A Glean movie guide
Hidden Gems: The Best Underrated Sci-Fi
Beyond the blockbusters.
High-concept stories and cult classics that deserve a spot on your watchlist.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Coherence
A masterclass in low-budget tension where a dinner party unravels into a reality-bending nightmare.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 02
Dark City
A visually stunning neo-noir that explores memory and identity in a city where the sun never rises.
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.
- 03
Gattaca
A sophisticated look at genetic discrimination that prioritizes human drama over flashy special effects.
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.
- 04
Moon
Sam Rockwell delivers a powerhouse performance in this minimalist study of isolation and corporate ethics.
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
- 05
The Vast of Night
An atmospheric slow-burn that captures the eerie mystery of 1950s radio waves and UFO lore.
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
- 06
Sunshine
A breathtaking journey to the sun that blends hard science with intense psychological horror.
Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.
- 07
Predestination
A complex, circular narrative that will leave you questioning everything you know about fate and identity.
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
- 08
Upgrade
A lean, inventive action-thriller that uses practical effects to deliver a dark vision of human enhancement.
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility — skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
- 09
Timecrimes
A brilliantly engineered puzzle of a movie that proves you don't need a big budget for great time travel.
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
- 10
Under the Skin
An abstract and haunting exploration of humanity seen through the eyes of an otherworldly visitor.
A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.