Government experiments, mutant creatures, and adventures in pharmaceuticals make up the cosmic horrors and delights in Netflix's finest scifi selections. Choose

Government experiments, mutant creatures, and adventures in pharmaceuticals make up the cosmic horrors and delights in Netflix's finest sci-fi selections.

Choose your own double feature: The 18 best sci-fi movies on Netflix

Government experiments, mutant creatures, and adventures in pharmaceuticals make up the cosmic horrors and delights in Netflix's finest sci-fi selections.

By Ilana Gordon

Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

EW's editorial guidelines

and Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a former editor at **. He left EW in 2023.

EW's editorial guidelines

on September 18, 2025 6:24 a.m. ET

'Pacific Rim'; Rihanna as Cora Raikes in 'Battleship'; Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko in 'Donnie Darko'. Credit:

Warner Bros; Universal; Newmarket Films/Everett

Life is all about perspective, and nothing snaps you out of a funk quite like escaping to a world where things are much, much worse. Whether you're dropping into a government-controlled dystopia or somewhere free from privacy, rest easy in the knowledge that however your life looks right now, it might be better than these potential realities.

From films* *satirizing government inaction in reaction to climate change, to journeys into the worlds of party drugs and pills that provide superpowers, these are the must-watch sci-fi movies on Netflix.

The Adam Project (2022)

Walker Scobell as Young Adam and Ryan Reynolds as Big Adam in 'The Adam Project'. Doane Gregory/Netflix

The rules of time travel be damned! In *The Adam Project*, a fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) living in the year 2050 attempts to travel back to 2018 to save his wife (Zoe Saldaña), but accidentally crash lands in 2022 where he comes face-to-face with his teenage self (Walker Scobell). As the two Adams work together to return Old Adam to the future, they find ways to grow and grieve through traumas new and old. Think *Back to the Future*–meets–*Free Guy*. EW's critic writes that "*Adam* barrels along on movie stars and charm, from futures past and back again." *—Randall Colburn*

Where to watch *The Adam Project*: Netflix

**Director:** Shawn Levy

**Cast:** Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldaña,  Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Walker Scobell

Anon (2018)

Clive Owen as Sal Frieland in 'Anon'. Netflix

Privacy and anonymity are luxuries afforded to no one in the 2018 British-American sci-fi thriller *Anon*. Clive Owen stars as Det. Sal Frieland, a troubled cop operating in a dystopia where the entire populace is implanted with an ocular device intended to record and track the movements of the people around them. The government's transparency methods ensure that all criminal activity is caught on tape — but when a mysterious woman with no digital footprint (Amanda Seyfried) crosses paths with Sal, he realizes she might have a connection with a series of unsolved murders he's investigating.

Director Andrew Niccol tells EW, "I always wanted to do a movie about privacy and the fact that there was never a war for privacy because we already lost — we gave away our privacy without a fight, all for convenience." —*Ilana Gordon*

Where to watch *Anon*: Netflix

**Director: **Andrew Niccol

**Cast: **Clive Owen, Amanda Seyfried, Colm Feore, Mark O'Brien

Battleship (2012)

Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper and Rihanna as Cora Raikes in 'Battleship'.

*Battleship* proves board games aren't just for basements. With an eclectic cast that includes both Liam Neeson and Rihanna, *Battleship* is a military science fiction action film that combines a love story, aliens, and good old-fashioned naval warfare. Propelled by the best special effects available at the time, while still nodding to the game's original low-tech roots, *Battleship* won't sink under the weight of your expectations. EW's critic writes the film is the "rousing, engaging, and emotionally complex action war picture the silly 2001 action war picture *Pearl Harbor* only wished it could be." *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Battleship*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B+

**Director: **Peter Berg

**Cast: **Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano, Liam Neeson

Bird Box (2018)

Sandra Bullock as Malorie Hayes in 'Bird Box'. Netflix

Sight becomes a barrier in *Bird Box*, a postapocalyptic thriller where the enemy must go unseen, or else. Sandra Bullock stars as Malorie Hayes, a woman responsible for transporting her two young children down a river while wearing blindfolds: a strategy intended to help the survivors avoid seeing the entities that attacked Earth five years earlier, and who cause those who look upon them to commit suicide.

Jumping between their present journey and the past events that led Malorie and the children to this point, director Susanne Bier leans into the tension of the unknown and relies on her talented but eclectic cast to do the rest. Released the same year as *A Quiet Place*, and possessing a somewhat similar premise, *Bird Box* received less attention when it first premiered, but this sci-fi horror film is a great option for fans of both genres. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *Bird Box*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Susanne Bier

**Cast: **Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Danielle Macdonald, Sarah Paulson, Machine Gun Kelly

Cities of Last Things (2018)

Louise Grinberg as Ara and Lee Hong-chi as Zhang Dong Ling in 'Cities of Last Things'.

