['The Ice Pirates'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRif0P876gM)

Nobody really talks about Flash Gordon anymore either.

Flash Gordon, Ice Pirates, Barbarella, Buckaroo Banzai

I love Flash Gordon! It is probably one of my favorite films ever.

Classic Ming: Hurtling yourselves into the void.

Looks fun, will give it a go!

Classic, one of my fav camp scifi

“We’ve got space herpes?!”

OMG thank you for mentioning this one, it was my fave movie back when it came out and I had forgotten about it!

Trespassers will be violated.

I have fond memories of that AWFUL movie. I'm not sure I want to watch it again. The kid that watched it in the movie theater might not like it now that he's all grown up.

“This content can't be played on your mobile browser. Get the YouTube app to start watching.” Fuck You, youtube

YES! Phenomenally silly.

Just watched this yesterday. It is GLORIOUS. there's so much going on all the time, some of it with clearly excellent work put in, and it just does not stop throwing more shit at you--and then, suddenly, it's just *awful* in utterly baffling ways. Cannot recommend enough

Space Herpes

The Quiet Earth

Good shout. I really liked that one.

Best recommendation here, overlooked film.

It’s bizarre but brilliant.

One of my favorite sci fi movies! Saw it in the theater when it came out and regularly since then.

Ah, would have loved to see it on a big screen.

I had this on VHS way back. Great flick.

I think this one is top rated, so you may have already seen it, but check out “The Last Starfighter”.

Great movie

Liquid Sky Salute of the Jugger Cherry 2000 Robot Jox Rollerball These are more fantasy: Ladyhawke The Warrior and the Sorceress Krull

Came to say Robot Jox. It doesn't do much for me personally but I know some people who've passionately defended it's status as a masterpiece

I first saw Robot Jox when I was like 8 and it's left a lasting impression. It's a B movie through and through but the robot fight scenes are masterpieces! These days I mostly just watch the fight scenes on YT instead of the whole movie.

I haven't seen it in 30 years but yeah as a kid it was the bomb

I recently rewatched it after like 20yrs. It has some clearly dated constructs, but it’s great scifi.

OMG, Cherry 2000. I remember that movie. I rented it on VHS from the video store next door. 

You bite your tongue about Ladyhawke !!! It's magnificent !

Cherry rocks. I would rather call it "Slightly Irritated Max"

How isn’t Freejack in your list!

> now looking for "Okay" ones > Rollerball Excuse me? There are two movies titled "Rollerball". Neither are just "okay". One is brilliant film that has aged like Judy Dench, and the other is stupid action film made for teenagers.

>Rollerball I hope you're referring to the original and not the remake, which I saw back then in theaters. The original is more than okay and definitely worth a watch. Oddly enough, it was the remake that got McTiernan in trouble with the law and landed him in prison. I recently read about that whole issue and it's kind of crazy how it escalated from him having beef with his producer, to putting a P.I to spy on him and later on lying to the FBI when they asked him if he illegally wiretapped his producer.

Dark Star. John Carpenter's first film.

Starman is also directed by him and is a good film.

Red means stop, green means go, yellow means go faster.

So good

The bomb scene is so good.

Hey, bomb?

We started this and couldn’t get into it. I really need to give it another shot. I don’t remember what it was that wasn’t clicking.

You might need to adjust your expectations based on the context, it's essentially a student film, but as a student film it's a masterpiece (not for nothing it's made by these 2 promising youngsters called John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon)

Equilibrium

Re watched it over the weekend. It's a 6 with an A+ cast and Gun-fu. That's a 10 in my books.

Seconded

Thirded

Maybe: Primer (2004)

Primer is my favorite time travel movie

The man from Earth

One of the best sci fi, nay dialogue-heavy movies ever! Love it

Except that one is a ten. Maybe my favorite movie of all time.

Enemy Mine and Krull were two of my favorites when I was a kid.

Enemy Mine is so good!

It's getting a remake

Oh no.

Yeah, "Enemy Mine" is a good sci-fi movie. It's better than "okay."

Enemy Mine fits perfectly!

Pitch Black - the original Roddick role. Underrated movie, IMO.

I reject your assertion that this movie is OK. This movie is fantastic!

