Science fiction movies, at their core, explore realities and futures where the possibilities are endless.In these films, technology knows no bounds, extraterrestrial life is a common occurrence, and space is explored to its farthest corners.The genre hasn’t wavered in popularity since its formation in the early 20th century. Today, science fiction remains one of the most dominating topics in cinema.Many sci-fi movies will be released in 2025, including thelong-awaitedA Quiet Place Part III, which will continue John Krasinski’s epic alien franchise.
Many sci-fi films imagine optimistic futures, in which the circumstances of life are made better by the rapid evolution of technology. On the other hand, some projects depict realities that have been plagued by dreadful forces of nature. Even though they might be disheartening to watch,bleak sci-fi films demonstrate the worst of possibilities,portraying fictional scenarios that are downright torturous.
10I Am Legend (2007)
Alone In The Apocalypse
The idea of a zombie apocalypse is terrifying on its own, butI Am Legendreveals just how bad it can get.The plot follows Robert Neville (Will Smith), who is assumed to be the last man on planet Earth. A cure for cancer was successfully developed, but it unknowingly created a plague that turned humans into hyper-aggressive mutants that stop at nothing to infect others.
Will Smith’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked
Ever since he transitioned from TV to movies, Will Smith has been one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, with a long list of hits in multiple genres.
The future depicted in the film is completely cheerless. New York City is a desolate, broken-down wasteland devoid of all human life.The buildings and streets are overgrown, scarred by the chaos that the outbreak brought.Since the monsters are nocturnal, the hours of daylight become even more ominous. It’s completely quiet, and Neville has to survive his isolated existence with only the company of his dog. Will Smith is confirmed toreprise his role inI Am Legend 2, a long-awaited sequel to the story.
Blade Runner
Cast
The original Blade Runner is a sci-fi neo-noir film set in 2019 in a dystopian cyber-punk society. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard as a Blade Runner for the LAPD, tasked with hunting rogue replicants, genetically engineered humans designed to tackle tasks that human beings cannot. When four replicants go rogue and begin killing humans, Deckard is forced out of retirement to hunt them down and stop them - but the truth isn’t as simple as it seems. Deckard will have to reckon with the philosophical dilemma of what makes someone human.
Ridley Scott’s famous neo-noirBlade Runnerdemonstrates the genuine danger of technological advancement. Given the rapid development of artificial intelligence in modern times, the premise of this film becomes even more frightening.Blade Runnerimagines a future where society has created Replicants; artificial humans virtually indistinguishable from real people.The only difference is that they are completely absent of all emotions.
Harrison Ford had a troubled relationship with Ridley Scott during the production ofBlade Runner,calling parts of the experience “a nightmare.”
The plot follows Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who is tasked with taking out four replicants who escaped their colonies and returned to Earth. Even though the film demonstrates the wonders of human evolution, the cinematography creates an ambiance that is cold, rainy, and dark.The vibe of the narrative is gritty, and it perfectly matches the circumstances of the dystopian setting.The movie was followed up in 2017 byBlade Runner 2049and will continue in thehighly anticipated seriesBlade Runner 2099.
The Thing
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
John Carpenter’s 1982 horrorThe Thingis often cited as one ofthe best sci-fi movies of all time, and for good reason. It’s nearly a perfect film in all respects. It has a great story, excellent casting, and effects that were ahead of their period.TheThingdoesn’t add any unnecessary fluff, and that’s part of the reason the circumstances are as dark as they are.
The plot is set in a remote research base in Antarctica, where a group of scientists is ravaged by a malicious alien that can seamlessly transform into the shape of its victims.The film stands alone in the paranoia that it elicits. R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) and the other researchers descend into madness as they come to terms with the fact that any one of them could be the creature. They are trapped in a dire situation with virtually nowhere to turn. The open-ended conclusion makes the story that much more bleak and horrifying.
7Akira (1988)
Government Testing & A Shocking Finale
Akiratakes place in a future scarred by the ramifications of war. The film is set in 2019 in the newly rebuilt Neo-Tokyo, 30 years after the original city was decimated during the events of World War III. The story follows Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata), who tries to save his friend Tetsuo (Nozomu Sasaki) from malicious government testing.It’s a masterful sci-fi tale that bitterly explores themes of rebellion, unchecked power, and experimentation.The narrative ofAkirais truly heartbreaking, and it goes hand in hand with the stunning animation style.
The future brings on new forms of power, and some will stop at nothing to utilize it to their ends.
Although the plot is complex, the themes are as apparent as they are poignant.The film demonstrates how political atmospheres and scientific advancement lead humans to engage in awful practices.The future brings on new forms of power, and some will stop at nothing to utilize it to their ends. It’s thought-provoking and disheartening on so many levels, which is part of the reasonAkirais regarded as one of thebest anime movies of all time.
Dark City
Dark City follows a man grappling with lost memories in a sunless, dystopian world. As beings with telekinetic powers manipulate the city’s inhabitants, he embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about his past and the mysterious forces controlling their reality.
Dark Citytakes the characteristic of bleak to a whole other level.In this noir-style dystopian future, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up to discover that he has supposedly committed a string of violent murders, only he can’t remember what happened. After being told to run, Murdoch quickly finds himself in a nightmarish environment filled with unanswered questions.
