There are plenty of phenomenal but overlooked sci-fi flicks out there waiting to thrill you. So we've gone through and selected films with close to perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes to help you plan your next outstanding sci-fi movie night.
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00:00 There are plenty of phenomenal but overlooked sci-fi flicks out there waiting to thrill
00:04 you, so we've gone through and selected films with close to perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes
00:09 to help you plan your next outstanding sci-fi movie night.
00:13 With acts like Flight of the Conchords and Garfunkel and Oates, it feels like comedy/folk
00:17 music duos are something of a lost art from the early 2000s.
00:20 Whereas the aforementioned duos parlayed their comedy into television series, their contemporaries,
00:25 Future Folk opted to star in a feature film to capture their antics on screen.
00:39 Debuting in 2013 before finding a home on Netflix the following year, The History of
00:43 Future Folk released to rave reviews.
00:46 The movie chronicles the musical duo's arrival on Earth and their attempts to work together
00:50 to save the planet.
00:52 Even those unfamiliar with Future Folk's characteristic musical shtick will find plenty to love in
00:56 The History of Future Folk and its titular duo.
00:59 The tunes are catchy and funny, while the idea of protagonist General Trias forming
01:03 a loving family on Earth is oddly endearing.
01:07 The movie embraces the inherent silliness of two aliens in scarlet armor who have a
01:11 passion for bluegrass.
01:13 Future Folk disbanded in 2017, and while fans continue to hope for reunion, The History
01:18 of Future Folk captures them at their peak.
01:21 Produced by Spike Lee and directed and co-written by Stéphane Bristol, 2019's Netflix original
01:26 movie See You Yesterday delivers its own take on the tried and true time travel subgenre.
01:32 A teenage science prodigy named CJ invents a time machine to mess with a next boyfriend.
01:38 After losing her brother Calvin, CJ decides to travel back and save her late brother from
01:42 the police shooting that killed him.
01:44 However, the more CJ tampers with history, the more unexpected and deadly consequences
01:48 come as a result.
01:50 See You Yesterday starts out as something of an homage to the greatest time travel movie
01:54 of all time, Back to the Future, complete with a supporting role for Michael J. Fox.
01:59 However, as it lays out its time travel mechanics and sets the stage, the movie becomes a much
02:03 more serious film with a pointed message.
02:05 "If you had that kind of power, what would you do?
02:09 What would you change?"
02:11 Throughout it all, the film really is a story about the importance of moving forward, rather
02:15 than struggling to get back to a past that will never exist again.
02:18 Well crafted and with an exciting principal cast, See You Yesterday is among the best
02:23 Netflix sci-fi original movies.
02:26 Out of Russia comes a visceral and brutal approach to the science fiction genre with
02:30 a 2013 foreign film Hard to Be a God.
02:33 The movie is about a group of scientists who study a faraway planet populated by humans
02:38 who live in a violent facsimile of Earth's medieval society.
02:41 The civilization puts its intellectuals to death, severely stunting its philosophical
02:46 and scientific progress.
02:48 Although the otherworldly observers are ordered not to interfere with this world's development,
02:52 one of the scientists can't help but intervene to protect the persecuted academics.
02:57 Hard to Be a God is the final movie from acclaimed Russian filmmaker Alexei German who died suddenly
03:02 during post-production.
03:04 The project was completed by his family.
03:06 In German's characteristic style, the movie is shot in black and white, which serves the
03:10 story's overarching grim tone.
03:12 The film comments on society dismissing science and intellectualism, with the immediate consequence
03:17 being that humanity sinks into collective misery.
03:20 While not a particularly pleasant watch, Hard to Be a God is certainly an important one,
03:24 grounding its sci-fi premise with brutalist humanism.
03:28 Science fiction horror runs in the Cronenberg family.
03:31 Iconic filmmaker David Cronenberg is responsible for such classics of the genre as Videodrome
03:36 and the 1986 remake of The Fly, and Cronenberg's son, Brandon Cronenberg, doubles down on visceral
03:42 horror for his own film projects while staying within the realm of sci-fi.
03:46 Brandon Cronenberg's 2020 movie Possessor follows an assassin named Tasia Voss, who
03:51 uses mental implants to take control of others' bodies so that they carry out her kills and
03:56 she avoids suspicion.
03:57 However, this strategy leads to Voss losing her sense of identity and connection to her
04:01 family in between jobs.
04:11 Like his father's work, Brandon Cronenberg's movies aren't for more sensitive viewers,
04:15 and Possessor certainly qualifies on this score.
