There is a common misconception that sci-fi movies are all laser beams, spaceships and aliens, and are aimed at children and adults with way too much disposable income. This is not remotely the case.
Well, it is a bit. But the sci-fi genre is also far more than that. It's a blending of high-concept ideas and styles designed to enhance audience experiences. New stories that don't always stick to scientific tropes or realities, allowing the viewer to see fresh ideas and different perspectives.
Real sci-fi isn't afraid to take existing themes and modify them with an other-worldly twist.
You can take horror and set it in a future setting, you can take modern day urban drama and add a single character or element that turns it on its head, or you can take a historical biopic and mould it into alternative history.
Sci-fi movies can provide some of cinema's most shocking moments and memorable films, too.
Here then are three films that loosely fit into the sci-fi category, but also present something special, shocking and memorable.
Greenland, Prime Video
Greenland is a thriller that combines the tension of a 70s disaster movie with the scale and production we associate with a modern day sci-fi blockbuster. It finds the ever reliable Gerard Butler racing around the US with his family desperately trying to survive when faced with a planet killing comet that is hurtling towards Earth.
As cities across the globe are destroyed by mere fragments of the comet, Gerry and Co battle against the growing decline of civilisation, lawlessness, the greed and hatred of the human condition, and the overwhelming realisation that the end is very much nigh.
Greenland succeeds in its ambitions due to a really solid level of direction and a real understanding of tone. The film gradually ramps up the tension, leaving its audience shook and exhausted by the end.
Also, on a lighter note, Butler once again gives outstanding beard energy.
Signs, Disney+
Overshadowed by several of his other movies, such as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and, more recently, Knock At The Cabin, Signs was M Night Shyamalan's first venture into sci-fi territory.
With a small scale, rural American backdrop and a focus on family drama over explosive spectacle, the film outlines an Alien invasion from the viewpoint of one small group of people in a small corner of the Earth.
Although not ambitious in terms of scale, Signs is an absolute masterclass in terms of storytelling, pace and tone. Its script is,l in my opinion, one of the best examples of naturalistic writing, while perfect direction from the filmmaker makes it an absolute joy to watch, even 23 years later.
It can be funny, has real depth and emotion, and really delivers is in its use of the fear of the unknown. It also features some of the best jump scares in film. Signs is classic sci- fi, updated and done right.
Tell me it didn't shock you when you first watched that Brazilian home-made birthday video scene!
The End We Start From, Netflix
It's easy to believe that all sci-fi movies have to be lavish, expensive, CGI riddled epics that push the boundaries of cinema and are set thousands of years in the future. Thankfully, this isn't always the case, and it seems that dystopian science fiction is at its best when smaller in scale – much like The End We Start From.
It tells the simple story of a heavily pregnant woman trying to reach the safety of home after an ecological and environmental crisis. London is being sunk by rising floodwater, and the film tells this tale with gritty realism, both in terms of look and its overall tone.
The constantly amazing Jodie Comer tackles the lead and the movie seems determined to push her to her limits. Disaster after disaster strikes, obstacles are to be overcome and the feeling of dread is ever present.
The theme of apocalypse can sometimes be a cliche in science fiction, but instead of nuclear war or asteroids, we have the sad and depressing mundanity of slowly rising water caused by environmental collapse.
Tense, dark and depressing at times, The End We Start From tackles difficult themes well. Don't expect space aliens or lightsabers, but do expect to come away from it exhausted.
