Sci-fi is often designed to appeal to all ages, but R-rated sci-fi movies have the freedom to show extremely dark and violent futures. An R-rating allows a sci-fi movie to get more violent and more profane, which means that it can cater its story to a mature audience without having to worry. This suits dystopian fiction particularly well, as some visions of the future don’t save room for redemption and silver linings.
The best dystopian sci-fi movies can show the bridge between the present and the bleak futures that they depict. Often, these dark futures aren’t merely designed as warnings about what might come to pass. Instead, they are heightened reflections about prevalent topics in contemporary society, proving that the future isn’t too far away after all. R-rated futuristic sci-fi movies can design their messages with an adult audience in mind.
Related 10 Best Epic Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time, Ranked
Sci-fi is already one of the most intriguing genres in cinema, but when a sci-fi epic creates a vast world, these films are worth paying attention to.
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10 Upgrade (2018)
Upgrade Is Wonderful Entertainment, But It Has A Dark Message
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8/10 Upgrade
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*Availability in US Director Leigh Whannell Release Date June 1, 2018 Cast Betty Gabriel , Logan Marshall-Green , Harrison Gilbertson
Upgrade has a lot of fun with its punchy action scenes and its quick-witted humor, but there’s no mistaking the bleak technofuturist dystopia. Director Leigh Whannell is most famous for his work in the horror genre, and he brings an unmistakable sense of doom to Upgrade. Logan Marshall-Green stars as a man implanted with a chip that can control his body after he is left paralyzed by a violent attack.
A lot of futuristic sci-fi has expressed the fear that technology could take over people’s lives and rule their decisions. Upgrade takes this idea one step further, with an artificially intelligent system controlling a man’s every movement like a puppet master. With this context in mind, Upgrade‘s humor is decidedly dark, even if its twisted vision of the future can be gloriously entertaining. Upgrade‘s third-act twist returns to the horror genre, showing that AI can be even scarier than it first appears to be.
9 Snowpiercer (2013)
Snowpiercer Condenses Humanity Into A Single Structure
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6/10 Snowpiercer
Director Bong Joon-ho Release Date July 11, 2014 Cast Chris Evans , Jamie Bell , Tilda Swinton , Ed Harris
After a string of hits in Korean, Snowpiercer was the movie which introduced Bong Joon-ho to a big international audience. Based on the French graphic novel by Jacques Lob, Snowpiercer takes place on a train that continually encircles the Earth, as it carries the last remnants of human civilization after climate change renders the planet uninhabitable. The rigid class system of the train echoes the notion that the wealthy will be able to shield themselves from the consequences of climate change, while the poor will be forced to suffer.
Snowpiercer is just one of many sci-fi movies which envision the crumbling of human civilization and the destruction of the world, but it’s far more believable than most. The performances and the visual design play a big part in this, but Snowpiercer‘s unpredictability is also key. For a movie that mostly follows a journey across a fixed axis, Snowpiercer has plenty of twists and turns, and Bong continually finds new ways to create thrilling action sequences within the confines of the train.
8 Ex Machina (2014)
Alex Garland’s Directorial Debut Bristles With Tension
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9/10 8.6/10 Ex Machina
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*Availability in US Director Alex Garland Release Date April 10, 2015 Cast Alicia Vikander , Domhnall Gleeson , Oscar Isaac , Sonoya Mizuno , Gana Bayarsaikhan , Corey Johnson
Ex Machina starts with a simple premise that gives it the perfect platform to create a twisty, subversive sci-fi narrative. Domhnall Gleeson plays a programmer invited to the home of his tech company’s reclusive CEO, where he is to administer a Turing test to a humanoid robot. From this initial concept, Ex Machina evolves into an intoxicating personal drama of deceit and discovery, all drawn with very few characters and locations.
Ex Machina benefits from a great cast, and Alex Garland gives his actors plenty of room to explore in his directorial debut. This brings an authenticity to Ex Machina that keeps it fresh, even while it remixes older ideas about artificial intelligence. Ex Machina still breaks new ground in sci-fi’s representation of AI. This is far beyond HAL 9000, as Ava is more human, both in appearance and in her propensity for manipulation.