04:18 Rife from its haunting and stylish opening sequence, Possessor draws viewers into its
04:22 violent and lurid world, keeping them as off-balance as the movie's protagonist.
04:27 Andrea Riseborough delivers an effectively brutal performance as Voss, facing off against
04:32 co-stars Christopher Abbott and Sean Bean.
04:34 Simply put, Possessor is unrelenting.
04:37 The film received an uncut home video release for those who are looking for an even more
04:40 ultra-violent version of Cronenberg's masterpiece.
04:44 While John Boyega may be best known for starring as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, his
04:48 best sci-fi work is in smaller comedic fare.
04:51 Boyega got his big break in 2011's Attack the Block, complete with a standout hallway
04:56 action scene, but his 2023 film, They Cloned Tyrone, is similarly fantastic, though more
05:02 often overlooked.
05:04 After a small-time drug dealer is killed and reappears the next day perfectly fine, he
05:08 and his friends become suspicious.
05:10 As they investigate what actually happened, they discover a secret cloning operation set
05:14 to change the face of America forever.
05:17 "Excuse me, kind sir, but if you could pull me to the elevator that leads down to the
05:21 Piki Laboratory, I'd be out your atmosphere."
05:24 Whereas Attack the Block leaned more heavily into the action and horror elements, They
05:28 Cloned Tyrone fully embraces its absurdist comedy possibilities.
05:32 A love letter to 70s blaxploitation, which often combines genres and juxtaposes comedy
05:37 with sci-fi and action, They Cloned Tyrone provides Boyega with the full creative carte
05:42 blanche.
05:43 He's joined on screen by Jamie Foxx and Tiana Paris, and together they make the film
05:48 genuinely funny and so wonderfully weird.
05:51 Though it earned rave reviews, They Cloned Tyrone got lost in the constant churn of new
05:55 streaming content when it was released in 2023 and deserves more attention than it initially
06:00 received.
06:01 The 2019 Laotian film, The Long Walk, is one of those projects that deftly skirts the line
06:06 between science fiction and the more fantasy-oriented supernatural.
06:10 A remote hermit known simply as the Old Man discovers that ghosts caused by technology
06:15 on a lonely stretch of road can transport him through time.
06:19 As the man embarks on a solitary walk, he uses this time travel ability to teleport
06:23 himself 50 years back in time to the moment of his mother's death.
06:27 The man's ability to communicate with ghosts doesn't go unnoticed, however, adding a level
06:31 of intrigue to this atmospheric tale of revisiting the past.
06:35 Moving at a deliberate pace and clocking in at about two hours, The Long Walk is a movie
06:39 that requires patient attention from its audience.
06:42 Filmmaker Matty Doe offers plenty of haunting sequences, masterfully staged and lit as the
06:47 man makes his journey.
06:48 The movie doesn't offer a lot by way of clear answers to the questions it poses, focusing
06:52 more on its haunting tone.
06:55 Meditative and evocative, The Long Walk borders on arthouse cinema as its time-bending story
07:00 unfolds, exploring unresolved grief and the cost of loneliness.
07:05 Before starring in the acclaimed film Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall, German
07:08 actor Sandra Huller appeared in the 2021 sci-fi flick I'm Your Man.
07:13 This Academy Award nominated German film follows an archaeologist named Alma who begins dating
07:18 an advanced android named Tom.
07:20 Understandably, Alma has concerns about the arrangement, but she agrees to a three-week
07:24 trial period with Tom to see if he's a suitable life partner.
07:28 Through this period, Alma begins to open up to Tom while the experimental android begins
07:32 to develop his own sense of humanity.
07:35 On paper, I'm Your Man feels like a run-of-the-mill rom-com with a science fiction premise, but
07:40 its cast and filmmaker Maria Schrader have made a genuinely compelling movie.
07:44 Stars Marin Eggert and Dan Stevens play well off each other, capturing plenty of comedic
07:49 chemistry and vulnerability with their performances.
07:51 But more than the romance and comedy, I'm Your Man asks big existential questions about
07:56 life and love that will stay with the viewer long after the movie ends.
08:00 Beautifully written, staged, and acted, I'm Your Man is an effective meditation on companionship
08:05 that defies conventional genre constraints.
08:08 A joint American and Rwandan production, 2021's Neptune Frost is one of the most beautiful
08:13 and understated depictions of Afrofuturism out there.