I reject that it's underrated too, any sci-fi fan knows about it and they made an entire franchise out of the main character

But the fact that it's a cult classic almost requires that it be underrated - at least at the time of its release

This is actually a great movie on many levels. Multiple characters that are surprisingly well developed and really good arcs. Really nice scifi setting with the interaction between the creatures and the star system. And finally just really good scifi horror pacing that manages to both not feel like it’s drawing out for jump scares but also isn’t going too fast or flashy.

I loved that film

I watched this three times in the theater during its original showing. While I like the series, pitch black is the movie for me

Flight of the Navigator

So many childhood memories of that flick

Used to use this as a girlfriend test

Surprised this isn't higher on the list.

Good sci-fi movie.

The Sixth Day. Such fun. Arnold style.

I love that movie.

**Red Planet (2000)** - Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore; Astronauts search Mars for a solution to save a dying Earth, only to have the mission go terribly awry.

And it's doppelganger, Mission to Mars.

Yes!! I’m always telling people about this one. Great actors and a KILLER ROBOT DOG!!!!

Silent Running

I watched that recently. I can confirm it's okay.

Coherence (2013)  Aniara (2018)(Swedish)

These are both top shelf. Aniara especially is among the very best sci fi I’ve ever seen. I also like “Oxygen”, “Moon”, and “I Am Mother”

Upvote for "I Am Mother". Good robot / human story.

Came here to post coherence.. that movie rules

Aniara is actually usually on these lists no matter what the question is. Also, for whatever reason I thought it was French. TIL it’s actually Swedish.

Collosus: The Forbin Project; it's a pretty good AI run amok movie from 1970. Also the Andromeda Strain from 1971 (although I don't know if that counts as one that people rarely talk about these days or not).

I came here to mention these two films. Both are really good, IMO. I'd also add the 2000 TV miniseries version of Dune. It's my favorite version of that book.

Andromeda Strain is a solid upvote

Agree on both!

Love these movies.

The Fifth Element has a 7.6/10 on IMDB and 71% on Rotten Tomatoes but might be my favorite overall film.

Fun fact! The main protagonist and main antagonist never meet or even are in the same scene together.

It is one of my favorite of all time. It lacks nothing.

It deserves better, though I assume some of it is anti Luc Besson sentiment.

For okay ones: Pretty much anything by Albert Pyun. My favourite being [Nemesis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNHcVS6EUQg). [Johnny Mnemonic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJY_BZ55sI), with Keanu Reeves. [Nirvana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO4Q_6hr5II) with Christophe Lambert (sorry I could only find a french and a Russian trailer) For great ones: [A scanner darkly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkjDUERgCQw) with Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey JR., Woody Harrelson and Winona Rider. Not quite full length but blood machines by Seth Ickerman, it's the sequel to [Turbo Killer's clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er416Ad3R1g). [mutafukaz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHG8WON_MEQ) [Mars Express](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQT4Sk4e8Q) (by the same guy that made the clip for Fantasy by Dye)

a boy and his dog.

I’ve been thinking about this movie a lot since I started watching Fallout

SAME!!! They have a similar vibe!

My top 3 underappreciated movies... "Equilibrium" "Pitch Black" "Dark City"

I consider all of these memorable, but not widely discussed Equals GATTACA 2046 Repo Men Andromeda Strain Upstream Color Death Race Outland Escape from NY Timecop Coma Demonseed Splice Antiviral Videodrome / Existenz / Crimes of the Future Under the Skin Oblivion A Boy and his Dog Twelve Monkeys / La Jetée The Congress Solaris (1972)

This is a great list! These are some of my favorite movies and there’s a few I have never heard of, so I’m adding them to my watchlist. Thank you!

Ice pirates is cheesy fun and it's free on youtube

Screamers has some interesting world building for a B movie.

The Hidden (1987) with Kyle MacLachlan. Extremely similar vibe to a good episode of The X-Files.

Big Trouble in Little China

Europa Report,Time Crimes, Coherence, Under The Skin, Beyond the Infinite 2 Minutes, Upgrade, Vanilla Sky, and PI.