7 Her (2013)
Her’s Vision Of The Future Is Being Vindicated More And More Every Day
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5/10 Her
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*Availability in US Director Spike Jonze Release Date January 10, 2014 Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Amy Adams , Scarlett Johansson , Rooney Mara
Joaquin Phoenix delivers an outstanding performance in Her, which is especially important when considering that many of his scenes take place with an unseen partner. Scarlett Johansson lends her voice to the artificially intelligent software on the other side of Her‘s unorthodox romance. As AI technology becomes more prevalent and more zeitgeisty, Her is starting to look surprisingly prescient. It isn’t just the core idea of Her that’s coming true, but the strange way in which some people seem to be willing to substitute the human experience for a painless, inoffensive alternative.
Beyond Her‘s melancholic depiction of the future, its visual design is also impressive. Rather than sticking to the smooth edges and bright whites that have become stereotypical elements of a movie set in the future, Her looks to the past for inspiration. The devices look like compact mirrors, cigarette cases and notebooks, which gives the world a more unique feel to it. This phony authenticity, in which new technologies attempt to mimic old ones, ties into the idea of AI trying to replace human interaction.
6 District 9 (2009)
District 9 Builds A Richly Detailed Alternative History
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9/10 10/10 District 9
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*Availability in US Director Neill Blomkamp Release Date August 5, 2009 Cast Sharlto Copley , Jason Cope , Nathalie Boltt , Sylvaine Strike , Elizabeth Mkandawie , John Sumner
District 9 uses sci-fi to examine the deep rifts caused by South Africa’s apartheid era. Neil Blomkamp’s metaphor is rather straightforward, but it’s incredibly effective. The “prawns,” as humans insultingly refer to them, can also be viewed in a broader context. They could just as well stand in for any number of marginalized groups in society, vilified by the media to the extent that they feel sub-human.
District 9‘s intelligent allegory only works because it’s also an acutely observed character drama at the same time. Without such a well-crafted emotional story at the heart of it, District 9 could easily become a movie to be studied but not enjoyed. Blomkamp’s guile ensures that it’s every bit as exciting and engaging as a sci-fi movie should be, and its thoughtful political commentary feels more organic as a result. Calls for a sequel began immediately after release, but District 10 has been in limbo ever since.
5 Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner’s Vision Of The Future Is Timeless
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9/10 9.7/10 Blade Runner
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*Availability in US Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 25, 1982 Cast Harrison Ford , Rutger Hauer , Sean Young , Edward James Olmos , M. Emmet Walsh , Daryl Hannah , William Sanderson , Joe Turkel
Although Blade Runner is set in the distant future, its film noir style makes it feel surprisingly timeless. Blade Runner is a hard-boiled detective story that just so happens to feature replicants, but even this detail links back to the old film noir trope of mistaken identities. Both Blade Runner and other classic detective stories examine the ethics of policing, and the darkest corners of the human soul.
Blade Runner is one of Ridley Scott’s best movies, picking up where Alien left off with his journey to revolutionize R-rated sci-fi. It’s a thoughtful slow-burn that gives way to explosive fits of violence, some of which are senselessly arbitrary. This all builds up to Blade Runner‘s iconic ending. Scott saves the best until last, and Rutger Hauer’s performance ensures that a thoughtful monologue is a more dramatic and compelling finale than the breathless chase which precedes it.
4 Children Of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’s Dystopian Thriller Examines Many Contemporary Issues
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Children of Men
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*Availability in US Director Alfonso Cuarón Release Date January 5, 2007 Cast Julianne Moore , Clare-Hope Ashitey , Clive Owen , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Michael Caine
Children of Men was a box office bomb, but it soon developed a reputation as one of the most influential sci-fi movies of the 21st century. Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian thriller takes place in a near-future where two decades of human infertility have left society in ruins. This is a fresh concept, but it does tie into contemporary anxieties about the declining birth rate in western countries. Children of Men shows how fragile our modern societies are.
