The greatest sci-fi films on Netflix to escape reality

The beauty of science fiction is how it can take shape in endless ways on screen. When you look at the types of sci-fi narratives that filmmakers have explored in films, it’s hard to deny the fact that it’s one of the most unique, versatile, and exciting genres of all time

Whether you want to be transported to a world of futuristic innovations, a dystopia where the fate of the planet depends on an intergalactic mission, or a small town where a mysterious outbreak unleashes ghastly monsters, sci-fi has you covered. We’ve rounded up the very greatest sci-fi films you can enjoy on Netflix, from heroic YA thrillers to grounded dramas, political take-downs to wacky spins on superhero tropes, and all with varying degrees of imaginative science fiction.

1. The Platform

Credit: Netflix

If you like scathing social commentary and twisted horror with your sci-fi, The Platform is just the thing. This Spanish anti-capitalist parable takes place in a vertical prison facility where inhabitants are staggered across 300 levels. Each day a platform full of decadent food is lowered from top to bottom, allowing prisoners to eat as much as they want. But the food doesn’t get replenished, leaving the middle and lowest rungs of people — some elderly and young children — without any sustenance. Locked up and starving, many are forced into cannibalism to survive. 

A horrific and bleak commentary on class, wealth inequality, and the prison industrial complex, The Platform is a testament to the power of sci-fi to reflect the horrors of the realities around us. Also, while the food does look delicious in this movie, definitely avoid eating while watching. — Oliver Whitney, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: The Platform is now streaming on Netflix.

2. The Wandering Earth

Disaster movie fiends, may I introduce you to the ultimate bonkers space disaster film? In this Chinese sci-fi epic, the Earth is in big trouble, so much so that to avoid total climate annihilation from an aging sun about to engulf our planet, a group of astronauts are tasked with flinging the planet into another solar system. Not insane enough? Now the planet is on track to collide with Jupiter.

Take the extreme doomsday chaos of a Roland Emmerich film, the emotional weight of a planet-saving mission and glorious visuals of Interstellar, and the racing suspense of Gravity, and you get one hell of a sci-fi film. It’s no wonder The Wandering Earth became one of the highest grossing Chinese films in the country’s history. — O.W.

How to watch: The Wandering Earth is now streaming on Netflix.

3. Psychokinesis

In Psychokinesis, Train To Busan director Yeon Sang-ho takes an alternative approach to the superhero narrative — in place of the usual explosive world-saving, he tells an intimate story about a father, his daughter, and a group of business owners fighting corruption. 

Seok-heon (Ryu Seung-ryong from Miracle in Cell No. 7) has been an absent father for years. But just as his estranged daughter Roo-mi (Shim Eun-kyung) hits her absolute lowest, a supernatural force, shot down to Earth via a comet, zaps into the spring water he happens to be sipping. In time, Seok-heon notices he’s developed a strange power to control things with his mind. After reconnecting with Roo-mi, whose restaurant has been shuttered by a violent gang of developers, he decides to use his powers to help her and her fellow neighbors fighting to gain their storefronts back. 

Psychokinesis feels so refreshing in the age of superhero glut by grounding the supernatural in small-scale emotional storytelling, and minimizing its use of CG to a handful of set pieces that slowly build in visual grandeur. This is the type of superhero origin story we need more of. — O.W.

How to watch: Psychokinesis is now streaming on Netflix.

4. What Happened To Monday

Credit: Netflix

If you’ve ever found yourself craving more ruthless, ass-kicking action from Noomi Rapace — a natural wish after watching Prometheus or the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy — then What Happened To Monday is everything you could hope for. It’s a futuristic action extravaganza with B movie sci-fi thrills, and instead of one Rapace, you get seven.

The Swedish actress plays seven identical twin sisters in a dystopian world where having more than one child is outlawed due to overpopulation. To keep his septuplet granddaughters a secret from the fascist government, Willem Dafoe’s grandpa names each of the girls after a day of the week, corresponding to the one day they can go out in public under a singular identity. But after Monday goes missing, the sisters must launch their own investigation, which leads them to the evil machinations of Glenn Close’s mad scientist politician. What begins as an entertaining display of Rapace in multiple roles, Orphan Black-style, soon catapults into action madness full of energized fight sequences. — O.W.

