MomSkoop
Netflix has become a treasure trove for science fiction fans, but with so many titles available, some truly fantastic films slip through the cracks.
Hidden among the endless scrolling are gems that combine stunning visuals, thought-provoking stories, and unforgettable characters.
Whether you’re craving mind-bending mysteries, epic battles, or heartfelt adventures, these underrated sci-fi movies deserve a spot on your watchlist.
1. Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Imagine surviving World War II only to confront a monster that makes your darkest wartime memories feel small.
This Japanese masterpiece strips the legendary kaiju of Hollywood gloss, grounding the story in raw emotion and genuine fear.
At its center is a former kamikaze pilot burdened by survivor’s guilt, struggling to rebuild as Japan rises from the ashes.
When Godzilla reemerges, every roar and footstep feels terrifyingly real, threatening to crush the fragile hope of a recovering nation.
What makes the film extraordinary is how it pairs massive destruction with deeply human moments, creating a monster movie that truly resonates.
2. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Getting thrown into battle unprepared is terrifying, but being forced to repeat it while everyone around you dies is the nightmare our hero endures.
Tom Cruise plays a military officer with zero combat experience who suddenly finds himself trapped in a brutal alien war.
Each time he dies, the day resets, turning every failure into a painful lesson he must use to survive.
Emily Blunt shines as a hardened warrior who understands his bizarre situation better than anyone.
Together, they race against time—literally—to uncover a strategy that might finally break the loop and win an otherwise unwinnable war.
3. Okja (2017)
Friendship knows no boundaries, especially when your closest companion is a massive, genetically engineered super pig raised with love.
Director Bong Joon-ho begins with a sweet, almost whimsical tone before exposing the corporate greed lurking beneath the surface.
Young Mija has cared for Okja since birth in the Korean mountains, unaware the creature was created by a powerful meat corporation planning to reclaim it.
When they come to take Okja, she launches a desperate rescue mission across continents, driven by a bond that feels heartbreakingly real.
The film tackles uncomfortable truths about factory farming while blending humor, hope, and a wonderfully odd performance from Tilda Swinton.
4. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
Ever felt like technology was taking over your life?
This family comedy cranks that fear to eleven when smartphones and smart devices literally rebel against humanity, leaving the chaotic Mitchells as unlikely heroes.
Katie is headed to film school, her dad struggles to understand her creative world, and their final family road trip spirals completely out of control.
When an AI voice assistant launches a full robot uprising, the Mitchells must work together while animation bursts with energy through Katie’s doodles and visual flair.
The real magic comes from how the apocalypse pushes this messy, lovable family to reconnect, appreciate each other’s quirks, and rediscover what truly matters.
5. It’s What’s Inside (2024)
College reunions can be awkward, but this one spirals into chaos when someone unveils a mysterious device capable of swapping people’s bodies.
What begins as a simple gimmick quickly becomes a paranoia-fueled nightmare as nobody can tell who’s really who and long-buried secrets start surfacing.
Old grudges flare, hidden attractions twist the dynamics, and every interaction becomes suspect once friends find themselves literally in each other’s shoes.
Director Greg Jardin builds a clever puzzle box that rewards sharp attention, making each conversation feel loaded with hidden meaning.
The result is a wild, thought-provoking ride that leaves you questioning identity, memory, and perception long after it ends.
6. Don’t Look Up (2021)
Picture discovering a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth and realizing no one in power is willing to take you seriously.
That’s the maddening reality for two astronomers who become the world’s most ignored messengers of doom, shouting warnings that are twisted into entertainment.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence shine as scientists drowning in denial, spin, and social-media absurdity while every institution fails around them.
Adam McKay directs with razor-sharp satire and a stacked cast, including Meryl Streep as a hilariously disastrous president.
It’s often funny, but its message about dismissing scientific truth lands uncomfortably close to home in today’s world.
7. Starship Troopers (1997)
On the surface, this plays like a straightforward alien war movie filled with soldiers blasting giant bugs across the galaxy, but a closer look reveals one of the sharpest satires ever smuggled into a blockbuster.
Director Paul Verhoeven crafts a film that mimics fascist propaganda so precisely that some viewers miss the joke entirely.
Young recruits sign up for glory and citizenship, only to discover they’re disposable pawns in a pointless, unwinnable war.
The fake commercials and news updates scattered throughout add brilliantly absurd world-building.
Casper Van Dien leads a cast of characters who believe wholeheartedly in their heroism, even as the film ruthlessly critiques militarism, nationalism, and blind obedience.
8. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
When Earth’s energy crisis becomes dire, a space station crew tests a powerful particle accelerator that could either save humanity or tear reality apart, and things quickly go catastrophically wrong.
This third Cloverfield installment launches the franchise into space, where the crew inadvertently rips open portals between parallel universes.
Soon, impossible events unfold—walls consume people, objects materialize from nowhere, and new crew members appear who shouldn’t exist.
The claustrophobic setting amplifies the paranoia as everyone questions what’s real.
While critics were divided, Gugu Mbatha-Raw delivers a grounded, emotional performance as a scientist racing to undo the experiment before both dimensions collapse.
9. Outside the Wire (2021)
Drone pilots fight wars from a distance, but one reckless operator is suddenly sent into real combat, forcing him to confront dangers he once viewed only through screens.
His new commanding officer appears human yet hides a shocking secret that immediately shifts the mission’s stakes.
Anthony Mackie plays Leo, an advanced android leading covert operations behind enemy lines and guiding a young pilot experiencing ground warfare for the first time.
The film blends tense action with thoughtful questions about AI, ethics, and modern military strategy.
What begins as a simple assignment quickly becomes unpredictable as Leo’s true agenda emerges, revealing a near-future world that feels disturbingly plausible.
10. The Adam Project (2022)
Meeting your younger self sounds exciting until you face how annoying you once were, which happens when a time-traveling pilot crashes into the past and teams up with his twelve-year-old self.
Young Adam is grieving his father’s death while dealing with bullies, and adult Adam carries older emotional wounds from the same loss.
Together they attempt to steal technology from their late father’s lab to stop a dangerous future.
The film balances quick humor with sincere emotion, especially in its exploration of grief and family connection.
Mark Ruffalo adds warmth as their physicist father, grounding story when time-travel logic stretches.
11. Annihilation (2018)
A mysterious shimmering barrier appears along the coast, and everyone sent inside either dies or vanishes, leading a biologist played by Natalie Portman to join an all-female science team heading into the unknown.
Inside the zone, director Alex Garland builds a world that feels truly alien, with human-shaped plants, mutated creatures, and biology that no longer follows natural rules.
The film avoids tidy explanations, trusting viewers to absorb its strange beauty and growing dread.
Each team member carries personal trauma that mutates in unexpected ways within the shimmer’s influence.
It’s a slow, unsettling descent into the uncanny, anchored by an unforgettable bear scene.
12. Damsel (2024)
Fairy tales teach us that princesses get rescued by brave heroes, but this story flips the script when a young woman learns her royal marriage is actually a human sacrifice to an ancient dragon.
Thrown into the creature’s lair, she must rely on her instincts and determination rather than wait for a rescue that will never come.
The film subverts classic damsel-in-distress tropes while delivering tense survival sequences in claustrophobic cave systems.
Millie Bobby Brown brings fierce energy to a character who refuses to be a victim.
The dragon is magnificently rendered and eerily intelligent, with sci-fi elements woven into its unsettling mythology.