A Glean movie guide
Hidden Gems of 90s Sci-Fi
Cult classics you might have missed
Beyond the blockbusters, these cerebral and atmospheric thrillers defined a decade of innovation.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Dark City
A visually stunning noir where the architecture shifts at night and memories are never what they seem.
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
- 02
Gattaca
A grounded, philosophical look at a future where your genetic code determines your social standing.
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.
- 03
Strange Days
This gritty, high-stakes thriller explores the dangerous allure of technology that lets you relive others' memories.
In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
- 04
The Thirteenth Floor
A mind-bending murder mystery that dives deep into the unsettling reality of simulated worlds.
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
- 05
Cube
A masterclass in minimalist tension, following strangers trapped in a lethal, shifting maze.
A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.
- 06
The City of Lost Children
A surreal, visually inventive French masterpiece about a scientist who steals children's dreams.
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- 07
Existenz
David Cronenberg delivers a disturbing, reality-blurring journey into the world of organic gaming.
A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.
- 08
Screamers
Based on a Philip K. Dick story, this film features terrifying autonomous weapons that have evolved to mimic humans.
SIRIUS 6B, Year 2078. On a distant mining planet ravaged by a decade of war, scientists have created the perfect weapon: a blade-wielding, self-replicating race of killing devices known as Screamers designed for one purpose only -- to hunt down and destroy all enemy life forms.