How to watch: What Happened To Monday is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Oxygen

In this survival thriller, Mélanie Laurent suddenly wakes up inside a cryogenic pod. She has no idea who she is, where she is, why she’s there — and she only has 90 minutes of oxygen left. Struggling to solve all of these mysteries with nothing but the pod’s A.I. robot assistant, Laurent’s anonymous protagonist begins recalling fragmented memories to piece together her past. The rest of the plot is greatest left unsaid, but if you’re a fan of contained sci-fi thrillers that do a lot with a little, Oxygen will satisfy. It’s both a strong acting showcase for Laurent in essentially a one-woman show, and it emphasizes the emotional and suspenseful power of POV cinematography, which French director Alexandre Aja, most known for his horror films like High Tension and Maniac, has utilized well in the past. — O.W.

How to watch: Oxygen is now streaming on Netflix.

6. Sleight

Sleight is just the film for those who prefer a touch of sci-fi in a dramatic story grounded in reality. In this feature debut from J.D. Dillard (Sweetheart, Devotion), Jacob Latimore’s Bo is a young man raising his sister (Storm Reid) alone in Los Angeles. His passion is performing street magic, but his main hustle is pushing drugs for a dealer at night. Where the sci-fi comes in is Bo’s arm, which has an electromagnetic implant that allows him to pull off his secret tricks, making anything with metal float or fly across the air.

Ultimately, Sleight is a simple story about a young man trying to survive in a dangerous, violent situation — and the film does get quite violent at times. But with a cyborg as our main protagonist, the story gets a more elevated and suspenseful touch. It’s a reminder that science fiction can coexist in, and help us manage, the harshness of the world we encounter every day. — O.W.

How to watch: Sleight is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Okja

Few filmmakers have taken on the behemoth of capitalism with as much wit, style, and enthralling storytelling as South Korean master Bong Joon-ho. The Parasite and Snowpiercer filmmaker once again explores the evils of corporate greed and class inequality in Okja, the most heartbreaking film about a giant pig you’ll ever see. 

Part adventure buddy comedy, part sci-fi fantasy, and part a takedown of the meat industry, Okja tells the story of farm girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), her greatest friend Okja (a genetically modified “superpig” that resembles a cuddly hippo), a CEO supervillain (Tilda Swinton), a kooky zoologist (Jake Gyllenhaal), and a band of anarchists. Okja perfectly blends the comedic histrionics of chase sequences with an incredibly sweet but heartbreaking tale of rebellion, and has a whole lot to say as well. A warning: You may leave this movie a vegetarian. — O.W.

How to watch: Okja is now streaming on Netflix.

8. I Am Mother

Credit: Netflix

I Am Mother is another addition to the post-apocalyptic genre where robots reign and humanity is scarce. We meet an A.I. robot named Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) who, while overseeing a bunker of human embryos, has decided to raise one, a girl named Daughter (Clara Rugaard). Now a teenager, Daughter has learned everything from her robotic caregiver, including the fact that all humans have gone extinct. But suddenly one day a stranger arrives (a delightfully badass Hilary Swank doing her greatest Sarah Connor) who will soon disprove everything Daughter has come to know.

Though there are dozens of sci-fi films with similar narratives, I Am Mother surpasses genre expectations with a refreshing mix of tautly directed suspense, surprising twists, and a small but mighty all-female cast. — O.W.

How to watch: I Am Mother is now streaming on Netflix.

9. Project Power

In Project Power, a new drug has just been introduced on the streets of New Orleans that gives people superpowers for five minutes; think Limitless meets X-Men. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s local cop teams up with Jamie Foxx’s Art, the initial test subject of the Power pill, and a young dealer (Dominique Fishback, easily the film’s standout) to track down the military distributor behind the drug. 

