve Watched All the Classics

12 Best Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Stream After You’ve Watched All the Classics

You’ve binged every Star Wars film, every Marvel space saga, and even rewatched Blade Runner more times than you can count. Now what? The good news is that the sci-fi universe is packed with hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. These underrated films offer fresh ideas, stunning visuals, and mind-bending stories that deserve just as much attention as the blockbusters.

1. Paprika (2006)

Satoshi Kon crafted something truly magical with this Japanese anime that blurs the line between sleeping and waking life. A device that lets therapists enter patients’ dreams gets stolen, unleashing chaos across Tokyo as fantasy bleeds into reality.

Visually hypnotic doesn’t even begin to describe the kaleidoscope of imagery that floods every frame. Christopher Nolan has openly admitted this film inspired Inception, yet Paprika takes even wilder risks with its surreal storytelling.

Layered symbolism and psychological depth make every viewing reveal something new, challenging your perception of what’s real and what’s imagined in ways few films dare to attempt.

2. The Endless (2017)

Two brothers receive a cryptic videotape from the UFO death cult they escaped a decade ago. Against better judgment, they return to the remote commune, expecting to find brainwashed followers living in delusion.

What they discover instead defies all logic—time loops, cosmic entities, and impossible events that suggest the cult’s beliefs might actually be real. This slow-burn indie masterpiece weaves sci-fi, mystery, and Lovecraftian dread into something genuinely unsettling.

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead prove you don’t need a massive budget to create unforgettable cosmic horror that lingers long after the credits roll.

3. Coherence (2013)

A casual dinner party becomes an existential nightmare when a comet passes overhead. Suddenly, nothing makes sense—duplicate versions of guests appear, reality fractures, and trust evaporates faster than champagne bubbles.

Shot on a shoestring budget with improvised dialogue, this low-budget gem feels refreshingly raw and authentic. The brilliant script explores chaos theory and the fragility of identity as friends turn into strangers across parallel dimensions.

Each choice characters make sends them spiraling into darker timelines, proving that sometimes the scariest thing isn’t aliens or monsters—it’s discovering infinite versions of yourself, each slightly different and potentially dangerous.

4. Sunshine (2007)

Our sun is dying, and humanity’s last hope rests with a crew of astronauts carrying a nuclear bomb to reignite it. Danny Boyle transforms this simple premise into a visually stunning meditation on sacrifice, faith, and survival.

The film balances philosophical reflection with pulse-pounding tension as the crew faces impossible choices. Haunting cinematography captures both the sun’s terrifying beauty and the cold isolation of deep space.

While the third act divides audiences, the journey there remains breathtaking—a reminder that even in humanity’s darkest hour, hope can burn as bright as a star if we’re brave enough to chase it.

5. Occupation (2018)

When hostile extraterrestrials invade Earth, a small Australian town becomes the unlikely frontline of human resistance. Everyday people—farmers, mechanics, teachers—must transform into guerrilla fighters overnight to protect their homes and families.

This refreshing take on alien invasion blends grounded human drama with explosive sci-fi action in unexpected ways. Unlike Hollywood’s usual military-focused approach, Occupation focuses on ordinary citizens finding courage they never knew existed.

The Australian setting adds unique flavor, swapping American cities for rural landscapes where community bonds become the ultimate weapon. It’s gritty, emotional, and proves that heart matters more than special effects budgets when telling stories about survival.

6. Crimes of the Future (2022)

David Cronenberg returns to body horror with this bizarre vision of humanity’s next evolutionary leap. In a world where people no longer feel pain, performance artists surgically grow new organs and remove them onstage as entertainment.

Grotesque yet oddly poetic, the film explores how technology and biology merge in disturbing ways. It’s not for the squeamish—expect visceral imagery that challenges your comfort zone at every turn.

Yet beneath the shocking visuals lies profound commentary about art, transformation, and what makes us human. Cronenberg proves he’s still the master of making audiences squirm while forcing them to confront uncomfortable truths about our relationship with our own flesh.

7. Under the Skin (2013)

Scarlett Johansson delivers her most unsettling performance as an alien disguised as a woman, prowling Scottish streets to lure unsuspecting men to their doom. What begins as predatory hunting slowly transforms into something more complex as she experiences humanity firsthand.

This atmospheric masterpiece strips away typical alien-invasion tropes for something far more intimate and disturbing. Director Jonathan Glazer uses minimal dialogue and haunting visuals to explore what it means to be human—or not.

The film’s dreamlike quality makes every scene feel like a fever dream, uncomfortable yet impossible to look away from. It challenges viewers to see themselves through alien eyes.

8. Upgrade (2018)

After a brutal attack leaves Grey Trace paralyzed and his wife dead, a mysterious tech billionaire offers him an experimental cure—an AI chip called STEM that doesn’t just restore movement but enhances it beyond human limits.

This gritty cyberpunk revenge thriller explodes with stylish action sequences that blend John Wick’s choreography with Black Mirror’s technological paranoia. Fast-paced and darkly funny, it explores the price of vengeance when you share your body with artificial intelligence.

The innovative camera work makes fight scenes feel visceral and disorienting as STEM takes control. It’s a perfect midnight movie that doesn’t waste a single frame delivering thrills.

9. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Luc Besson unleashes his wildest imagination in this ambitious space opera bursting with color, creativity, and hundreds of alien civilizations coexisting on a massive space station. Special agents Valerian and Laureline race to stop a conspiracy threatening this fragile peace.

Critics were divided, but visually, this film is an absolute feast—each alien world feels genuinely unique and alive. The opening montage alone, set to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” showcases decades of first contact in breathtaking fashion.

Yes, the plot stumbles and the leads lack chemistry, but the sheer scale and inventiveness make it an underrated gem worth experiencing for its dazzling visuals alone.

10. TimecrImes (2007)

Hector’s quiet afternoon turns nightmarish when he accidentally stumbles into a time machine while investigating a mysterious figure in the woods. What follows is a brilliantly twisted spiral of paradoxes, duplicates, and moral compromises.

This Spanish thriller proves you don’t need fancy effects to create mind-bending time-travel stories—just clever writing and mounting suspense. Director Nacho Vigalondo keeps the tension ratcheting up as Hector’s attempts to fix his mistakes only create worse problems.

Fans of Primer or Predestination will appreciate how meticulously the plot weaves together, with every action having consequences that ripple through time. It’s compact, intense, and wickedly smart.

11. Annihilation (2018)

A group of scientists ventures into “The Shimmer,” a mysterious expanding zone where the laws of nature have gone haywire. Plants grow in human shapes, animals merge into horrifying hybrids, and reality itself seems to be rewriting its own code.

Visually arresting and thematically rich, Alex Garland’s adaptation blends horror and introspection in ways that stay with you. The film explores self-destruction, transformation, and what it means to change at a cellular level.

That bear scene alone will haunt your nightmares. While it demands patience and rewards contemplation, Annihilation offers one of the most cerebral and unsettling sci-fi experiences in recent memory.

12. After Yang (2021)

When Yang, the family’s android helper, suddenly malfunctions, a father must figure out how to repair him—and in the process, discovers memories stored in Yang’s system that reveal unexpected depths.

What begins as a technical problem becomes an emotional journey about grief, memory, and connection. Quietly profound and beautifully filmed, this tender meditation on artificial intelligence asks what it truly means to be alive and loved.

Director Kogonada crafts every frame with painterly precision, creating a contemplative mood that lingers. Unlike typical AI stories focused on rebellion or danger, After Yang explores how technology can teach us about our own humanity and capacity for love.