Over the years, the best movies ever made. As the streaming wars continue and services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ continue to gain traction, Netflix is becoming less of the dominant go-to content hub that it used to be. That said, sci-fi fans can find great value in a Netflix subscription, thanks to the genre movies available on the platform.
Netflix broke out as a leader in the genre thanks to Stranger Things and that opened the floodgates to countless movies and streaming series for fans to enjoy. Much of its library consists of titles released in the past couple of decades, but there are a few classics on the streaming service for people who love all flavors of sci-fi. From big-budget action movies to more cerebral films about the dangers of technology, there is something on the service for everyone. For anyone looking for the best in sci-fi movies, Netflix remains a one-stop shop.
28 Spiderhead (2022)
Inmates Participate In A Drug Trial That Controls Emotions
Spiderhead
- Release Date
- June 17, 2022
- Runtime
- 106 minutes
- Director
- Joseph Kosinski
Cast
Nathan Jones
Sam Delich
WHERE TO WATCH
Netflix released the original sci-fi movie Spiderhead in 2022, and it featured one of the biggest actors in the world today. MCU star Chris Hemsworth stars as a scientist who offers prisoners a chance to reduce their sentence time if they undergo experiments involving drug trials. These involve "love drugs" and other drugs that induce fear and psychological pain.
Opposite Hemsworth is Jeff (played by Miles Teller), a man who feels intense inner turmoil over killing his friend in a drinking and driving accident. He soon finds the scientist conducting the experiments is corrupt and unconcerned with the safety of the prisoners. The movie takes on some interesting sci-fi ideas and has a great cast, even if critics remarked the story didn't hold up to the themes. Despite the bad reviews, the movie has a lot to offer fans of dystopian science fiction.
27 65 (2023)
A Pilot From Another World Crash Lands On Earth When It Was Ruled By Dinosaurs
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65
- Release Date
- March 10, 2023
- Runtime
- 93minutes
- Director
- Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
WHERE TO WATCH
65 stars Adam Driver as a man piloting a spacecraft that crash-lands on an alien planet where monsters attack. However, what makes this movie different is that the alien planet is Earth and this took place 65 million years ago and the monsters are dinosaurs. He and a young girl are the only survivors, and they have to find a way off the planet before an asteroid hits the Earth, ending the dinosaur age.
While 65 was a box office bomb and received lackluster reviews, it is also fun to see dinosaurs return to the screen to wreak havoc while also combining them with the fun sci-fi premise. What the movie likely did wrong was throwing out that these were dinosaurs in the promotional materials, rather than letting it come as a surprise. However, thanks to people discovering it on Netflix, the audience reception is much better, with a 65% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes.
26 Advantageous (2015)
A Woman Undergoes A Procedure To Change Her Body
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Advantageous
- Release Date
- June 23, 2015
- Runtime
- 90 Minutes
- Director
- Jennifer Phang
Cast
Jacqueline Kim
James Urbaniak
WHERE TO WATCH
Advantageous takes place in the near future where living conditions are tough, and when cosmetics saleswoman Gwen (Jacqueline Kim) loses her job before she can get her daughter into an elite school, she agrees to undergo a medical procedure that will transfer her consciousness into a younger, racially ambiguous body to keep her job. However, the transfer does not go as expected.
Released exclusivel on Netflix, Advantageous delivers a thought-provoking approach in how it deals with gender roles and family dynamics in a wholly unique setup. The reception was tremendous for the film, with critics praising its story and themes, and awarding it a very high 86% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also an award winner, impressive for its lower budget. It won the Special Jury Prize at the VC FilmFest at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival while also winning for Best Director.
25 Mute (2018)
A Mute Man Investigates A Noir Mystery In The Future
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After making his name with theatrical sci-fi releases Moon, Source Code, and Warcraft, Duncan Jones signed on to make the Netflix-exclusive sci-fi Mute. The film had a great cast, with comedy star Paul Rudd and Alexander Skarsgard in the lead roles. Skarsgard plays Leo, a man who became mute after an accident and when his mother refused to allow him to have surgery to help him.
As an adult, he works as a bartender and falls in love with a waitress who works with him, and this leads to him crossing an organized crime organization. WHen she disappears, he sets out to find her in the dystopian world of this universe. The Netflix sci-fi movie has amazing visuals and solid performances from the cast, but it was unfavorably compared to another great Earth-based sci-fi movie, Blade Runner 2049.
24 Dune (1984)
David Lynch's Original Movie Adaptation
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Dune
- Release Date
- December 14, 1984
- Runtime
- 137 minutes
- Director
- David Lynch
Cast
Paul Atreides-
sca AnnisLady Jessica
WHERE TO WATCH
Dune, released on December 14, 1984, is a science fiction film directed by David Lynch. Set in a distant future, it follows the journey of Paul Atreides on the desert planet of Arrakis, where the precious spice Melange is found. This substance is pivotal for space travel and consciousness expansion.
The new Dune movies left Netflix for other streaming services, but fans of the franchise still have one version to watch on the streaming giant. David Lynch's 1984 version of Dune is still there for people to enjoy, and possibly compare to the more critically beloved new versions of the story. The Lynch version stars Kyle MacLachlan and is, if nothing else, a curiosity for fans of the Frank Herbert novels.
