Upgrade & 9 More Underrated Sci-Fi Movies You Need To Watch
Science Fiction has been a staple of cinema practically since the medium was invented. The genre, which lends itself so well to both eye-popping spectacle and thought-provoking allegorical narratives, remains enduringly popular with audiences and profoundly cinematic. Many of the genre's highlights are considered among some of the best films ever made, with some producing great advances in special effects (2001: A Space Odyssey) and others fundamentally changing the industry forever (Star Wars).
However, for all the movies that are celebrated in the cinematic canon, there are just as many that are not, both deservingly and undeservingly. One of these undeservingly underrated films is Upgrade from Leigh Whannell, co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises. In addition to Upgrade, here are other fantastic sci-fi films that slipped under the radar but still deserve attention.
10 Upgrade (2018)
Grey Trace is a mechanic living in a near-future where his line of work is becoming obsolete fast. Stubbornly determined to build things with his hands, Grey diligently keeps working on old cars until he suffers a terrible accident that results in the death of his wife and his own permanent paralyzation. Grey's only hope to move again is to have a computer chip, that will completely control his motor functions, implanted into his body.
Upgrade feels like a throwback to '80s sci-fi schlock but updated to fit into the world of today. It's well-written and with an amazing physical performance from Logan Marshall-Green and smart direction and clever camera work from Whannell, making the film a breath of refreshing air.
9 Coherence (2013)
What Coherence lacks in budget it more than makes up for in ideas. Set during a dinner party for reuniting friends, the film begins with the feeling of a low-budget horror mixed in with a relationship drama. Then it gets weird.
The central premise concerns a passing comet which causes reality to split in two, creating doubles of everything. As the friends begin to understand what is happening, paranoia runs rife and characters start to question if their friends, or themselves, are the same people they were at the beginning of the night. Clever writing and smart directing make this low-budget flick a pot-boiler of simmering tension and suspense.
8 Another Earth (2011)
From writer and star Brit Marling (co-creator of The OA) comes another film that sacrifices budget for ideas and genuinely moving drama. Marling stars as Rhoda, a young student who seems to have her whole life ahead of her. A bizarre cosmic event happens where a duplicate earth appears in the sky on the night it arrives Rhoda is behind the wheel of a car; her momentary distraction causes a catastrophic car accident, leaving only one survivor.
After her release from jail, Rhoda is broken and tries, from a distance to improve the life of the one survivor. The film explores regret, loss, and beginning one's life anew, all wrapped up in an original sci-fi concept that gives them greater weight and permanence.
7 A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Arguably the most faithful adaptation of Philip K. Dick's work, A Scanner Darkly uses sci-fi to highlight and explore problems within our own society that are not immediately apparent. The film follows a narcotics detective in the near future who is really investigating his own drug use. The film explores the cultural paranoia around both drug abuse and how narcotics are policed, using science-fiction to push the more outlandish story elements into the realm of believability.
With an all-star cast and interesting use of rotoscoped animation to give that uncanny feeling A Scanner Darkly is a funny, intriguing but, at times, disturbing watch.
6 High Life (2018)
High Life is the sort of science-fiction film that gets under the skin. It's not objectively a horror film, but there is a creepiness to the narrative that definitely unsettles the audience. Robert Pattinson stars as the lone-survivor of a prison ship, where people were forced to reproduce in space following a birth rate crisis on Earth.
The movie never fully reveals itself; it jumps forwards and backward in time giving the audience just enough information to piece the story together. High Life is undoubtedly an experiential film, but it explores ideas that are deeply troubling and communicates it with visuals that are truly stunning and surreal. There are very few films like this highly underrated gem.
5 Predestination (2014)
Time travel is always tricky to handle. Sometimes it can accidentally break the logic of a film and even confuse the audience so much it makes the entire movie incomprehensible. Predestination takes all the problems with time travel and dives headfirst into them.
Successfully reworking classic cliche's into this well-thought-out, original, time-travel noir mystery film. Ethan Hawke stars as a temporal investigator on the hunt for a man who's evaded him his entire life. The film jumps backward and forwards in time constantly as it works its way through a mystery that spans decades, with plenty of twists and turns to keep viewers engaged all the way through.
4 Under the Skin (2013)
Under the Skin may never properly explain itself to an audience, but nonetheless nearly every second of this film is mesmerizing. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as an anonymous alien that has landed in the city of Glasgow, apparently to study human life.
The film uses a strange blend of highly stylized sequences with real footage, using concealed cameras. The very reality of the film is called into question as Johansson walks among and even interacts with real people, then transitions quickly into bizarre and surreal science-fiction. The film simultaneous thrills and terrifies, as it shows 'real-life' through such an uncanny lens it creates an experience that is unique to the very best of science-fiction.
3 Robot & Frank (2012)
At first, Robot & Frank may seem like a fairly slow and gentle sci-fi film. But don't let its humble beginnings fool you. The screenwriter would go on to pen the script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it has one of the most unexpectedly sublime ensemble casts.
Frank Langella plays Frank, a retired jewel thief, with two adult children who can't make time to see him. Instead, they buy him a personal robot to take care of him in his old age. There is a lot of comedic back and forth as Frank and Robot begin their odd-couple relationship, but soon the friendship turns into a partnership as Frank enlists Robot to help him with one last job. It's a bittersweet film that pulls at the heartstrings while still finding an original way to tell a classic story.
2 Okja (2017)
Bong Joon-Ho's science-fiction output is probably best remembered with The Host and his cinematic adaptation of Snowpiercer. However, Okja, his film for Netflix, is as interesting and enjoyable as any of his other films.
The film opens in an idyllic part of South Korea where young Mija rears Okja, a genetically enhanced giant pig, with her grandfather. Okja is created to be a new source of super meat and when he is taken away to be slaughtered, Mija teams up with a group of animal rights anarchists to steal him back. It manages to deliver a well-rounded message while never sounding preachy. That, and it is always enjoyable to see an extremely talented director with a huge international ensemble cast having a lot of fun.
1 The Endless (2017)
This is another low-budget film that very acutely walks the line between sci-fi and horror. Writer and director team Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson (whose backcataloge is also worth watching) turn their attention to the cosmic horror of H.P.Lovecraft and produce a film that may be one of the best cineamtic adaptations of the writer's work.
Two brothers, who previously escaped a cult, return in order to gain some closure. While there, they get caught between wanting to remain and an uncanny feeling that they're not able to leave. The film combines some head-tripping visuals with some very unsettling set pieces. It is gripping from the moment it begins right to the end, and is a testament to what can be done with a low budget and very well thought out script.