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

A Chinese film constructed in reverse chronological order, *Cities of Last Things* tells one man's life story from end to beginning. Set in 2056 and littered with sci-fi goodies like rejuvenation fluids that make women look younger, and citizen ID tags, the film is set in the same city, and told over three separate nights, in three different phases of the man's life.

The movie is a revenge film, and as such the violence is overt — an early suicide scene deserves a trigger warning — but the acting is excellent, and the story is devastating and engaging, making *Cities of Last Things *worthy of your time and consideration. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Cities of Last Things*: Netflix

**Director: **Ho Wi Ding

**Cast:** Jack Kao, Lee Hong-chi, Hsieh Chang-Ying, Louise Grinberg

Code 8 (2019)

Robbie Amell as Connor Reed and Stephen Amell as Garrett in 'Code 8'. Vertical Entertainment

A Canadian offering produced by and starring cousins Robbie Amell and Stephen Amell, *Code 8* is a sci-fi action film that made Netflix's Top 10 list during the peak of lockdown in 2020. A superhero movie about a world in which 4 percent of the population is born with supernatural abilities — and monitored by the militarized police — the film centers around Connor (Robbie Amell) a 26-year-old with powers and an ailing mother who is desperate for money.

When Garrett (Stephen Amell), an aide for a local crime lord, approaches Connor about using his powers for a more lucrative purpose, Connor accepts and soon finds himself on the police's radar. A film financed through crowdfunding, *Code 8* lacks the flash and production pizzaz of some of its contemporaries, but the movie's script, heart, and production backstory make it a fun watch anyway. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Code 8*: Netflix

**Director: **Jeff Chan

**Cast: **Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Sung Kang, Kari Matchett, Greg Bryk, Aaron Abrams, Kyla Kane, Laysla De Oliviera, Vlad Alexis

Donnie Darko (2001)

Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko in 'Donnie Darko'.

Mary Evans/Pandora Cinema/Flower Films/Adam Fields Productions/GA/Ronald Grant/Courtesy Everett Collection

Sleep disorders, hallucinations, and rabbit costume-clad figures prophesying humanity's imminent destruction are just a few of the treats provided in *Donnie Darko*, a trippy sci-fi thriller with a stacked cast. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie, a teenager struggling with his mental health, who begins sleepwalking and experiencing visions that take a toll on his everyday life. Also starring Jake's real-life sibling Maggie Gyllenhaal as Donnie's sister, the flick was quickly adopted by college kids and film students as the movie to watch in the early aughts.

*Donnie Darko* struggled at the box office primarily due to bad timing: The theatrical release was scheduled for shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and the movie — which features a plane crash — suffered accordingly. Regardless, the film quickly achieved cult classic status, and, according to Jake Gyllenhaal, remains one of his proudest career moments. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Donnie Darko*: Netflix

**Director:** Richard Kelly

**Cast: **Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Ashley Tisdale

Don't Look Up (2021)

Jonah Hill as Jason Orlean, Leonardo DiCaprio as Dr. Randall Mindy, Meryl Streep as President Orlean, and Jennifer Lawrence as Kate Dibiasky in 'Don't Look Up'.

Niko Tavernise/Netflix

As a comet sets its sights on Earth and prepares to wipe out human civilization, two astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) rush to warn the world of the impending collision — only to discover the world doesn't really care. "Based on events that haven't happened yet," as the film's trailer states, *Don't Look Up* is a sci-fi satire that skewers climate deniers and government inaction in the face of scientific evidence pointing to looming catastrophe.

Directed by Adam McKay (*Vice*, *The Big Short*), and featuring half of Hollywood, *Don't Look Up *offers great jokes and fun cameos, but be warned: it's not exactly light fare. Still, as far as sci-fi comedies go, this one is worth a watch — just don't think too deeply about the implications of the film's ending. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *Don't Look Up*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B

**Director: **Adam McKay

**Cast: **Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Evans

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Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Godzilla in 'Godzilla Minus One'.

Toho International

*Godzilla Minus One* won the 2024 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but the film is so much more than a monster movie with incredible CGI. Set in Japan, a country ravaged by the after-effects of World War II, the film follows a failed kamikaze pilot as he is haunted both by his performance during the war and a gargantuan monster with a heat ray capable of razing Tokyo.

