10 Best Science Fiction Movies (Not Set In Space)

And, before Vanilla Sky, there was the far lesser known Abre Los Ojos (English: Open Your Eyes).

Had Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe/Tom Cruise) been an original concept, it would surely hold a place on this list, albeit perhaps not such a high one.

As it stands, it is a remake of this film, which charts the tragic and confusing story of the once-confident young man César (Eduardo Noriega) who tells the events of his life and disfigurement to his prison therapist, from behind an uncanny valley prosthetic mask. However, he begins to see his existence unravel in the telling, as, simultaneously, it comes into ever-sharper focus.

Alejandro Amenábar's Spanish-language indie masterpiece splits and merges the dual planes of dreams and waking life in a decidedly anti-Inception manner, grounding itself in larger questions of humanity, reality and the coherence of memory.

Again, it is difficult to know what to say about the science fiction aspects of this mind-bender without giving too much away, but what can definitely be said is the cinematography and palette provide a strong thematic depth and moody visual architecture to the film, and that Penelope Cruz puts in the performance of her career as César's romantic counterpoint, Sofía.

Curiously, Cruz reprised her role in the Hollywood remake - but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?