10 Sci-Fi Movies One Step From Perfection

With a far more impressive cast than most space-based sci-fi horrors, Life could have been an over-budgeted Alien clone but instead manages to emerge from the shadow of its famous inspirations with an identity of its own. This is down to the daring decision to kill off major cast members early and often despite the high wattage of their star power, leaving the audience unable to guess who—if anyone—is most likely to make it out alive.

Combine this tense atmosphere with an inventive alien design and some surprisingly moving character development and the resultant flick ends up far better than anticipated and almost even justifies stealing its title from whatever uber-pretentious art film could otherwise have used it.

So what’s it doing on this list?

Well, whilst Life might get a lot right, it misses the mark with a far-took-bleak ending which borders on silly in its over-the-top gloominess, with not only the entire cast dying, but the entire world now at risk of being painfully offed by the alien threat.