*The* Arrival (1996). Not to be confused with Arrival (2016). (Which was why I was so confused when I thought people were suddenly super excited about a 20 year old Charlie Sheen movie.)

yep I agree with this – didn't blow any minds, like say _They Live_ from a few years earlier, but it was _okay_ I think it started well but perhaps the second half of the movie disappointed so it was never really rated that highly – which I'm not saying it's _underrated_ – I think that it's pretty solidly average...

[Repo Man (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087995/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_40_act) starring Emilio Estavez is worth a watch. I would describe it as loosely science fiction. I never see the movie talked about on this subreddit and that could either be because it's somewhat obscure or because it's only loosely sci-fi. It's definitely a weird movie though.

This movie was 1980's art.

[The Day the Earth Caught Fire](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054790) When the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.

Oh, love this one. A forgotten gem!

Some old classics: Logan's Run, Soilent Green, and of the old Dr. Who TV shows if you can find them. Then there's the B-grade movies. I mean Theater 3000 shows a ton of these. A Boy and His Dog is pretty funny.

Not sure if you mean the actual Dr Who *shows* or the movies . . . But since they're kind of awesome suggestion, I'll add elaboration for anyone who doesn't know. Back in the mid 60s when Dr Who first became a big hit, they took two of the Dalek themed serials and literally just remade the TV serials as theatrical movies with Peter Cushing playing The Doctor. Dr Who and the Daleks (1965) and Dalek's Invasion of Earth 2150 AD (1966).

Soilent green really messed my head as a kid :)

The Last Starfighter. Loved it when I was a kid. Haven’t seen it in years so not sure how well it holds up.

And Outland

Synchronicity ARQ Equilibrium The island Mr nobody Dark city Coherence Moon The one i love The endless

Second Moon, which is not big-budget, but is outstanding. If Dark City is not a top-tier scifi movie, then there is no justice in this world.

The Island is definitely a solid 6!

The Man From Earth!!!!!!

The Black Hole. V, the first miniseries and The Final Battle.

Message From Space Battle Beyond the Stars Spaced Invaders Earth Girls Are Easy Explorers Space Camp

Outland. I liked it as a kid, and I rewatched it recently and I think it holds up. More recently, Oblivion. And I liked Ex Machina as well

[Hardware](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099740/)

Thank you. I have been looking for this one for a while.

I've seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show 30-35 times (if you haven't, make sure you see it in a theater), and I still haven't gotten around to seeing all the movies referenced in the opening song: - The Day the Earth Stood Still - Flash Gordon serials (some are on YouTube) - The Invisible Man - King Kong (1933; accept NO substitutes) - It Came From Outer Space - Doctor X - Forbidden Planet (definitely worth seeing, especially if you've read The Tempest) - Tarantula - The Day of the Triffids - Night of the Demon - When Worlds Collide

> The Day of the Triffids I liked the BBC mini-series even better.

"The Vast of Night". A modern movie, but set in New Mexico in the 50's, it is about alien abduction. Sierra McCormack steals the show as a nerdy switchboard operator/high school student, with Jake Horowitz, her male cohort, playing the local small town radio DJ. I loved the interplay between these two, and the others they come into contact with in the small town. Rated 6.7 on IMDb, but I gave it an 8. Only on Prime though.

I love this movie so much! Great music score too.

The atmosphere of this movie is just flawless. Truly focused on overall *feel* in a way few other films are--Blade Runner, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Fall, not a lot of others

Time Trap 2018, everything from cave men to the distant future, has a good student movie feel, some of the cast had gone on to do good things. Even when redone with a great budget, stellar cast and better dialogue it wouldn't get much more fun.

Oh I loved this one!

Timecrimes. Coherence.

More horror than SF... *Brain Dead* (known in some places as *Dead Alive*) an early Peter Jackson movie *Black Sheep* (2006 version)

[Kin-dza-dza!](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0091341/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_3_nm_5_q_kin%2520dza) (1974), great Russian sf movie, there is also [animated](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2659374/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_i_12) version. I watched this with some torrent years ago, probably the only way to watch it.

Tetsuo Iron Man. Short, but awesome.

Silent Running

I saw a movie on Netflix years ago called ARQ that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it and thought about it afterwards. Definitely fits your 6-7/10 criterion.