While Power Power‘s story veers into overcomplicated and often silly territory, what’s most fun about the sci-fi action hybrid is the uniqueness of the powers on display. Everyone reacts differently to the pill, from getting bulletproof skin to Hulk-like strength, and becoming a human torch to growing bendable rubber bones. Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman definitely deliver on the zaniness of all that could happen when superpowers go awry. — O.W.

How to watch: Project Power is now streaming on Netflix.

10. Bird Box

Director Susanne Bier’s Bird Box doesn’t work particularly well as a horror movie; the protagonists aren’t likable enough to care about, and the scares are decidedly lame. But as a sci-fi concept, the apocalypse arriving as a swarm of invisible monsters, who, when seen, drive their victims to horrible deaths by suicide, is appetizingly intense. (That’s what landed this movie on our greatest monster films list!)

Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, and the rest of Bird Box’s stellar cast lead a devastating journey through this demonic, post-apocalyptic world, combining the thriller, action, and sci-fi genres. The result is an adequately complex imagining of how the world would contend with such creatures, and, though its relatively low-tech, manages to keep itself grounded in tense realism. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Bird Box is now streaming on Netflix.

11. See You Yesterday

Eden Duncan-Smith is C.J. Walker, a gifted high school science prodigy who ventures to build a time machine after her brother is killed by the police. With the help of her greatest friend, she tries to save her brother’s life — but she’ll soon learn that changing the past doesn’t come without consequences. 

Written by Fredrica Bailey and Stefon Bristol, and directed by Bristol, this science-fiction adventure is the perfect combination of teenage hijinks and emotional depth. We’re on one hell of a ride, but we never forget the stakes these young characters are facing. It’s captivating, fun, and a much-needed fresh take on a classic genre. Science-fiction films that center Black lives and Black stories have long been a rarity, but with more A+ entries like See You Yesterday, they’ll hopefully become the norm.* —Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: See You Yesterday is now streaming on Netflix.

12. Code 8

Code 8 imagines a world where people with superpowers exist, but after spurring on a second industrial revolution they’ve been replaced by automation and relegated to the bottom rung of society. That’s the reality Connor Reed (Robbie Amell) is living as an “Electric” powered individual who just wants to make enough money to help his terminally ill mom (Kari Matchett).

Out of options and presented with an unexpected money-making opportunity, the good-hearted Connor reluctantly turns to crime. This stylish Canadian crowdfunded feature directed by Jeff Chan lands a little on the nose at times, but an intriguing premise and strong central cast — which also includes Stephen Amell and Sung Kang — keeps things moving at an entertaining clip. — Adam Rosenberg, Senior Reporter

How to watch: Code 8 is now streaming on Netflix.

13. Space Sweepers

Credit: Netflix

In Space Sweepers‘ not-terribly-distant future of 2092, Earth has become a polluted wasteland while the wealthiest and most powerful individuals live in a utopian, corporate-owned orbital space station. The story follows a crew of space sweepers, Earth-dwellers who scrape out a living by cleaning up orbital trash and selling it. Their tough but peaceful existence is shattered one day when, mixed in among the trash, they find a little girl named Dorothy (Park Ye-rin) who, it turns out, may be an android fitted with a powerful bomb. But the plan they hatch to ransom Dorothy off to the terrorists who are looking for her goes awry as she spends more time aboard the ship. It’s not the most original story in sci-fi history, but gorgeous visuals, a strong cast, and careful plotting combine to make this two-plus hour journey — billed as the first space blockbuster from Korea — breeze by. — A.R.

How to watch: Space Sweepers is now streaming on Netflix.

14. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

If you’ve ever wondered what E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial might have been like with more mischievous claymation animals, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon might be for you. The Aardman Animation film drops an adorable baby alien named Lu-La into Mossy Bottom Farm, where she becomes fast friends with the equally playful Shaun — but needs him to grow up just a little bit so she can get back home.

