10 Best Science Fiction Movies (Not Set In Space)

Los Cronocrímenes, or Timecrimes for those of the English-speaking persuasion, is a low-budget Spanish thriller written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, which ticks all the right boxes when it comes to doing here-and-now, real-world sci-fi right.

A self-contained story of self-deception, obliquely revolving around a bandaged man and a mysterious machine, Los Cronocrímenes follows a hapless everyman, Héctor, as his life begins to loop in on itself, unravelling in the process.

This feature intersects heavily with one of the key subgenres of the science fiction film: time travel (which has earned an entire article of its own) and is, as should be expected, a must-see in that category also.

With clever camerawork, visual metaphors and thematic resonances that, while seemingly ever-present in the genre, nonetheless feel fresh and prescient, the film delivers a mystery built on tightly knitted time travel and a time machine that remains something of a mystery long after the credits have rolled.