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While great sci-fi movies have made their presence and influenced movies of all genres to this day, a lot of science fiction films over the years have gone quite unnoticed, even by today’s standards, with the Internet making it possible to spread word about independent “thinking man’s sci-fi” like Moon, Primer and, to some extent, Sunshine. Here are ten movies that are virtually not present in any “top 10 sci-fi ________ list” (fill in the blank).

Note: we intentionally did not include sequels, remakes nor animated features. And by “forgotten” and “underrated”, we mean amongst the general audience. Not necessarily movie buffs like us and the ones who frequently roam the Internets.

10: Code 46 (2004, IMDB link)
Code 46, the British sci-fi film set in the not too distant future where the population is divided between the wealthy ones staying in the cities, and the not so fortunate ones who have been delegated and separated outside. An insurance fraud investigator, played by Tim Robbins, is visiting Shanghai, where his investigation leads him to meeting a woman and… you’ll have to see the rest for yourself. There’s not much action or drama in the film — it’s rather slow and the pacing and story carefully unfold during the movie. It’s by no means a perfect film, but definitely worth seeing, if only for it’s beautiful photography.

9: Enemy Mine (1985, IMDB link)
In the distant future, mankind is fiercely fighting an alien civilization, and when a pilot from each side of the battling worlds crash land on a planet, they’re forced to work together in order to survive. It’s the sci-fi version of the buddy movie, yet very intelligent and, at times, emotional, offering an excellent comment on society, where “working together usually benefits both parties”. It was Wolfgang Petersen’s first success in North America after “Das Boot”, but sadly, one of his most forgotten ones.

8: Equilibrium (2002, IMDB link)
Christian Bale’s first real action movie, as a law enforcer in a dystopian future where human emotions and art are strictly forbidden in order to eradicate violence and war. So they are told. People are controlled with a daily intake of “equilibrium”. Bale’s character forgets to take the “medication”, and subsequently begins to “feel”, giving him a new perspective on the situation. While the movie wasn’t a commercial nor artistic hit, it offered an original view of a dystopian world, interesting action set pieces, and the introduction of the “gun kata”, a martial arts style which includes gun-fighting.

7: Pitch Black (2000, IMDB link)
Vin Diesel’s broke through as an action star in Pitch Black, playing the anti-hero Riddick amongst a group of survivals who crash landed on a planet where constant sunlight is scorching everything. Originally a prisoner, Riddick now turns out the be their only hope of survival. The movie was a big success at the box office, and critics applauded its originality and visual style. It has since been regarded as a cult classic, and while a sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, came out in 2004, it was a far cry from the original in almost every aspect but the size of the budget.

6: eXistenZ (1999, IMDB Link)
David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, while not the greatest title of a movie ever, was a unique take on virtual reality, unfortunately, the movie was overshadowed by another movie which dealt with the same concept; The Matrix. In Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, a game designer who is working on a virtual reality game has to immerse herself into the game in order to stop corruption of the game (or as some would call, “extreme bug hunting”). It’s a must see for fans of The Matrix and Dark City, which brings us to number 5 on our list…

5: Dark City (1998, IMDB Link)
Dark City is one of the most original sci-fi stories of the 1990’s, and to some extent, influenced The Matrix, which was released a year later. Despite receiving great reviews — Roger Ebert called it the best movie of 1998 — it wasn’t a hit at the box office and has since been forgotten by anyone but hard core sci-fi fans. Alex Proyas wrote the film in the early 90’s, but it only managed to get stuck in “production hell”, as they say, and moved from studio to studio until New Line finally put in production. The recent release of the Director’s Cut version, which includes 15 minutes of extra footage, is a must have in any DVD or Blu-ray collection.

4: The City of Lost Children (1995, IMDB Link)
Jean Pierre Jaunet’s and Marc Caro’s bizarre and surreal tale of a scientist who kidnaps children and steals their dreams in order to benefit himself is one of the most visually and artistically striking films of the last few decades. Being a native French movie with no English, it was still a hard sell for North American audience, and it received a limited, yet critically acclaimed release in 1996. Almost every aspect of the film feels original, from the plot, to the characters, to the visual style (which includes a lot or steam punk and retro futurism) — even the camera angles and shot compositions feel like something you’ve never seen before.

3: Gattaca (1997, IMDB link)
Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca was a true “thinking man’s” science fiction movie, dealing with a society where genetics determine one’s class and thereby the possibilities in life. One of the unfortunate ones, Vincent Freeman (played by Ethan Hawke), who has only been given a life expectancy of 30 years, changes place with one of the lucky ones (played by Jude Law), in order to fulfill his wish to travel into outer space. Gattaca is one of the few sci-fi dramas that have ever been made, and offers a provocative, and at times, striking view of the future where genetics play a far bigger role than today.

2: Brazil (1985, IMDB link)
What happens if you mix Monty Python and 1984? You get Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s genius and satirical take on a dystopian society where bureaucracy, endless paperwork and bad jobs in an industrialized megacity are the norm. It’s take on 1984 is obvious, and while in production, the working title was 1984 1/2. Even with a modest budget of less than $10 million, the movie has astonishing production values, however, it remains largely forgotten. In addition to 12 Monkeys, Brazil is one of Gilliam’s most successful — at least artistically speaking — movies, and has since become a cult classic.

1: Stalker (1979, IMDB link)
Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky — one of Russia’s finest — will most likely be remembered by one film in his career; Stalker, and it’s unfortunate that so many are unaware of it today. The movie was originally shot by Tarkovksy over a period of a year, only to be destroyed because it was shot on an experimental film that the Soviet film labs were unfamiliar with. This didn’t discourage him from shooing it again, this time with a new cinematographer, Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, and together they created one of the most visually stunning films of the time. Granted, the movie is not for everyone, it’s consists of lots of long shots, and its poetic style is the exact opposite of today’s action blockbusters like Transformers. But as far as science fiction goes, it’s an absolute masterpiece and it’s no wonder the film is one of the most studied at film schools around the world.

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