10 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films That Were Much Too Depressing For The Masses

By Brogan Morris / February 25, 2014

Since they were wholeheartedly embraced by general audiences and Hollywood's blockbuster infrastructure alike, we tend to associate the science fiction and fantasy genres with lighter, more audience-friendly films. The best science fiction has certainly always been slyly allegorical in nature, and fantasy in film has rarely been without its darker moments, but we're generally not talking about hard-hitting drama or violent action cinema here. Science fiction and fantasy movies, more often than not, are for all of us. But every so often, some Hollywood exec somewhere loses their mind and green-light some sci-fi or fantasy-tinged property without realising the limited appeal of the film they have on their hands. Mainstream movies going dark is totally acceptable, and often even encouraged - how on Earth are you going to sell a franchise sequel if you can't promote it as even a notch "darker"? But not since the grey, apocalyptic '70s have audiences gone to the cinema expecting to be made depressed by the main feature. And yet here we are, with a list of sci-fi/fantasy films that won't fill you with the expected giddiness or glee; rather, these films are more likely to leave you sullen and maybe even a little bit anxious about the terrible world we live in. All of them were too depressing for the masses; none of them set the box office alight. Here 10 ten sci-fi/fantasy films straight outta Hollywood that'll make you question whether there's any point in anything at all...