Children of Men has also been praised for its tactile action sequences. Cuarón films many of the most exciting scenes using long takes, which creates an immersive sense of drama. The documentary style is just one way that Children of Men feels alarmingly present, and it has been interpreted as an allegory for all sorts of modern flashpoints, including immigration, misogyny and political extremism. Children of Men‘s many layers reward multiple rewatches.
3 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller Revives His Post-Apocalyptic Franchise In Style
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9/10 16 9.4/10 Mad Max: Fury Road
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*Availability in US Director George Miller Release Date May 14, 2015 Cast Tom Hardy , Charlize Theron , Nicholas Hoult , Zoe Kravitz , Hugh Keays-Byrne , Riley Keough , Courtney Eaton , Abbey Lee , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Although it came out after a 30-year gap in the franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road is the best movie to be set in George Miller’s heat-baked dystopia. Unlike so many long-running franchises which prefer to look backwards for inspiration, Mad Max: Fury Road is boldly original, breaking new ground for the entire sci-fi genre. It’s one of the best action movies of the 21st century, but its sci-fi elements shouldn’t be overlooked.
Mad Max: Fury Road details a complex desert society, filled with unsavory characters harking back to ancient civilizations, but it still feels immersive and natural. Miller’s worldbuilding means that Fury Road is easy to follow, even for newcomers to the Mad Max franchise. The director takes a naturalistic approach, in which nothing is ever explained in stilted, didactic terms. The action and the emotions of the characters tell audiences everything they need to know, but there are still more mysteries on the boundaries of this fascinating world.
2 The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix Is A Perfect Blend Of Sci-Fi And Action
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9/10 9.3/10 The Matrix
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*Availability in US Director Lana Wachowski , Lilly Wachowski Release Date March 31, 1999 Cast Keanu Reeves , Laurence Fishburne , Carrie-Anne Moss , Hugo Weaving , Gloria Foster , Joe Pantoliano
While some futuristic sci-fi movies take place during humanity’s war with the machines, The Matrix presents a grim dystopia in which the war is long over, and humans have lost. The reality envisioned in The Matrix is unremittingly depressing, but its unique core concept draws parallels between that far-off future and the present. In The Matrix, people are blind to their subjugation because they exist in a virtual world that placates them with artificial pleasures and problems.
The Matrix‘s script explores the boundaries of the central idea, creating a fascinating philosophical dialogue about the merits of reality versus individual mollification. This hints at one question that will undoubtedly shape humanity’s future: can humans band together to affect large-scale institutional change, or should people take whatever personal victories they can? The Matrix also stands out as one of the most creative action movies of all time, with the Wachowskis using the unlimited potential of the Matrix to remix old martial arts movies.
1 Alien (1979)
The Sci-Fi Horror Classic Is Hard To Beat
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10/10 10/10 Alien
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*Availability in US Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 22, 1979 Cast Sigourney Weaver , Tom Skerritt , John Hurt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , Ian Holm , Yaphet Kotto , Bolaji Badejo
Ridley Scott’s first big hit announced his arrival as an important voice in the sci-fi genre, and it spawned the best R-rated sci-fi franchise ever. Alien is deceptively simple in some ways, seeing as the plot subscribes to many of the tropes of the horror genre. However, the cavernous spaceship and the bizarre, unknowable monster inject plenty of fresh ideas. The powers of the alien always seem to be changing, as does its intelligence.
The Alien franchise has had many guises since 1979, from the more action-oriented Aliens to the philosophical Prometheus. Alien remains hard to top from a fundamental point of view. Scott’s masterful direction traps the audience in the dark corridors of the Nostromo right beside Ripley, and Sigourney Weaver’s performance does the rest. Beneath the surface, Alien also presents a dark vision of the future. The alien itself is one villain, but the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s pursuit of profit is what endangers the crew’s lives.