Silly, sweet, and soothing, Farmageddon is a galactic trip the whole family can enjoy. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is now streaming on Netflix.

15. Advantageous

Jennifer Phang’s Advantageous may involve some fantastical inventions, but the principles and problems that shape its universe are firmly rooted in our own. Jacqueline Kim stars as Gwen, a single mother who loses her job after her employer decides to replace her with a younger, more racially ambiguous spokesmodel. In desperation, she considers a procedure that would transfer her consciousness into a more acceptable new body — but that comes at great cost.

Combining thoughtful analysis of race, gender, and class with a touching story of a mother’s love for her daughter, Advantageous is the kind of low-key sci-fi that may inspire you to look a little deeper at the world already around you. — A.H.

How to watch: Advantageous is now streaming on Netflix.

16. The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Take your typical family road trip comedy, toss in a robot apocalypse, and top it all off with a heavy smattering of meme-worthy filters, doodles, and GIFs, and you might end up with something like The Mitchells vs. The Machines: a truly fun-for-the-whole-family feature that hinges on whether an artsy teen (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) and her Luddite dad (voiced by Danny McBride) can set aside their differences long enough to save all of humanity from being launched into space by Siri Pal.

Come for the jokes about our impending AI-led dystopia, stay for the heart-tugging moments of Mitchell family bonding. Seriously, we might never hear T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” without tearing up ever again.* — A.H.

How to watch: The Mitchells vs. The Machines is now streaming on Netflix.

17. Meg 2: The Trench

The amount of actual science in this franchise wouldn’t fill up one of those little plastic buckets that we all used as kids to build sand castles on the beach. But no matter – call their genre “fi-sci” instead and just get on with it, because watching Jason Statham fight giant prehistoric sharks is what we’ve come for, and watching Jason Statham fight giant prehistoric sharks is what we get. And befitting the title, now there’s more than one!

This, the second riveting chapter in the deeply serious story of Jonas Taylor (Statham), former rescue diver turned ecological avenger, sees him heading back down into the deepest depths of the Mariana Trench for reasons far too stupid to explain. Just know it’s all build-up for a bonkers second half where Jonas and his ragtag team of science buds must stop enormous sharks and their new giant octopus greatestie from decimating a Pacific resort literally called Fun Island. — Jason Adams, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Meg 2: The Trench is now streaming on Netflix.

18. Pacific Rim

Credit: Legendary Pictures / Kobal / Shutterstock

The year is 2020, and the shit has totally hit the fan. But no, this isn’t a COVID documentary. It’s Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 kaiju action epic Pacific Rim, which smashed together everything we love about the genre while giving us Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba glaring at one another a lot to boot. So, basically, perfection. 

When giant monsters start pouring out of an interdimensional rift deep in the ocean one day without any notice, all of humanity comes together to build a fleet of giant robots, dubbed Jaegers, which we use to whoop their interdimensional asses. And that’s about all the set up you need. Cue city-stomping fight after city-stomping fight. — J.A.

How to watch: Pacific Rim is now streaming on Netflix.

19. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Considered an official part of the Godzilla canon (as it was produced by Toho), this 2017 animated flick sends us 20,000 years into the future, where a group of human refugees has been trying to find a distant planet to colonize after that pushy jerk Godzilla went and took over all of Earth. Unfortunately, the humans haven’t had much luck on that front, so they head back to our little blue dot hoping that enough time has passed that maybe the big lizard’s had his fill. One guess as to the answer to that! They find a world radically altered thanks to the big G’s radioactive presence, but they attempt to make one last stand for humanity’s sake. And shit gets real dark!  — J.A.

How to watch: Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is now streaming on Netflix.

20. Gravity

Although Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 outer space masterpiece loses some of its impact when watched at home on a smaller screen and not in 3D IMAX where it belongs, there are still plenty of reasons to beam yourself up there from your couch. You don’t win seven Oscars (out of ten nominations) without something worth recommending. 