The biggest complaint about Lynch's Dune is that the studio tried to fit all the story into one movie, which is impossible. The studio interference got so great that Lynch just walked away, and he still washes his hands of the entire movie, refusing to even consider a director's cut, even after he became a critically acclaimed filmmaker. Despite its shortcomings, Dune has become a cult favorite and has more and more fans discovering it as the years go on.
23 Spaceman (2024)
Adam Sandler Is Sent Into Far Space
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Spaceman
- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Runtime
- 107 Minutes
- Director
- Johan Renck
Cast
WHERE TO WATCH
Spaceman is a sci-fi drama starring Adam Sandler and directed by Chernobyl director Johan Renck. The film, based on the book Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař, follows Jakub Procházka who goes on a solo mission to space and encounters a mysterious creature as he begins to lose touch with reality.
- Distributor(s)
- Netflix
Adam Sandler has been making more movies that have him stretching his dramatic acting talents. In 2024, he took the lead role in the sci-fi drama Spaceman, based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfai. In the movie, Sandler is a Czech astronaut sent on a space mission to investigate a mysterious cloud of dust and particles spotted beyond Jupiter. He leaves his wife on Earth to do so and is dealing with loneliness as he is out there by himself.
Things get bad when a South Korean mission also arrives, and they attempt to sabotage his journey and strand him in space. However, the story takes a wild turn when he realizes he isn't alone and finds an alien that looks like a spider-like creature who communicates with him telepathically. The film is a meditation on grief and loneliness and uses the empty expanse of space to make it even harder. The reviews were average, with praise going to Sandler's performance.
22 The Midnight Sky (2020)
A Man Attempts To Warn A Spaceship In The Cosmos Not To Return To Earth
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The Midnight Sky
- Release Date
- December 23, 2020
- Runtime
- 122minutes
- Director
- George Clooney
Cast
Kyle Chandler
WHERE TO WATCH
George Clooney went to Netflix to direct the sci-fi movie The Midnight Sky. Based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lili Brooks-Dalton, the movie takes place in a future where a global catastrophe is starting at the same time that an interplanetary spacecraft is on its way back to the planet. Clooney also stars in the movie as an academic who lives in the Arctic Circle and remains behind when others leave for safety to warn the spacecraft not to come back to Earth.
The Midnight Sky, which released exclusively on Netflix, is an exploration of loneliness and regret, and George Clooney is on top form, both behind and in front of the camera. The movie received a limited theatrical release and picked up mixed to negative reviews. Despite this, the movie found its audience, and 72 million viewers watched it in the first week. It was also named to the top 10 movies of the year by the National Board of Review while picking up a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination.
21 Zathura (2005)
The Sequel To Jumanji Goes Sci-Fi
While it has almost nothing to do with the first movie in the franchise, Zathura: A Space Adventure is technically a sequel to Jumanji. Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man) from a script by David Koepp (Jurassic Park), the movie follows two brothers who find a mysterious board game that transports their home into outer space. With their older sister and an astronaut (Dax Shepard), they have to find a way back home.
Two of the kids actually ended up having successful film careers coming out of this lesser-known sequel. One of the brothers was Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) and his older sister was played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight). The film picked up positive reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes), but was a box office bomb, making back its budget but losing money thanks to advertising costs. It also earned two Saturn Award nominations.
20 World War Z (2013)
A Scientist Seeks A Zombie Cure
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World War Z
- Release Date
- June 21, 2013
- Runtime
- 1h 56m
- Director
- Marc Foster
WHERE TO WATCH
Based on the novel by Max Brooks, World War Z tells the story of a world ravaged by a zombie virus. Former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) braves the apocalypse in search of a cure. He is tasked with finding the point of origin of the virus in order to synthesize a vaccine, reluctantly doing so in exchange for his family's safety. His search takes him around the world, where he witnesses all the devastation of the apocalypse.
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
There is one sect of fans who hated World War Z. The reason is that the book on which it is based (by Max Brooks) is so beloved, and the movie took great liberties with the source material. However, there is no way the book could have been made into a film in its format. The novel takes a zombie apocalypse and makes it sci-fi by telling different stories from scientists worldwide who are trying to find the source to figure out a cure.
The movie had to narrow the focus to create a hero, and it focused on one American investigator who sets out to find scientists to get information about the research into the source of the apocalypse. Brad Pitt stars as this investigator, and his appearance helped the movie become a huge success, making $540 million at the box office. Reviews were mixed to positive, and the film took a more cerebral book and turned it into more of a fun, action setpiece.
19 Project Power (2020)
People Achieve Temporary Superpowers From A New Drug
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Project Power
- Release Date
- August 14, 2020
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
- Director
- Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
Cast
-
Tait Fletcher
WHERE TO WATCH
There are a lot of superhero movies in the world today, but one of the best sci-fi movies about superheroes on Netflix is an original not based on any comic book. Project Power stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a movie about a world where a pill exists that can give someone superpowers for five minutes. These pills are highly illegal and Foxx plays one of the first test subjects who can shoot heat waves while Gordon-Levitt is a detective with bulletproof skin.
The movie is a fun action thriller that makes good use of the temporary powers of the characters, winning two honors from the Visual Effect Society Awards. The organization awarded it for its Outstanding Effects Simulations and Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature. It also received average to positive reviews, with critics offering up a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes thanks to it mixing the superhero tropes with a more real-world atmosphere.
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