We love sci-fi movies for their bold ideas that help us imagine the future of the Earth and life on distant planets. But sometimes we come across films that look too bizarre even against this bright background. We have collected for you the TOP 10 strange sci-fi movies and TV series that went beyond genre stereotypes, impress with unusual characters and worldbuilding, but for some reason passed over the attention of most viewers.
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The Man from Earth
Year of release: 2007
Director: Richard Shankman
IMDb rating: 7.8
The question «What if?» is one of the most central in science fiction. And if asked correctly, it can become the basis of a fascinating story. This plot device was masterfully used by the authors of the movie «Man from Planet Earth». Its protagonist, Professor John Oldman, moves to a new job and throws a farewell party for his friends, including teachers of biology, history, archeology, and anthropology.
When one of his colleagues remarks that he hasn’t changed a bit in the last 10 years, John suggests that they play an unusual intellectual game «Imagine, — he says, — that a person from the late Paleolithic period survived to the present day. What would it look like?». At first, the guests discuss this question as a hypothetical plot for a new science fiction story. But then they notice that the host is talking about a life of 14,000 years in the first person for some reason.
Almost all the events of the movie take place in one room, but it is simply impossible to tear yourself away from the screening. And no wonder because the film is based on a screenplay by Jerome Bixby, a recognized classic of American science fiction. In 1953, he became famous for his short story «It’s a Good Life», which was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and filmed in one of the episodes of the anthology «The Twilight Zone».
Lexx
Year of publication: 1997-2002
Director: Chris Bould
IMDb rating: 7.3
Imagine this: a perverted robot, a failed security guard, an ancient zombie assassin, and a seductive mix of nymphomaniac and man-eating lizard embark on a journey through another universe on a starship that is a giant living insect capable of destroying entire planets. This ease would be the envy of the «Death Star».
The story takes place in the theocratic state of the League of 20 Thousand Planets, ruled by a virtually immortal dictator, His Divine Shadow. When the tyrant gets old, a new body is found for him. And his brain is placed in a transparent container connected to a computer and becomes one of the so-called Divine Ancestors, who store the memories of his reign.
Does it sound crazy? No, it’s the plot of a Canadian sci-fi series that aired for four seasons, blew viewers’ minds, and still has a loyal following. By the way, it starred not just anyone, but the stars Rutger Hauer and Malcolm McDowell. The latter had previously played Caligula, but he recalled «Lex» as the strangest project in his long career.
The film takes us to an alternate reality where recognizable elements are bizarrely combined with extravagant and sometimes completely insane characters. Among them are a villainous scientist who abducts children to appropriate their dreams, his clone assistants, dressed-up killer fleas, cyborg cyclops, and a steampunk brain in an aquarium that speaks through a gramophone of sorts.
The plot of the movie is quite simple, all events revolve around the search for one of the kidnapped children. Instead, Jeunet offers us a veritable feast of hypnotic visuals, where the costumes created by Jean-Paul Gaultier’s imagination are part of a surreal world of brass, wood and bizarre machines.
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Year of release: 2008
Director: Darren Lynn Bowman
IMDb rating: 6.4
In the article about the films that tried to imagine «future» 2025 we mentioned the movie «Ripper» starring Jude Law. The core of this post-apocalyptic thriller is the idea of artificial human organs that can make people virtually immortal, but instead make them slaves to corporations.
It was even more of a surprise to me that there is another movie with a similar plot, where one of the main characters is a so-called «repo man» — collector who confiscates artificial organs from debtors. And if «The Ripper» can be imagined as a kind of homeboy who is just trying to look like a tough guy, then «The Genetic Opera» — is their unofficial brother who is completely fucked up.
To put it mildly, we are looking at a rather unusual combination of biopunk, a Cinderella fairy tale and an alternative musical, featuring industrial, punk and gothic compositions. Guided by the rule of not telling but showing, the whole premise of the film is shown to us through paintings. One of the main roles in it is played by the famous opera singer Sarah Brightman and socialite Paris Hilton.
Critics are trying to explain the events on the screen through a mixture of violence «Saw», the Gothic world «The Crow» and singing from «The Rocky Horror Picture Show». But we suggest that you approach the screening with caution: for some, this satirical travesty will almost certainly be a pleasant discovery, while others may be strongly rejected.
Vesper
Year of release: 2022
Director: Cristina Buosite
IMDb rating: 6.0
In «Vesper», the consequences of genetic experiments have brought humanity to the brink of apocalypse. Research specimens from genetic laboratories escaped and caused the extinction of most animals and edible plants. After that, the richest people hid behind the strong walls of citadels, and the rest of us are trying to survive on the barren wastelands.
What unites the film with «Genetic Opera» is the cynicism with which corporations profit from everyone’s grief. After the disaster, quality seeds became the most expensive commodity in the world. But scientists from the citadels have changed the genetic code of plants so that they produce only once, after which the seeds have to be bought again. Vesper, a young researcher who is accompanied by a drone with the consciousness of her paralyzed father, is trying to develop new plant varieties to overcome hunger. But doing so in a world where seeds have become a source of power is not easy.
The «Chronicles» impresses with its combination of seemingly incompatible worlds: the miserable rural huts where farmers live, and futuristic citadels with their jellyfish-like aircraft and shiny spheres of skyscrapers. The authors also managed to create a realistic setting. On the one hand, it has a number of amazing creatures, and on the other hand, it has a lot of small details that make you believe in the events on the screen.