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her very first space mission when she gets stranded 900 miles above Earth, courtesy of space debris ripping apart her ship. Although Bullock’s co-star is none other than George Clooney himself, as a veteran astronaut on his last trip before retiring, Gravity works because Bullock makes it work. Her — excuse the pun — star power glides this thing from tense set piece to even tenser set piece as Ryan tries to figure out some way, most of them utterly ridiculous, to get herself safely back onto land. — J.A.

How to watch: Gravity is now streaming on Netflix.

21. Don’t Look Up

Director Adam McKay used to only make delightfully goofy films like the Anchorman franchise and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and we were all the better for it. Then in 2015, he decided he was a serious political satirist so he made The Big Short, followed by Vice in 2018, and we were all the worse. It was only when he let pure goofiness seep back in again with his 2021 apocalypse comedy Don’t Look Up that he finally got the balance right. 

Don’t Look Up is mostly the story of an astronomy professor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his greatest student (Jennifer Lawrence) trying to convince a government run by a Trump-esque egotistical monster (Meryl Streep) that there is a comet headed straight at Earth, to little avail. It’s merciless in mocking politics and the media, but it also makes time for Meryl Streep to have a tramp stamp, and for this we are grateful. That’s fair and balanced! — J.A.

How to watch: Don’t Look Up is now streaming on Netflix.

22. Looper

Before Rian Johnson pissed off a bunch of Star Wars fans with The Last Jedi (which remains the only truly interesting film of the recent trilogy) and was forced to take refuge inside the whodunit machinations of his Benoit Blanc mysteries, he was nerd royalty thanks to his lo-fi 2012 time travel flick Looper. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who’d worked with Johnson previously in Brick) and Bruce Willis as the same guy at different ages, Looper is an enjoyable mind-bender. As per usual with time travel plots, it’s sort of pointless to sum up in a sentence or two; the tangled complications are the most fun part of it. So, just sit back and let Looper wash over you. — J.A.

How to watch: Looper is now streaming on Netflix.

23. Cowboys & Aliens

In 2011, in between James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Iron Man films, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and director Jon Favreau teamed up to make this hella goofy summer movie spectacle about — you guessed it — cowboys fighting aliens. And damn if it didn’t flop really hard. But it’s totally harmless as far as big dumb summer movie spectacles go. I mean, at least it’s no Wild Wild West. Thirteen years later, it feels almost novel to contemplate a big summer movie spectacle that wasn’t based on a previous IP. I feel, dare I say, nostalgic for the days of Cowboys & Aliens? How did we get to this place? If nothing else, Daniel Craig looks wildly hot in those chaps. — J.A.

How to watch: Cowboys & Aliens is now streaming on Netflix. 

24. Elysium

Following the surprise success of District 9, Neill Blomkamp’s 2013 follow-up Elysium could be considered emblematic of “the sophomore slump.” Hollywood tossed him tons of money and movie stars (Matt Damon! Jodie Foster!), but the results were decidedly mixed. 

However, Elysium is an interesting mess, and well worth a look back at, as these things usually end up being in retrospect. Set in 2154 (which seems generous given the state of things here in 2024), its narrative about the wealthy escaping into outer space, leaving the poor to rot on an overpopulated and starving planet, sure feels timely. — J.A.

How to watch: Elysium is now streaming on Netflix.

25. They Cloned Tyrone

Credit: Netflix

They Cloned Tyrone is a sci-fi comedy from first-time feature director Juel Taylor starring John Boyega as a drug dealer named Fontaine who, along with his pals Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) and Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), uncovers a secret underground laboratory beneath the local chicken joint. As Fontaine, Yo-Yo, and Slick Charles discover, scientists have been conducting nefarious experiments on the denizens of The Glen, the primarily Black neighborhood Fontaine et al call home.

A dark satire of race relations à la Get Out, They Cloned Tyrone uses sci-fi tropes and a hefty dose of Blaxploitation to make its points. It’s sharp and funny, and it should’ve gotten far more attention in 2023. – J.A.   

How to watch: They Cloned Tyrone is now streaming on Netflix.

