The Absolute Best Sci-Fi Movies on Prime Video – CNET [CNET]

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This French sci-fi horror isn’t one for the claustrophobic. Meander follows Lisa, a woman who ends up in the car of a stranger, then trapped in a frightening network of vent-like tubes. The different sections hold different dangers — plus Lisa has a timer strapped to her wrist, counting down to even more horrors. This effective, tense thriller plays out in a slick 90 minutes. A perfect shot of adrenalin.

This British sci-fi comes from Gareth Edwards, who went on to direct Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and 2014’s Godzilla. His mastery of atmosphere, wonder and beauty is on show here, all on a shoestring budget. Monsters follows a couple attempting to cross an “Infected Zone” teeming with giant tentacled monsters.

Mr. Nobody is the kind of movie that nails the ending, making the entire journey well worth it. It helps to know that this story explores the consequences of choices and why you shouldn’t worry about making the perfect one. By the end, it leaves you on a wonderfully thoughtful note to ponder.

Amazon Studios

This low-budget indie has surprisingly high production values, impressive performances and inventive camerawork to help tell the story of two teenagers in ’50s New Mexico. The resourceful pair chase down the potentially extraterrestrial origins of a mysterious audio frequency.

Amazon Studios/YouTube/CNET Screenshot

For those missing Black Mirror, this will go some way to filling that gap. Black Box follows a father who tries to piece his life back together after a car accident. He agrees to an experimental procedure that leads him to the darkest recesses of his mind.

Oscilloscope Laboratories/YouTube/CNET Screenshot

Coherence doesn’t need an Avatar-size budget to craft a compelling story. The low-budget indie film follows friends at a dinner party who start noticing bizarre occurrences after a comet passes. Even more unsettling because of its grounded setting, Coherence nails the brief of true indie gem.

Alameda Entertainment/YouTube/CNET Screenshot

Intriguing premise? Check. Low budget? Check. Twist in the end? Check. This indie sci-fi mystery from Travis Milloy solidifies its place in the Google Search quest for “best indie sci-fi gems.” Infinity Chamber’s complex story focuses on a man held in an automated detention facility. He must fight superior technology to escape, an immensely tricky feat.

Universal Pictures

The ’80s adaptation of Stephen King’s sci-fi horror didn’t draw rave reviews, so this 2022 reboot from horror movie factory Blumhouse took another stab. The results? Not good. Firestarter scored even worse than the original, but it does offer the intrigue of seeing Zac Efron take the lead in a horror flick. He plays a father who attempts to keep his daughter — who can use pyrokinesis — out of the hands of a shadowy federal agency.

Tollywood

How cool and intriguing is that title? Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a low-budget time travel comedy from Japanese filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi. The wild premise: A café worker discovers his TV can show him what happens 2 minutes into the future. There’s obviously a lot more to that and the results are as creative and trippy as you can expect under the constraints of indie filmmaking. A gem.

Paramount

Just watched Prey and looking for another sci-fi flick starring a heroic pup? Love and Monsters lives up to its name, centered on Joel (Dylan O’Brien), a survivor in a post-apocalyptic world where mutated monsters roam the Earth. On his search for his ex-girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick), he encounters a stray dog named “Boy.” This is when the real romance begins. Catch this enjoyable monsterpocalypse adventure, which will leap out at you with a few surprises and hit all the right emotional beats.

Paramount Pictures

The second Star Trek movie in the rebooted franchise beams up a terrific adventure with a memorable villain in Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan. The gang on the USS Enterprise travels to the forbidden zone in space to rescue an endangered species. While a little dated — a gratuitous underwear scene and a change in ethnicity for Khan — Into Darkness is a rollicking trip.

Amazon Prime Video

It’s hard to leave The Tomorrow War off this list, because it’s Prime Video’s big sci-fi actioner starring Chris Pratt. It follows a schoolteacher who’s drafted into a war with aliens — in the future. An easily digestible flick that you can watch while looking at your phone.

Vertigo Releasing/YouTube/CNET Screenshot

Vivarium is an interesting one. It might frustrate a lot of viewers with its surreal aspects, but it’s still a compelling film. A young couple becomes trapped in a labyrinthine suburban neighborhood of identical houses. While trying to escape, they find themselves taking care of a mysterious baby.

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