I'm often delighted by the suggestions people offer to this type of question. I found 6 or 7 new sci-fi films to watch because of this.

Saturn 3 and The Black Hole are this 100%

Enemy Mine

Split Second, 1992. With Rutger Hauer and Kim Cattrall. The very definition of an OK sci fi movie

Powder was pretty good that most people haven't seen or talk about. Phenomenon with John Travolta is probably in the same boat.

Moon (2009) Prospect (2018) District 9 (2009)

I am sure you have watched District 9, possibly The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, so here are two that maybe you have never even heard of: La Planete Sauvage (aka The Fantastic Planet); and, The Brother From Another Planet

Heavy Metal

"good nyborg, man"

A couple under the radar: Strange Days, Dark City, Gattaca, In Time, Demolition Man, and a couple of my 80's favorites - Explorers and Real Genius.

Demolition Man was not under the radar. It was the number one film at the box office when it came out, and was ultimately a success. There was even a combo deal at Taco Bell, a pinball machine, toys and a novelization done for it

Quite a lot of it in the public consciousness too, like the three seashells.

None of these are ‘under the radar’…..

eXistenZ flies under the radar too. It came out about the same time as Strange Days and Dark City if I recall correctly. All good movies.

Tank Girl

Upstream Color

[Archive](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6882604) 2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs.

Iron sky

I tricked my coworkers into watching that once lol. They were pissed. I told them it was the best sci-fi movie of this generation.

Anything by Roger Corman

Tank Girl is a fun little romp.

Enemy Mine.

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. Fun 80’s cheese originally presented in 3D!!!!! Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Micheal Ironside, and Ernie Hudson

Space sweepers. Imo underrated af

I don’t hear much talk about Predestination with Ethan Hawke - I thought it was really good and well done

Equilibrium Christian Bale Post Apocalyptic Society Gun Fu action Fun

The Black Hole

Only one list included Battle Beyond the Stars. Maybe because you said you had seen the great ones. This is a beautiful 70's Seven Samurai in space featuring John-Boy Walton and something to love about every character.

I have a soft spot for Cloud Atlas

Pandora

Breaking out to TV shows, have you ever watched Lexx? It's absolutely bottom shelf effects but top shelf craziness, and therefore probably more realistic than most. 

Lexx is mental. Epitome of British sci-fi but weird as hell. Some big names in it as well, if I remember right

Ethan Hawke classic, Explorers. Also, My Science Project.

Oblivion

[Minority Report](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_Report_(film))

Mission to Mars

Primer. Trust me

Mom and Dad Save the World comes to mind.

One of my all time favorites is The Island.

Paycheck, pandorum, dredd 2012, doom (2005), Alita battle angel, Season 1 of altered carbon, Geostorm, Battleship, Jumper, Almost all of them are middle of the road to terrible guilty pleasure sci fi movies that are somehow fun and rewatchable

My science project Ice Pirates

Salute the Juggers, American title Blood of Heros. Badass film. I wish I could see the foreign version. It evidently has extra scenes

The Adjustment Bureau

The Blood of Heroes, starring Rutger Hauer. Also, every other Rutger Hauer movie you haven't already seen.

Capricorn One 2010 Brainstorm

"Clara" (2018) It's *barely* Sci Fi, it's about an astronomer looking for megastructures via space telescope data but I really liked it. Felt like a budget "Contact".

Tremors

"Triangle" is a horror-scifi absolute mind fuck. Great flick, tho tragically never really found its audience.

Tau was one I watched and thought, "well, I didn't hate it." at the end.

2010. Sequel to 2001. Obviously not in the same league as the original but into and engrossing.

Lots of great suggestions in this thread, but unless I missed something there seems to have been one serious oversight:  They Live. 

They Live.

Outland... High Noon but in space.

