10 Great Recent Sci-Fi Movies You Probably Haven't Seen

6. Coherence

Under the Skin
Oscilloscope Pictures

Coherence was made for just $50,000, though it only grossed double that at $102,000 meaning it wasn’t the fairytale box office smash on a dime we sometimes get. It passed practically everyone by at the time, but it’s definitely worth catching up on.

It sits firmly in the mind bending niche of science fiction, toying with the idea of reality itself. The movie opens on a dinner party, when the power suddenly goes out following a comet flying overhead. The movie doesn’t linger on the scenario too much though, using it as set up for the trippy events still to come.

They fail to get the power back on, and decide to investigate a nearby house, as it is the only one still aglow. In there, each member of the party finds an alternate reality version of themselves.

It’s a dramatic concept, but what underlines it is the simple character interactions. By virtue of a physicist at the party, they decide one reality will collapse once the comet passes, and they struggle to cope with what that could mean.

Science fiction runs through Coherence’s veins, providing a substantial premise. The real success here though is all about the characters.

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