A love story disguised as a horror movie, *Godzilla Minus One* offers stunning performances, a fascinating historical perspective, and — of course — the kind of city-trampling mayhem one would expect when selecting a *Godzilla *movie. You know they did a good job when the filmmaker has you sympathizing with both the monster and the citizens rallying to defeat it. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Godzilla Minus One*: Netflix

**Director: **Takashi Yamazaki

**Cast: **Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm in 'Jurassic Park'.

Murray Close/Getty

Included on EW's list of 30 best summer blockbusters of all time, *Jurassic Park* was the sensation that launched a franchise when it was released in June of 1993. Set in a wildlife preserve occupied by cloned dinosaurs, the would-be theme park becomes a hunting ground for giant reptiles after the park's power is cut. Those left inside include a chaotician (Jeff Goldblum), paleontologist (Sam Neill), paleobotanist (Laura Dern), and two of the owner's grandchildren. *Jurassic Park* might not top the long list of Steven Spielberg's cinematic achievements, but the franchise is resilient and continues to spawn, with *Jurassic World Rebirth* (2025) being the latest installment. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Jurassic Park*: Netflix

**Director: **Steven Spielberg

**Cast: **Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B.D. Wong, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Felicity Jones as Sully in 'The Midnight Sky'. Netflix

George Clooney directs, co-produces, and stars in this moody and often wordless adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton's 2016 novel *Good Morning, Midnight*. Clooney — face wrapped in a giant gray beard — plays Augustine, a scientist at an Arctic research station that's still standing after an unnamed global catastrophe leaves the Earth irradiated. Health declining, he makes two big discoveries: 1) There's a mysterious little girl (Caoilinn Springall) on the station with him, and 2) her only hope for survival is the Aether, a distant spaceship that's returning to Earth unaware of the fate that's befallen it.

*The Midnight Sky* is familiar in its use of genre tropes, but Clooney's soulful performance brings a welcome warmth to this cold vision of Earth's future. As EW's critic notes in her review, the film also has some "arresting visual set pieces, including a blizzard white-out that feels like the actual end of the world and a memorable lesson on the physics of blood dispersion in zero gravity." *—R.C. *

Where to watch *The Midnight Sky*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B

**Director: **George Clooney

**Cast: **George Clooney, Felicity Jones, Tiffany Boone, Kyle Chandler, Sophie Rundle, Ethan Peck, Caoilinn Springall

Oxygen (2021)

Mélanie Laurent as Elizabeth 'Liz' Hansen in 'Oxygen'. Netflix

A nightmare comes to life for claustrophobics everywhere, as *Oxygen *is a French-language sci-fi film that thinks outside the box in terms of action. At the genesis, an unidentified woman (Mélanie Laurent) awakens in an airtight medical unit, unsure of who or where she is. Interactions with the system's AI — dubbed M.I.L.O. (Medical Interface Liaison Officer) — provide some clarity as to her identity, but no matter what she tries, she cannot escape her prison.

As she seeks to understand who placed her in the box and why, truths about her personal life and the current state of the world come into focus — but her search for context is actually a race to outwit the slowly depleting oxygen levels. Laurent is excellent, and despite being forced to perform on her back, she manages to imbue the film with a strong sense of determination and humanity. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *Oxygen*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Alexandre Aja

**Cast: **Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi

Pacific Rim (2013)

Idris Elba as Marshal Stacker Pentecost and Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket in 'Pacific Rim'.

Kerry Hayes/Warner Bros.

Guillermo del Toro entranced audiences when he released his fantasy movie *Pan's Labyrinth* in 2006. *Pacific Rim*, which premiered seven years later, is an entirely different film. A monster flick that allows del Toro to unleash his inner geek and creature feature fan, this apocalyptic film tells the story of an alien species called Kaiju that enters our universe through an ocean portal and attempts to defeat humanity. To defend itself, Earth relies on Jaegers, giant robots that can only be operated by pairs of humans working synchronistically to intuit each other's next moves (also known as drifting).

"Del Toro has somehow persuaded Hollywood to bankroll his tribute to the giddy junk food he grew up on," EW's critic writes. "And that's exactly what the film feels like: a 48-year-old kid playing with gigantic action figures in the world's most expensive sandbox." *—I.G.***

Where to watch *Pacific Rim*: Netflix

**Director:** Guillermo del Toro

**Cast: **Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, Ron Perlman

Project Power (2020)

Jamie Foxx as Art in 'Project Power'.

Skip Bolen/Netflix

What do a New Orleans police officer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a soldier in search of his daughter (Jamie Foxx), and a rapping drug dealer (Dominique Fishback) have in common? They're all working to rid the streets of Power, a new drug that gives users five minutes of superhero abilities, at the risk of killing them with one hit. A sci-fi action film produced by Netflix, *Project Power* invites audiences into a city still suffering the after-effects of Katrina, even decades after the hurricane hit.