26. Resident Evil

Before Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson made an interminable number of these films, there was the tremendously entertaining 2002 original, which remains one of the greatest video game adaptations ever made. Jovovich plays Alice, a woman who wakes up with no memory inside of a decrepit mansion full of zombie-like monsters.

As Alice stumbles upon some other folks, they all manage to fight their way through the mystery of the place and unravel Alice’s past, which all involves a diabolical corporate entity called Umbrella. Yadda, yadda, yadda — it’s simple and scary, and Jovovich proved herself an immediate action star. Plus, it has a few action scenes that still kill, like the hallway full of lasers. — J.A.

How to watch: Resident Evil is now streaming on Netflix.

27. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire

Your mileage will certainly vary on this, the first half of Zack Snyder’s hyper-massive space opera Rebel Moon. Yes, it rips off Star Wars ten ways from Sunday with its tale of lowly farmers starting a rebellion against a militaristic space regime. Yes, it only starts getting interesting in the last half-hour of its nearly three-hour runtime. Yes, it’s bloated and derivative and more concerned with constantly looking “cool” than it is “telling a story” or “developing characters.” 

And yet! Having gone in with basement-low expectations, I didn’t hate it. It’s got a supremely gorgeous cast, and Snyder still knows how to frame beautiful people to their greatest effect. Truthfully, he can frame most anything to beautiful effect. Plus, it’s got Jena Malone as a gigantic spider lady! So, yes, it’s basically an extended — way, way extended — series of team-building exercises, ending right when the real story is about to happen. But I’d still rather rewatch this than I would any Transformers movie. Slap that on your poster! – J.A.

How to watch: Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is now streaming on Netflix.

28. Vivarium

Although he’s only made three feature-length films to date, Irish director Lorcan Finnegan has already proven to be an interesting one. This 2019 slow-burn suburban nightmare is the one that really sealed the deal on his status as one to watch. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots as a childless couple on a real estate hunt that turns into a sort of Talking Heads/M.C. Escher-esque nightmare, Vivarium has a whiff of The Truman Show and a wallop of Cube about it. But it’s also its own weird little thing: fascinating, funny, and stylish. — J.A.

How to watch: Vivarium is now streaming on Netflix.

29. Ready Player One

Being a Steven Spielberg movie comes with a lot of expectations, and those expectations quadruple when it’s a science-fiction movie he’s delivering. When Ready Player One came out in 2018, it kinda hit those expectations like a brick wall. But I suggest a revisit — it’s much better than you remember it being, especially now with VR headsets starting to trickle into our daily existence.

Based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name, Ready Player One is stuffed to the gills with mind-bending set pieces that only Spielberg could bring to life. In the year 2045, a teen orphan named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is trying to solve three riddles set within a full immersive virtual reality called OASIS. The prize for doing so is total ownership of OASIS, so he’s got some competition. Anyway, it’s basically Willy Wonka, just with lots of CG car races and Mark Rylance in a white fright wig. It’s truly a ton of fun. – J.A.  

How to watch: Ready Player One is now streaming on Netflix.

30. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Nominated for Greatest Animated Feature at the 2024 Oscars, this beloved sequel to Into the Spider-Verse dives us back into the trippy world of the Brooklyn spider-boy Miles Morales and his many, many, many spider-pals. We head with Miles even deeper into the multiverse and make our way to the Spider Society’s HQ, where every iteration of Spider-Man hangs out together. 

But they’ve all got the same big problem to face — a dastardly foe named The Spot who has accidentally (then purposefully) started collapsing entire realities one by one. Will Miles save the universe? And more importantly, will he and Spider-Woman Gwen make their whole thing work? And even more importantly, is Oscar Isaac (who voices Miguel O’Hara, leader of the Spider Society) somehow even sexier as a cartoon? — J.A.

How to watch: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now streaming on Netflix. 

Asterisks (*) indicate the entry comes from another Mashable streaming list.

UPDATE: Feb. 29, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST This list has been updated to reflect the latest Netflix offerings.