08:17 The movie is about a village in Burundi made of computer parts, with its inhabitants stuck
08:22 mining for coltan to benefit outside countries and corporations.
08:26 Two lovers lead a hacker group that connects them with their ancestral culture and spreads
08:30 their message to the world.
08:32 As this online community threatens the corporation's exploitative control, the hackers are targeted
08:36 by powerful forces.
08:38 Neptune Frost is a movie with a message, and in a reflection of its culture, that message
08:43 is often communicated through song.
08:45 At the same time, the film makes pointed commentary about the evils of big tech and the exploitation
08:50 of African countries while also reminding viewers of the unifying potential of the internet.
08:55 The cinematography and musical staging gives Neptune Frost a dreamlike quality that you
08:59 just can't help but dance along to.
09:02 One of the most unique movies in the past several years, Neptune Frost has to be seen
09:06 to be believed.
09:07 1984's Repo Man is the true definition of cult classic, a much-beloved movie with a
09:13 loyal fanbase that never quite attained the commercial success or high profile of its
09:17 contemporaries.
09:18 The movie follows down-on-his-luck teenager Otto Maddox, who agrees to help an enigmatic
09:23 man named Bud with his repossession business.
09:30 Otto's latest assignment is repossessing a Chevy Malibu that secretly houses a radioactive
09:34 extraterrestrial in the trunk.
09:37 Once he has the car, Otto is pursued by various competing government agencies and a cadre
09:42 of crooks, all while trying to stay alive and behind the wheel.
09:45 With an unassuming style and brisk pacing, Repo Man manages to fit in so much, narratively
09:51 and thematically, in its runtime and still give it a chance to breathe.
09:55 It's a biting commentary on the Reagan administration, disaffected youth and the rise of televangelism,
10:01 reflecting its origin in the mid-80s.
10:03 At the same time, it's also a sharply funny movie with big action beats and a punk rock
10:07 soundtrack arranged by Iggy Pop.
10:10 Although it was widely acclaimed, Repo Man never got the big-time bona fides it deserved.
10:15 But as it's a story about a chronic underdog, this movie wouldn't have it any other way.
10:21 The 2015 French animated film April in the Extraordinary World delves into the alternate
10:25 history possibilities of science fiction with its premise.
10:29 The film presents a vision of France in which the Franco-Prussian War never occurred and
10:33 the world's greatest scientists vanished, which in turn stuns significant technological
10:37 progress.
10:39 One scientist's descendant, a girl named April Franklin, continues her family's work
10:43 developing an immortality serum.
10:45 As April and her family are targeted by the government, she goes on the run while learning
10:49 exactly what happened to all those scientists decades before.
10:53 April in the Extraordinary World invites audiences to immerse themselves in its steampunk iteration
10:58 of France, still caught in the throes of the Industrial Revolution.
11:02 Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard leads the original French-language voice cast, delivering
11:07 the wonder and determination that drives April to continue her mission.
11:10 "I'd really love to dance."
11:12 "Cats don't dance.
11:13 And they don't talk."
11:14 There's a sense of freewheeling fun that carries April in the Extraordinary World forward,
11:18 and the movie is a steampunk enthusiast's animated dream.
11:22 Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky is one of the most influential visionaries in the
11:26 sci-fi genre to come out of Eastern Europe in the 20th century.
11:30 Though Tarkovsky may be best known for his 1972 masterpiece Solaris, his 1979 movie Stalker
11:36 is another bold science fiction tale that is no less captivating.
11:40 The film is about a writer and professor who follow a strange figure, known simply as the
11:44 Stalker, through a wasteland to reach a place rumored to grant visitors their deepest desires.
11:49 However, with this zone tightly guarded by the government, the trio will have to endure
11:53 a grueling journey if they hope to reach the promised land in one piece.
11:57 Whereas Solaris is a character study of three individuals enduring their own respective
12:01 personal crises against a sci-fi backdrop, Stalker is more of an introspective odyssey.
12:07 The idea of the character's defying military authority in a Soviet production is quietly
12:11 subversive, and here Tarkovsky ventures into more experimental territory than in his previous
12:16 sci-fi work.
12:17 Bleak and yet thoroughly metaphysical in his exploration of latent desire, Stalker moves
12:21 at a deliberate pace and challenges its audience to look inward themselves, framing these existential
12:27 questions with some of the most haunting images Tarkovsky has ever filmed, delivering a post-apocalyptic
12:32 vision that's all his own.
12:33 [Music]