Populated by morally murky characters — like Gordon-Levitt's Detective Frank Shaver, a cop who uses the drug to level the playing field against the city's criminals, or Fishback's teenage Robin Reilly, who knows she needs to deal to get ahead in this world, but is too smart to partake of her own product — the film finds room for cultural context amidst the action sequences. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *Project Power*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B+

**Director: **Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost** **

**Cast: **Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Foxx, Dominique Fishback, Machine Gun Kelly, Rodrigo Santoro, Courtney B. Vance, Amy Landecker

See You Yesterday (2019)

Eden Duncan-Smith as C.J. Walker and Danté Crichlow as Sebastian Thomas in 'See You Yesterday'. Linda Kallerüs/Netflix

The best way to live life with no regrets is to build a time machine — which is exactly what happens in Netflix's Spike Lee-produced sci-fi adventure film, *See You Yesterday. *After best friends and high school science prodigies, C.J. (Eden Duncan-Smith) and Sebastian (Danté Crichlow), unlock the secrets to time travel, they're forced to use their newfound invention in an attempt to save C.J.'s brother Calvin (Brian "Stro" Bradley) from a fatal encounter with the police.

A modern take on *Back to the Future* — also featuring an appearance by the original time traveler, Michael J. Fox — the film grapples with highly relevant cultural issues like police brutality while still having fun with high school tropes and time loops. *See You Yesterday *might not have gotten the attention it deserved when it first premiered on the platform back in 2019, but the film remains a regret-free sci-fi adventure worth embarking upon. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *See You Yesterday*: Netflix

**Director: **Stefon Bristol

**Cast: **Eden Duncan-Smith, Danté Crichlow, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brian "Stro" Bradley

Starship Troopers (1997)

Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico in 'Starship Troopers'.

TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett

Fascist imagery and thudding allusions to World War II-era propaganda films permeate Paul Verhoeven's *Starship Troopers*, but because the provocative Dutch filmmaker didn't explicitly spell out his satire it went over the heads of many upon its release. But time has been good to the action-comedy, perhaps because its gleefully cynical portrait of nationalism and a war-hungry populace would resonate that much more in the years following 9/11 and the Iraq War. That said, those interested in the simpler pleasures of watching bugs go splat will also find plenty to like, from its gnarly, goo-slinging action set pieces to CGI effects that stand up to today's technology. *—R.C.*

Where to watch *Starship Troopers*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B+

**Director:** Paul Verhoeven

**Cast:** Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, Michael Ironside

They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

Jamie Foxx as Slick Charles, Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, and John Boyega as Fontaine in 'They Cloned Tyrone'. Parrish Lewis/Netflix

A single genre isn't enough to contain one of Netflix's 2023 releases, *They Cloned Tyrone. *A sci-fi comedy that combines '70s Blaxploitation with mystery and social satire, the film has similar vibes to movies like *Get Out* (2017) or *Sorry to Bother You* (2018) while employing a far more absurd premise. Fontaine (John Boyega) is a drug dealer living in an impoverished area called the Glen. While trying to collect funds owed to him by a local pimp named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is shot and killed — but that doesn't stop him from showing up on Slick's doorstep the next day to collect his money.

Joined by a sex worker named YoYo (Teyonah Parris), the trio attempts to get to the bottom of what appears to be a massive government conspiracy aimed at exploiting their disenfranchised community as medical subjects. A satirical romp that has as much to say about class and racial injustices as it does about mystery movie tropes, *They Cloned Tyrone *is smart, silly, and uniformly well-acted. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *They Cloned Tyrone*: Netflix

**Director: **Juel Taylor

**Cast: **John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Noomi Rapace as one of the Settman Siblings in 'What Happened to Monday'. Netflix

*Orphan Black *lovers will want to check out *What Happened to Monday*, a 2017 sci-fi action thriller directed by Tommy Wirkola. The film stars Noomi Rapace (*The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)*, giving seven unique performances as septuplet sisters, each named after a different day of the week. The siblings live in a fascist America where overpopulation has necessitated the creation of a Child Allocation Bureau (run by Glenn Close), which imposes a single-child policy on all families.

The septuplets live secretly with their grandfather (Willem Dafoe), share the name Karen Settman (a relic from their dead mother), and are only allowed to leave the house on the day of the week that corresponds with their name. But after Monday goes out and never comes home, it's up to her sisters to save her — at the risk of exposing themselves. *—I.G. *

Where to watch *What Happened to Monday*: Netflix

**Director: **Tommy Wirkola

**Cast: **Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe

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