1.  Moon

The 2009 sci-fi drama Moon stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, who has been on a solitary mission mining helium-3, an alternative fuel, on the far side of the moon. His only companion is robot Gerty. When he suffers an accident, he realises that he hasn’t been alone all this time. And that’s about all I’d want to give away. Thoroughly underrated, Moon features a remarkable performance by Rockwell. It’s suspenseful and deeply emotional, not so much a flashy CGI fest but rather a claustrophobic psychological drama. CS

2. Interstellar

Close to ten years old and still gut-wrenching, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014) definitely is starting to look less and less surreal–except maybe for the dusty morse codes. In this film, Matthew McConaughey plays a farmer in the year 2067, where all crops have gradually succumbed to a disease. To save his children and the world, the former engineer and NASA pilot travels through space with a group of astronauts in search of a new home. With its mind blowing visuals–and three-hour playing time–Interstellar is definitely something to enjoy on a big screen. TH 

3. Space Sweepers

South Korean film Space Sweepers came out in 2021 on Netflix. If it follows your traditional “We find an innocent child that is also the host of a weapon of mass destruction” trope, it remains an interesting film to watch thanks to its directorial choices. Through the depiction of billionaires who colonise Mars, it criticises capitalism and the throw-away culture. TH 

4. Spaceballs

Mel Brooks’s spoofs just about every 1970s and 1980s space genre imaginable. While it’s definitely a work of its era (it was released in 1987), the skewering holds up remarkably well. Special mention for John Candy, who plays Barf. AG

5. Wall-E

Wall-E’s immediate target audience may be children, but that doesn’t make the film less relevant for adults. The film’s hero is an adorable trash compacting robot working on Earth, which by the 29th century, has become a literal wasteland due to excessive consumerism. While there, Wall-E finds a tiny plant which will be taken away by EVEE, a shiny robot working for a machinery that keeps humans under control. In typical Pixar fashion, the premise of the film is grave and bleak, but the plot is heartwarming. TH

6. Event Horizon

Though not exactly loved by critics, Paul W. S. Anderson’s Event Horizon is something of a cult film among horror fans. A deep-space mind-fuck of a movie (it has been called the to The Shining in space), the film stars Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill and Joely Richardson as part of a crew sent to investigate a missing space ship and finding all sorts of psychological horrors - some of the imagery is truly disturbing. DR

7. Cloud Atlas

Based on a book by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas follows six stories that take place, respectively, in 1849, 1936, 1973, 2012, 2144 and 2321. It interrogates the linearity of time by introducing cycles of story, in which characters across time influence each other, live and relive similar lives, and embody analogous roles. By the 24th century, humanity--and its cyclical nature--has moved off-planet. JP

8. Alien

In 1979 the image of an embryonic alien bursting forth from John Hurt’s chest and the later evolution of HR Geiger’s creature into the two-metre tall, salivating jaw-extending monster left viewers shocked and terrified. Ridley Scott’s first Alien film contains numerous iconic scenes and images and its cultural legacy runs deep. A true classic. DR

9. Arrival

Finally, a science fiction movie--originally a short story by Ted Chiang--where the hero is a linguist (rather than a biologist or, you know, astronaut soldiers). Arrival (2016) involves the arrival of an alien species who are trying to communicate with humans, which calls for an expert translator to learn their language. Things get a little dippy after that, as the language in question has temporal implications that shade through differently in story and movie form. Questions lingered, some of them frustratingly so, but it’s absolutely worth it for the mind-bendy plot and original take on the genre. JP

10. Silent Running

In 1972’s Silent Running the great Bruce Dern plays a botanist charged with looking after plant life in giant greenhouses sent to space to ensure the survival of plant life as Earth becomes increasingly uninhabitable. He ends up alone in space with two cute robots–Huey and Lewey–for company. Directed by special effects genius Douglas Trumbull, the film is a beautiful, thoughtful and melancholic work whose message is still relevant today. DR