The 9 best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

This spiritual sequel to 2008's Cloverfield takes an entirely different approach, forgoing found-footage cinematography and grand-scale set pieces in favor of an intimate setting and mesmerizing, character-driven storytelling. After being hit by another car while driving, a woman named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in a bunker also inhabited by a pair of men, Howard (John Goodman) and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). Howard tells Michelle he brought her there to save her life after a dangerous air contamination — but she soon discovers that things aren't quite as they seem.

Boasting grade-A performances by Winstead and Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane is "lean, and taut, and tense, and moves with Swiss-clock precision," writes EW's critic. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.

Coherence (2013)

When old friends reunite for a dinner party in a movie, you know something is about to go terribly awry. In Coherence, that "something" is the arrival of a close-passing comet — and the discovery of a house full of doppelgängers having an identical dinner party down the street. The plot is full of quantum-related twists and turns, but the film is grounded by the talented cast, which includes Buffy's Nicholas Brendon in a fun self-referential role as a former TV star.

The production is just as quirky as the premise: Director James Ward Byrkit wanted to make a low-budget film that was so stripped down, it didn't even have a script. Instead, he invited a bunch of actor friends to his living room, gave them basic character motivations, and let them improvise through the entire thing. The result, while occasionally messy, is thoroughly original. —Janey Tracey

Where to watch Coherence: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: James Ward Byrkit

Cast: Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Lorene Scafaria

Donnie Darko (2001)

"I find it kind of funny/I find it kind of sad/The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had." So go the lyrics to "Mad World," a song expertly deployed in this wildly original sci-fi thriller about a moody teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is troubled by visions of a figure in a monstrous rabbit costume. The entity warns a sleepwalking Donnie that the world will end in approximately 28 days and subsequently persuades him to carry out an escalating series of crimes in his community.

Writer-director Richard Kelly taps into the suburban alienation tackled frequently in film at the turn of the 21st century and goes deeper and more disturbing, with a fun sci-fi bent that's helped establish its cult classic status. —K.J.

Where to watch Donnie Darko: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Richard Kelly

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Ashley Tisdale

The Endless (2018)

This low-budget sci-fi horror film may be underseen compared to more mainstream films in its subgenre, but its thrills can compete with some of the best of them. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who also directed and produced the film, star as brothers who escaped a UFO death cult in their childhood but grew up to lead lives of disappointment. Upon receiving a cassette tape from the group, the brothers agree to return to the camp for one day, where they discover a series of unexplained phenomena. EW's critic praises The Endless as "a thoughtful investigation into how our past and our families shape who we are — with plenty of scares and mind-bending twists." —K.J.

Where to watch The Endless: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B (read the review)

Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead

Cast: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington, Lew Temple, James Jordan

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Gattaca (1997)

This smart sci-fi thriller has a lot on its mind, posing questions about eugenics and the debate between determinism and free will. Set in a dystopian future where humans can genetically engineer children to have only the best traits, Gattaca centers on a man named Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) who was born the old-fashioned way and thus faces discrimination. He has big dreams of space travel despite the odds being stacked against him, opting for a risky plan to pose as a genetically "valid" person and infiltrate a space agency. EW's critic writes, "The movie taps into populist fears about cloning in a way that doesn’t insult the intelligence." —K.J.

Where to watch Gattaca: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Director: Andrew Niccol

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine

Her (2013)

In 2013, you may have chuckled at the prospect of a man falling in love with his operating system. More than a decade later, as artificial intelligence gradually seeps into our day-to-day lives, the idea seems entirely plausible. Joaquin Phoenix stars in writer-director Spike Jonze's unconventional sci-fi love story as a lonely man who develops an intimate relationship with his phone's new OS (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).

"Jonze's satiric, brave-new-world premise is undeniably clever," writes EW's critic. "He clearly has a lot on his mind about how seductive technology is and how much easier life would be if we could insulate ourselves from messy human emotions." —K.J.

Where to watch Her: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson

Poor Things (2023)

This stylized odyssey from Yorgos Lanthimos features Emma Stone in one of her most daring performances yet. The actress plays Bella Baxter, a woman who is brought back to life by a scientist who implants her unborn baby's brain into her. Living with the mind of a child, Bella soon discovers the dangers lurking out in the world and matures into a woman with agency.

The visually stunning film features a strong ensemble of actors, including Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, and Ramy Youssef, but this is Stone's movie through and through, in a fully committed performance that won her her second Oscar for Best Actress. "Stone portrays Bella's vicissitudes with a fantastical fluidity," EW's critic writes, "a complete lack of vanity, and a deadpan, outrageous humor." —K.J.

Where to watch Poor Things: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Cast: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

The first two Quiet Place films explored how a family adapts to a world where no one can make a sound for fear of being attacked by hypersensitive extraterrestrial predators. This sideways prequel takes it back to the beginning, where these alien creatures terrorize a New York City ill-prepared to fight back. It's the first day of the apocalypse, and the action centers on a cancer patient (Lupita Nyong'o) and a law student (Joseph Quinn) who team up for their own survival. EW's critic writes that A Quiet Place: Day One "ends up being quite touching in between scenes when it’s making you jump," thanks to Nyong'o and Quinn's heartfelt performances. —K.J.

Where to watch A Quiet Place: Day One: Amazon Prime Video

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Michael Sarnoski

Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou

The Vast of Night (2020)

This underrated sci-fi indie centers on a pair of teenage friends living in 1950s New Mexico who investigate a cryptic audio signal that suddenly interrupts a radio program. Putting the pieces together, they unravel a conspiracy that may suggest proof of alien life. With a budget of just $700,000, director Andrew Patterson pulls off a number of stunning shots, transporting us to a specific time and place. As EW wrote following the film's success, "Just the setting and veneer of the film — it's framed as an episode of a Twilight Zone-esque anthology TV series — should be enough for you to guess more or less where it's headed." —K.J.

Where to watch The Vast of Night: Amazon Prime Video

Director: Andrew Patterson

Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz