The best sci-fi movies you can watch at home
Science fiction, to echo Ursula K. Le Guin, is not predictive, but descriptive. While most science fiction films attempt (and fail) to extrapolate the ideas and concerns of their respective present to predict what the world may look like in the not-so-distant future, these extrapolations ultimately amount to stories that exist in conversation with the hopes and fears of the times in which they were conceived.
All of this is to say that science fiction (i.e., speculative fiction) is a genre of possibilities and introspection, one whose long legacy through the medium of cinema has produced countless iconic works whose thematic depth and aesthetic resonance have enlivened and inspired the imaginations of countless more generations. From Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris to Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca and more, the history and legacy of science fiction in film is one of futures past that have since gone on to shape and inform our view of the present, all while entertaining and edifying audiences new and old alike.
We’ve created a list of some of our favorite sci-fi films currently available on streaming, movies that continue to inspire us look to the future and imagine worlds and ideas both fantastical yet nonetheless inextricably rooted in our reality. Here are the best sci-fi movies available to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Max, and more.
Our latest update addedAlien as our editor’s pick.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, John Hurt
Where to watch: Hulu
In 1979, Ridley Scott changed the face of science fiction cinema forever. Then, three years later, he went and did it again. I’m not talking about Blade Runner (at least, not today), but rather the sci-fi horror classic that went on to
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