This movie has the most gloomy atmosphere possibly imaginable.In an unfamiliar city, it’s constantly nighttime, but nobody seems to be bothered.The world-building is masterfully done, and ties in perfectly with the mystifying narrative.Dark City’sendingblows the lid off the apparent circumstances, which makes it all the more compelling. The director, Alex Proyas, does an excellent job of creating a ghastly environment that matches the surreal plot. The film is painfully underrated in its genre and offers a story that’s equally mysterious and depressing.
Never Let Me Go
Friends Kathy, Tommy and Ruth grow up together in what appears to be an idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. When they leave school and the horrible truth about the purpose of their lives is revealed, they must simultaneously confront their feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal, which threaten to end their friendship.
Mark Romanek’sNever Let Me Gooffers an impressive amount of emotional depth with very few resources.The story follows Tommy (Andrew Garfield), Ruth (Keira Knightley), and Kathy (Carey Mulligan), who grow up together in the Hailsham boarding school. When they finally come of age, they realize the earth-shattering circumstances of their existence: they are clones who are raised with the sole purpose of organ donation.
Unlike many sci-fi films, the quality ofNever Let Me Gocomes from the exploration of a simple concept. However, that doesn’t take away from the substance by any means. The idea of cloning is straightforward, but it’s incorporated into the narrative in a heart-wrenching way that explores relationships, purpose, and love.It’s a sorrowful metaphor for what it means to be human, and how the implications of that question change with the future.
Brazil (1985)
Brazilimagines a hallucinogenic, fantasy nightmare and brings it to the silver screen.Terry Gilliam’s dark comedy follows Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a lowly bureaucrat who lives in a dystopian future. In a style very similar to George Orwell’s1984, Lowry exists in a totalitarian society where the inhabitants are constantly under extreme surveillance and subject to terror.
Things begin to change for Sam after he finally comes across Jill Layton (Kim Greist), the woman he constantly saves in a perpetual daydream he experiences. As absurd as the film is, the whimsical reality it imagines is unequivocally miserable. The movie explores numerous concepts, from the intricacies of an authoritative bureaucracy to the significance of dreams.The grim and bizarre nature works in conjunction with the message, which becomes even more dismal with the ending.It’s easily one ofTerry Gilliam’s best filmsand a hidden sci-fi gem.
Moon
Duncan Jones presents Moon, a sci-fi mystery drama that follows Astronaut Sam Bell, who has spent the last three years working at a lunar mine in isolation and is coming up at the end of his shift. However, as Sam prepares to return home to his family and meet his daughter for the first time, he begins to experience vivid hallucinations of a younger version of himself and begins to experience hazardous events. Before Lunar Industries arrives to relieve him of duty, he must uncover the reason for his recent psychosis and free himself of his mental prison.
Duncan Jones’Moondemonstrates the horror of isolation, especially when elements of sci-fi are thrown into the mix.The plot follows astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who is finally finishing his three-year stint as a lunar miner on the surface of the moon. Sam has his reality shattered when he discovers a younger version of himself after crashing his rover into a harvester.
Moonhad a relatively low budget but created a thoughtful, emotionally provocative story with the resources it had. Sam’s mysterious scenario evolves from a complex phenomenon to a melancholic tragedy when the truth about his circumstances is finally revealed. The film provides a depressing commentary on ideas of isolation, identity, and mental health.It has a heartfelt plot that uses sci-fi as a soft medium to look at humanity through a different lens.Moon’s Endingties it all together in a truly morbid fashion.
Snowpiercer
Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film directed by Bong Joon-ho. The narrative takes place aboard a perpetually moving train carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed climate-change experiment freezes the planet. Chris Evans stars as Curtis, who leads a group of lower-class passengers in a rebellion against the oppressive elite at the front of the train. The film explores themes of class struggle and survival.
What happens when nearly all of humanity is killed off, and the remaining survivors live on the same train?Snowpierceranswers this question with style in a film that is more than what it seems. Curtis (Chris Evans) lives at the back of the train among the poorest passengers.The quality of life for the residents of the caboose is as grim as can be.Everyone is starving, and the conditions are utterly disgusting. As far as post-apocalyptic worlds go,Snowpiercerwould undoubtedly be one of the worst to live in, at least for those without money.
The outside environment has been made inhabitable by the coming of a second ice age,and the only place of refuge has a quality of life that’s arguably worse than death. As Curtis and the back passengers move toward the front cars, they bear witness to an exposition of class and wealth that becomes appallingly more complex. Believe it or not,Snowpierceris theorized to be aWilly Wonkasequel, a claim that makes more sense in the context of the ending.
The Road
Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, The Road centers on a father and son who attempt to make it to the coast after a global apocalypse wipes out all plant and animal life on Earth. The Road was directed by John Hillcoat and stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
In contemplation of sci-fi films that are the most bleak and depressing, John Hillcoat’sThe Roadmight be the most spot-on example.The story follows a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who make their way through a desolate, broken-down America. The landscape has turned into an utter wasteland as the result of an unforeseen large-scale catastrophe.
Viggo Mortensen’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked
Viggo Mortensen is one of the most prolific actors of his generation, and his best movies include Academy Award winners and box office hits.
As the man and the boy travel towards the sea, they are forced to deal with the harsh reality that surrounds them.This movie ventures into darker places than most stories dare to.The representation of a post-apocalyptic world feels genuinely realistic, but the extent of human savageness is stretched to its farthest reach. Thesci-fiatmosphere is gray, the narrative is tragic, and it illustrates a future that shows how cruel humanity can be in certain circumstances.The Road’sendingis just as heartbreaking and doesn’t hold back in the slightest.