Love and Monsters
Year of release: 2020
Director: Michael Matthews
IMDb rating: 6.9
If you’ve watched the second season of «The Last of Us» and are looking forward to the second part of Lucy’s adventures in «Vault 33», you’ll definitely be interested in the post-apocalyptic comedy «Love and Monsters». The film’s release in 2020 went unnoticed amid the quarantine, but it can offer fans of survival among monsters some unusual plot developments.
It’s ironic that the hero here, like in the HBO series, is also named Joel. However, contrary to all genre canons, he is not an experienced survivalist, but a simple inhabitant of the shelter, who also immediately freezes when he sees a threat. Because of this, the guy’s chances of surviving on the surface among mutant worms and giant centipedes are close to zero.
But what wouldn’t you do for love? In order to meet the girl of his dreams, Joel embarks on a nearly suicidal 140-kilometer journey, during which he overcomes his fears and makes new friends. Some of these minor characters, such as the last robot on the planet, Mav1s, are a pleasant surprise and make us wish we could see a sequel.
«Aniara»
Year of release: 2018
Director: Pella Cogerman
IMDb rating: 6.3
In a series like «Star Trek», a crash ten or even hundreds of light years away from Earth is not something too critical. After all, by a happy coincidence, there is always a planet with the necessary resources nearby. And a rescue expedition usually arrives faster than the heroes can make a few lines.
The Swedish science fiction film «Aniara» tries to realize the true scale of space and the place of humans in it. Its protagonist works as an AI operator aboard a space liner transporting colonists from Earth. Due to an emergency, the ship is drastically off course.
At first, the captain reassures the passengers that this will only prolong the journey by a couple of years. But later it becomes clear that the problem is much more serious. And now every person on board is faced with existential questions: what to do when all your previous goals and aspirations have suddenly lost their meaning, and what to live for when there is no hope left?
High Life
Year of release: 2018
Director: Claire Denis
IMDb rating: 5.7
French arthouse director Claire Denis has made a strange science fiction film that seems to continue the story of «Aniara» about loneliness, hopelessness, and violence in the pitch black of deep space. The story begins with a scene where astronaut Monte (Robert Pattinson) is repairing the outer skin of a spaceship while communicating by radio with his only companion, a little girl named Willow. There is no one else on board except the dead bodies that fill the cargo hold.
The authors go on to reveal the circumstances that led to this horrific situation. It turns out that the crew of the starship consisted of eight ex-prisoners. All of them, including the captain and the doctor Deebs (Juliette Binoche), made a deal, agreeing to commute their death sentences to a suicide mission to the nearest black hole — a hypothetical source of renewable energy for crisis-stricken humanity.
At the same time, even among the stars, the ship remained a prison and could simply kill the crew if the central computer did not receive a daily report on the implementation of the research program. One of them was the horrific reproductive experiments that resulted in the hero’s daughter, and he was faced with a dilemma: are there any taboos that cannot be crossed in order to prolong life?
Annihilation
Year of release: 2018
Director: Alex Garland
IMDb rating: 6.8
In the context of our topic, it is worth mentioning that the subgenre of Weird fiction, or «weird fiction», has long existed in English-language fiction. Howard Lovecraft is considered to be one of its founders, and among its contemporary representatives, Jeff Vandermeer, China Miéville, Alastair Reynolds, and others are most often named. There is no clear definition of this literary trend, but its common features include the unusual and sometimes grotesque worlds created, inconsistency with genre clichés, and an eclectic mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
In 2018, Alex Garland, the director of the popular science fiction films «Judge Dredd 3D» and Ex Machina, adapted one of Jeff Vandermeer’s novels, «Annihilation», which is part of the «Southern Gap» tetralogy. The plot centers on the mysterious phenomenon of «Flicker», which arose after a meteorite fell in the «Blackwater» National Park. Around the epicenter of the event, an anomalous zone has emerged where plants, animals, and even the physical laws of our world are undergoing unexpected changes. The film’s protagonist, biologist Lina, joins an expedition to the zone to find out what happened to her husband.
The City and the City
Year of release: 2018
Director: Tom Shankland
IMDb rating: 6.3
After reading Chayna Mieville’s novel «Embassy City», I found myself thinking that his abstract ideas are so strange that they are difficult to retell and probably impossible to film. However, there were some brave souls. Director Tom Shankland decided to bring to the screen another work by Mieville, the detective fiction novel «The City and the City», which became the basis for the miniseries of the same name.
The show takes place in the unique twin cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma. Mysteriously, they occupy the same place in space. But these are not other dimensions or anything like that. Instead, they are located next to each other and sometimes even overlap. There are places where the left side of the road is in Beszel, and the right side is in Ul Qoma. The life of the neighbors is completely different: Beszel resembles a shabby Eastern European city of the 80s, while ultra-modern Ul Qoma sparkles with skyscraper glass and digital advertising.
Residents are taught from birth not to see the other city. But when the Beszel police find a dead girl from Ul Qoma, the detectives are forced to contact the victim’s relatives and unravel the intricacies of the mysteries surrounding the twin cities. Not all viewers were able to cope with Mieville’s ideas, so the series’ rating on IMDb is not very high. But maybe it will be an impetus for you to start getting acquainted with «new weird» science fiction.
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