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5 Great Sci-Fi Masterpieces Hidden on Netflix (#3 Is Painfully Underrated)
Netflix has some great movies on the streaming service, from originals to ones they license from other studios, and this includes some hidden sci-fi masterpieces. These films remain hidden thanks to Netflix adding new movies every month, and in some cases, multiple times each month. With so many films coming and going, it is often hard to keep track of what is screening at any given time, and with so much available, it is easy to overlook some great movies thanks to the pure excess of options. That said, there are plenty of great films to find, discover, or revisit on Netflix.
From Netflix originals about cloning to time travel movies and apocalyptic thrillers, here are some great sci-fi masterpieces hidden on Netflix.
5) Okja (2017)
Bong Joon Ho made his name with his Oscar-winning movie Parasite, which was the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. However, he had a lot of great movies before that breakout film. He directed the comic book adaptation Snowpiercer in 2013, the excellent monster movie The Host in 2006, and the brilliant crime drama Memories of Murder in 2003. In 2017, he directed a sci-fi masterpiece called Okja. Okja is a Netflix original about a future where a corporation has been breeding “super pigs” and led them out to farmers around the world to raise.
Ten years later, they will name one the Best Pig at a ceremony. These pigs grow into giants, and the farmer who raises Okja has a daughter named Mija who connects with it, and the two bond. When she learns the corporation plans to slaughter the pig, she tries to stop them along with an environmental “terrorist” organization. It is a brilliant film, with a great cast (Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Jake Gyllenhaal), and is available to everyone to stream on Netflix.
4) Timecop (1994)
In 1994, Jean-Claude Van Damme was one of Hollywood’s go-to names for action movies, and he starred in a sci-fi action film called Timecop. Now, this is a Jean-Claude Van Damme film, so it’s not going to be high art, but sometimes, all a sci-fi fan wants is some good time travel fun, and if it includes some kung-fu styled fighting action, that is all the better.
This is what Timecop offers on Netflix this month. Van Damme plays a police officer in 1994 and as a U.S. federal agent in 2004 who fights time-travel crime and ends up butting heads with a crooked politician. While it received mixed reviews when released, it was a box office success and is considered one of Van Damme’s better films. Fans who want to watch something lightweight but extremely fun on Netflix should enjoy Timecop.
3) The Island (2005)
One of Michael Bay’s most underrated sci-fi movies is on Netflix, and fans have a chance to discover why it deserves a much better reputation than it received. The Island is the last sci-fi movie Bay made before turning his attention to The Transformers franchise, and while it remains mainly forgotten 20 years since its release, it deserves a second chance, which Netflix is offering it.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson star as two clones who learn they only exist as forced organ harvesting for wealthy people in society, so they set out to escape their island prison. The film is a tale of what it means to be human, and who deserves to live and who only exists to make others’ lives better. It has Michael Bay’s trademark action, but a solid story under all the bells and whistles.
2) They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
In 2023, Juel Taylor’s sci-fi comedy mystery They Cloned Tyrone hit Netflix, and it is a movie every sci-fi fan needs to see. The film stars John Boyega (Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy), Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau from the MCU), and Jamie Foxx, and it tells the story of an illegal, immoral cloning operation. They learn the truth when one of them is killed, but returns the next day with no memory of the situation.
With a 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating, the movie is called “provocative” and “clever,” with the cast receiving tremendous praise for their performances. It is also a great story that is an allegory for systemic racism and forced assimilation, and does so with sharp humor and a scathing damnation of white supremacist capitalism. This does everything good sci-fi should by shining a light on real-world issues, but masked in an entertaining story.
1) Donnie Darko (2001)
Donnie Darko is one of the best cult classic sci-fi movies ever made. Released in 2001 by director Richard Kelly, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a teenager named Donnie Darko who sleepwalks from his home one night, only to find that an engine from a plane fell from the sky and crashed into his bedroom. He then starts to see things that make him realize he was supposed to die, and that by living, it might bring about the apocalypse.
Donnie Darko is a beloved cult classic, and it has a twisted narrative that is perfect for sci-fi fans. Kelly released a director’s cut that took away from the brilliance of the confused narrative, but the original version is on Netflix, and that is the one fans need to watch. For anyone who hasn’t seen this brilliant movie, stream it while it is on Netflix, and for older fans, it’s time to revisit this sci-fi masterpiece.
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