Science fiction is a massive category when it comes to movies – there are so many out there today that it is almost impossible to keep up. Whether they be huge generation-spanning franchises or tiny indie films, there's something for everyone.
However, bar the obvious big hitters, finding your next favourite watch can be tricky. There are so many fantastic movies that simply slip through the net and get forgotten about.
That's why we're highlighting three great sci-fi movies you can stream via Netflix on your's or any of the other great TVs out there.
Love and Monsters
- Stars: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing
- Directed by: Michael Matthews
An epic quest to reunite college sweethearts, a loyal and dependable dog, a lonely robot... oh, and a post apocalyptic Earth overrun with huge, mutated, man-eating insects and other forms of big nasty! Nice.
Love and Monsters is the very definition of a hidden gem. Released to almost zero press or publicity and unceremoniously dumped into the depths of the Netflix algorithm, this strange little oddity of a movie works in so many ways.
It is a solid love story told with real emotion and realism, a great action film with beautifully-rendered CGI creatures, and an intuitive end of the world flick told with well-defined lore and geography.
Despite its almost unknown cast and complete lack of network support, the film has become something of a cult classic.
Punchy, well written, visually impressive and not afraid to be unique, it's a great little movie and well worth a watch. Unless you have a phobia of big squishy insects, that is.
Spectral
- Stars: James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Bruce Greenwood, Max Martini
- Directed by: Nic Mathieu
One of the first wave of original sci-fi movies to come to Netflix, way back in 2016, Spectral is not only sadly forgotten about, but also a bit of an anomaly.
It feels like a European movie pretending to be a Hollywood release that also takes huge inspiration from Japanese manga. As such it can be a confusing and yet impressive watch.
Civil unrest in the European country of Moldova has US forces engaging the insurgents. However, there is a new threat which threatens both.
The unknown supernatural beings reside in an alternative spectrum that makes them invisible to the naked eye and instant death to anyone they encounter.
With a huge emphasis on impressive CGI, a cast of regular B-movie level action stars, and some honestly impressive action set pieces, Spectral deserved to get a lot more attention than it did back in 2016, so should still be on watch lists today. It's a very solid action sci-fi movie that does exactly what it sets out to do..
Criminally unremembered.
- Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
- Directed by: James Gray
When discussing his father in Ad Astra, Brad Pitt as astronaut Roy Mcbride utters: ‘’He captured strange and distant worlds in greater detail than ever before. They were beautiful, magnificent, full of awe and wonder.
"But beneath their sublime surfaces there was nothing. No love or hate. No light or dark. He could only see what was not there and missed what was right in front of him."
That essentially sums up the overriding arc of the film.
McBride has to travel to the edge of the known universe to stop his father Clifford (a reserved Tommy Lee Jones) from instigating a catastrophic ending for the Earth. As such it is more a study into the relationship between fathers and sons and the nature of abandonment, solitude, grief and loss.
Proving once again that well written science fiction can be a lot more than just spaceships and aliens, the film follows peers like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Bladerunner into more thoughtful and interpretive places.
Pitt delivers, as always, a solid performance as the lead and, along with some beautiful in-screen practical effects and composite CGI work, the film looks great.
Don't expect laser guns and spaceship shoot-outs, but instead enjoy a solid glimpse into a not too distant future.
