Entertainment
10 Greatest Sci-Fi Thrillers of All Time, Ranked
Science fiction is such an expansive genre that can encompass such epic films that sometimes it’s easy to forget how successful it can also be as a vehicle for thrills. Unstoppable killing machines, time-travel doppelgängers, and the Sun itself all feature as antagonists in some of the best sweat-inducing sci-fi thrillers. These movies use their high concepts in the name of taut, tense action, psychological torment, and cosmic terror. The subgenre can be so broad that many movies might technically fit within it — after all, films can be thrilling in so many different ways, but the best are thrillers from top to bottom.
These sci-fi thrillers can be unrelenting or quietly cerebral, but they are all incredibly well made. Many of them were underrated gems that became cult classics that are now considered among the best of the genre. They come from some of the most beloved filmmakers to have worked in the sci-fi genre, and are often based on works by the most critically acclaimed authors. They can be high-tech or low-budget, but they are all among the greatest sci-fi thrillers ever made.
10
‘Looper’ (2012)
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Before Rian Johnson ventured to a galaxy far, far away for The Last Jedi, he proved his sci-fi genre skills with Looper. With one of the most clever time travel thriller conceits since The Terminator, the film offers paradoxical action between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, playing past and future versions of the same character. Johnson never tries to bog the film down with convoluted explanations of its time travel logic, but instead uses it as a jumping-off point to tell a story about cycles of violence.
Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, a contract killer who specializes in killing targets sent from the future, also known as a looper. Loopers operate with the knowledge that one day they will be asked to kill their future selves to close the loop. When that happens to Joe, he accidentally lets his future self go free, putting both their lives in danger. The two actors play well off of each other as their opposite selves, and the film embraces its pulp sensibilities in some clever and killer uses of time travel.
9
‘Snowpiercer’ (2013)
Bong Joon Ho‘s dystopian sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer features a relentless pace wrapped in a social satire as its characters literally engage in class warfare as they fight their way up the economic food chain. Based on the French graphic novel of the same name, the film is set on a high-tech train traveling across a frozen Earth, its passengers the only humans left alive. Even in a winter apocalypse, economic disparity persists, as the lower classes occupy the rear of the train, and the elite take up residence in the front. It’s a blunt metaphor, but it gives Bong lots of cars to populate with colorful characters, wild visuals and some spectacular setpieces.
Chris Evans plays a lower-class citizen who begins a revolt that moves from the caboose to the cab. It’s equal parts brutal and beautiful as the group moves through each train car, revealing the darkness and deception that lies beneath the opulence of the wealthy class. The film isn’t afraid to get its characters dirty, and Evans gives one of his best performances as an anti-hero who is on the polar opposite end of the morality scale from Captain America. Bong is as adept at juggling the various tones of the film as in his other masterpieces, Parasite, Memories of Murder, and The Host, and Snowpiercer is one of the most fiercely uncompromising sci-fi films of the 2010s.
8
‘Under the Skin’ (2013)
Under the Skin is a sci-fi psychological thriller that borders on horror in some of its imagery. It’s not a propulsive film like Snowpiercer but a more contemplative one that does exactly as its title implies, digging deep with an unnerving feeling that stays hooked into you for days. It’s sparsely made with understated performances that make its close encounters feel far more threatening than any of the bombastic destruction of movies like War of the Worlds or Independence Day.
Scarlett Johansson plays an extraterrestrial who wanders Glasgow in the form of a human woman, looking for men to abduct and bring back to her empty void. That may sound like a clumsy sexual euphemism, but it’s very much the basis of the film’s plot, which is light on exposition and heavy with atmosphere. A dread hangs over the entire movie, and while there’s violence and some upsetting deaths, it’s less about getting you to grip your seat than it is to make you squirm in it. Under the Skin was directed by Jonathan Glazer, and it has the same ability to fill you with dread and despair as his holocaust drama The Zone of Interest.
7
‘Sunshine’ (2007)
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, the same madmen behind the increasingly unhinged 28 Days Later franchise, followed the first of those zombie films with the ticking clock space thriller Sunshine. Set in the near future where the dying sun has put all of humanity at risk of extinction, the film is an existential nightmare, and the filmmakers use its cosmic setting to explore religion, spirituality, and fanaticism. Interestingly, Sunshine is far more interested in the philosophical and psychological aspects than it is in being a true hard sci-fi film.
Cillian Murphy leads the terrific ensemble cast, which includes Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, and Rose Byrne, as the crew of scientists headed to detonate a bomb to revive the dying sun. Each struggles with the isolation and cosmic indifference of the yellow giant that is responsible for all of their lives. In addition to that ever-present reminder of their mortality, they face peril at every turn, in the form of physical obstacles and human ones as well. The film’s third act goes directly into more conventional thriller territory with a secondary villain reveal that some viewers and critics were disappointed with, but it’s a natural extension of the film’s themes and definitely gives the finale a jolt of thrills. Sunshine is an underrated sci-fi thriller that, unfortunately, was a failure when it was originally released, but has since earned a devoted fan following.
6
’12 Monkeys’ (1995)
The second time-travel thriller on this list to star Bruce Willis, Twelve Monkeys is a more surreal and mind-warping film, thanks to the direction of Terry Gilliam. Inspired by the sci-fi short film La Jetée, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a disease has wiped out almost all of humanity, and scientists are using time travel to investigate the origins of the virus that caused it. It’s a looping plot that will definitely have you scratching your head the first time around, but it’s a wild ride nonetheless with some fantastic performances and an ending that hits hard.