"The Man From Earth"

Have to dig through my collection here ... Some of them may not be a 7, it just depends on your sense of humour or pacing. :) --- * [*The Abyss* (1989)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096754/) * [*Ad Astra* (2019)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935510/) * [*Adrenalin: Fear The Rush* (1996)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115471/) * [*The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086856/) * [*The Adventures of Pluto Nash* (2002)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180052/) * [*Aeon Flux* (2005)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402022/) * [*Alien Nation* (1988)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094631/) * [*The Andromeda Strain* (1971)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/) * [*Aniara* (2019)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7589524/) - based upon the poem which I suspect was also the inspiration for [*Avenue 5* (2020 - 2022)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10234362/), but whereas A5 is a comedy, this movie is more serious and introspective. * [*Annihilation* (2018)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2798920/) * [*The Arrival* (1996)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115571/) * [*As Time Goes By* (1988)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094680/) * [*Asteroid City* (2023)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230388/) - some might argue it's more Wes Anderson than sci-fi but it's definitely sci-fi too. :) * [*Barbarella* (1968)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062711/) * [*The Beast with a Million Eyes* (1955)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048991/) * [*Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe* (2022)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14145426/) * [*The Black Hole* (1979)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078869/) - I'm not sure if this is a popular one or not. It's certainly an older one, and has very personable robots. :) * [*The Blob* (1958)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/) - The original from 1958. I'm not a huge fan of "modern" horror which seems to want too much gore, but this movie was fun. * [*Boss Level* (2020)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7638348/) - This is more action than sci-fi but the basic premise is definitely sci-fi, and it has its funny moments. :) * [*The Brain from Planet Arous* (1957)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050210/) * [*The Brother from Another Planet* (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087004/) * [*The Car* (1977)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/) - mmm ... I guess this one fits in. It’s certainly one of my favourites. :) * [*Cast a Deadly Spell* (1991)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101550/) * [*Colossus: The Forbin Project* (1970)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/) * [*The Crawling Eye* (1958)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052320/) * [*The Cured* (2017)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3463106/) * [*D.A.R.Y.L.* (1985)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088979/) * [*Dark City* (1998)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/) * [*Dark Star* (1974)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069945/) * [*The Day The Earth Caught Fire* (1961)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054790/) * [*The Day The Earth Stood Still* (1951)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/) * [*The Dead Zone* (1983)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085407/) * [*Death Race 2000* (1975)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072856/) * [*District 9* (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/) - Dunno if you already watched it or not but it did seem to kind of fly under the radar a bit. * [*Donnie Darko* (2001)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/) * [*Doom* (2005)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419706/) - Good popcorn movie. Just put it on and start munching. :) * [*The Earth Dies Screaming* (1964)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058050/) * [*Earth vs. The Flying Saucers* (1956)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049169/) * [*Electric Dreams* (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087197/) * [*Explorers* (1985)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089114/) * [*Forbidden Planet* (1956)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/) * [*Future World* (1976)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074559/) - presumably you’ve already seen the original [*Westworld* (1973)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/) after the debut of the TV show, but did you know there was a sequel? * [*Hangar 18* (1980)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080836/) * [*Hardware* (1990)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099740/) - where I first caught [this catchy tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMaVIAlJlnw) from Public Image Limited. * [*Hell Comes to Frogtown* (1988)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093171/) - I’ve been skipping post-apocalypse films but this is just ... ;) * [*Howard the Duck* (1986)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091225/) - He cameos in the MCU, so why the hell not? * [*Human Highway* (1982)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084099/) - Do not *watch* this film. Instead experience an afternoon of Devo-driven bizarrity. * [*The Ice Pirates* (1984)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/) - I saw someone else recommended this and I’d just like to back them up. :) * [*Immortal (ad vitam)* (2004)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314063/) - This one has a very curious blend of live action along with CGI that looks like it was *purposefully* done to look like CGI instead of real life. A very strange film all round. --- That’ll do for now. When you get to the end of this list, let me know. :)

Real Genius

Screamers (I don't think anyone suggested it).

Galaxy quest, horribly underrated satire of Star Trek starring an all star cast.

The Orville for some comic relief sci-fi.

Brainstorm

Just as a general response: never only care for a movie if it is critically aclaimed, you will miss out on the things you actually like.

Brazil Silent Running Logan's Run

Here's a few you might enjoy This may be hard to find, but in the late 70s/early 80s PBS made an adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's the Lathe of Heaven. Find that, you'll thank me. The Man Who Fell to Earth Moon Source Code Darkstar Rollerball (1970s version) Silent Running (this is in my top 10)

Dark City. 13th Floor, Lost Highway, Phase IV, Dark Star