10 Sci-Fi Movies That Had No Right To Be This Good

2009 was the year of the outrageously expensive sci-fi outing. James Cameron's Avatar hit screens in December, shamelessly utilizing 3D technology to bring the gorgeous world of Pandora to life. The film commanded a budget of nearly $250 million, painting a future for the genre where any outing in search of credibility would require equally colossal financial backing to achieve such mind-blowing visual results.

Step forward Neill Blomkamp's District 9. Filmed on a comparatively modest budget of $30 million and shot on-location in South Africa, District 9 was released four months prior to Avatar, and blew away the proposed status quo that the outrageous budget bestowed upon the latter would imply. The film's premise revolves around a UFO arrival, swiftly morphing into a tale invoking thoughts of today's migrant crisis with an extra-terrestrial twist, expertly guided by Sharlto Copley in a captivating lead performance.

Following a wildly successful campaign of viral marketing, Blomkamp's picture was critically acclaimed, receiving four Oscar nominations - including one for Best Picture. Avatar indicated that a new era was upon Hollywood - one in which survival in the sci-fi genre depended on the mind-blowing level of authenticity one was able to achieve with CGI. District 9 - through a combination of superb visual effects on a lower budget, grounded and relatable performances, and an innate examination of what it means to be human - blasted such assumptions out of the water.