Nobody plays burnt out like Willis, and this may be the most burnt out character he’s ever played, a convict of the future used as a time-traveling guinea pig. On his trips back to investigate the virus, he finds himself institutionalized, where he meets another inmate, played by a manic, Oscar-nominated Brad Pitt. Twelve Monkeys offers a pessimistic view of fate, with time travel in the film only proving the futility of any attempt to change the future. It’s a dark, but wickedly entertaining, thrill ride through time.
5
‘The Terminator’ (1984)
For how big the franchise has gotten, and how quickly James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger shot to the A-list, it’s hard to remember that The Terminator was essentially an exploitation film. It may be high concept and have a budget slightly higher than the average Roger Corman production of the time, but it’s still a mean-spirited, nasty little thriller underneath the skin. Cameron got his start on Corman productions, and his directorial debut was Piranha II: The Spawning. While his direction is a big part of what elevates The Terminator, he still has his exploitation sensibilities.
The first movie has more in common with slashers than epic sci-fi. Linda Hamilton‘s Sarah Connor is a fantastic final girl, and Schwarzenegger’s T-800 is the perfect killing machine. As he hunts her down, he leaves a path of bodies that would make Jason Voorhees proud. Sarah, meanwhile, has a passionate romance with her savior from the future, Kyle Reese, played by Michael Biehn, culminating in a steamy ’80s sex scene, though it’s far tamer than the Corman equivalent. All the exploitation hallmarks are there, but they’re executed better than ever. The franchise and Cameron would go on to bigger budgets and more prestigious films, but The Terminator is the original model thriller.
4
‘The Prestige’ (2006)
Christopher Nolan has explored several sci-fi worlds to thrilling results. Inception is a mind-heist thriller that owes just as much debt to James Bond as his techno-spy thriller Tenet, and Interstellar is an intergalactic survival film. His best, though, is the dueling magicians drama of The Prestige. Based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Priest, the film is another one of Nolan’s puzzlebox narratives, but here its structure is purposeful in mimicking a magic trick, which the film pulls off right in front of your eyes.
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are perfectly cast as Victorian London magicians; one a technical genius, the other a masterful showman. They break from collaboration after a death causes them to become rivals, and their feud escalates to extremes. Jackman’s character seeks out Nikola Tesla to gain an advantage, which is where the film’s sci-fi elements come into play. The Prestige is a film of doubles that explores the nature of obsession with perfection and the sacrifice needed to obtain it. It’s plot twists into a knot that only unravels when Nolan wants it to, like a true magician.
3
‘Minority Report’ (2002)
Steven Spielberg‘s prescient sci-fi noir Minority Report features all the eclectic elements of a classic thriller, from chase scenes to a protagonist framed for murder and a deeper conspiracy he has to uncover. It’s as thrilling as any blockbuster the director has ever made, but with a more cynical tone to it, aside from the slightly jarring happy ending. Tom Cruise is both a solid action lead and a tortured soul driven by a past tragedy. The set pieces are also immaculate, as is expected from Spielberg, who combines stark visuals with slick effects.
Cruise plays John Anderton, the lead officer of PreCrime, an experimental law enforcement unit that uses three psychics, called PreCogs, to predict and prevent violent crimes. When Anderton himself is accused of a future crime, he goes on the run to clear his name and discover who his supposed victim is. Loosely based on a short story by renowned sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, the film’s plot deals with the notion of free will and is set in a future where privacy has been incrementally diminished. Minority Report is one of Spielberg’s best, representing a noirish mix of his gifts as an entertainer with his darker impulses as a thrill maker.
2
‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
Two decades before Minority Report turned Dick’s words into a futuristic detective thriller, Ridley Scott made the definitive sci-fi noir with Blade Runner. A visually stunning thriller that has had an immense impact on the aesthetic of so many cyberpunk films, video games, and anime, the film had some of the biggest artists and designers in science fiction, from Syd Mead to Douglass Trumbull, working behind the scenes. It’s an oppressive, rain-soaked movie that uses its atmosphere to immerse the audience in its dystopic vision of the future. The slow burn narrative and measured pacing of the film make it less thrilling than more fast-paced films, but its punctuations of violence hit hard with a more emotional impact and an existential undercurrent.
Harrison Ford is Rick Deckard, a cop who specializes in hunting down rogue replicants, the highly advance androids of the future. He’s given a task of tracking down four especially dangerous replicants, led by Rutger Hauer‘s Roy Batty, whose tragic nature and poetic talents belie his skull-crushing abilities. Deckard’s investigation also brings him into contact with the replicant Rachel (Sean Young), who breaks through his barriers and exposes his emotional frailties, causing him to question the purpose of his entire existence. Blade Runner is a hard-boiled, sci-fi masterpiece.
1
‘Children of Men’ (2007)
Thrillers that get under the skin or cut deep emotional wounds are one thing, but a thriller that gets your pulse racing and adrenaline pumping is what the genre was made for. Alfonso Cuarón delivers both deep themes and hard thrills in the dystopic thriller Children of Men. Based on the P.D. James novel, it envisions a future where women have become infertile, leading to societal collapse precipitated by generational hopelessness, communicated in the film’s gritty visuals depicting an England on the edge of total chaos, with clashes between the people and the authoritarian regime becoming increasingly violent. It’s both harrowing and hits a little too close to home.
Clive Owen plays former revolutionary Theo, who has become disillusioned and retreated to the hell of middle management bureaucracy. He’s pulled back into the fray by his estranged wife, Julian (Julianne Moore), who asks for his help in getting a young refugee named Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) to safety. Kee is the first pregnant woman in almost two decades, representing a hope for humanity that could be corrupted and used by politicians and violent extremists alike. Children of Men is best known for its bleak visual style and intense action sequences, many of which are made immersive through long, unbroken takes merged through seamless digital effects. It’s Cuaron’s dystopian masterpiece and the greatest sci-fi thriller ever made.
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