10 Sci-Fi Movies Where The Humans Are The Bad Guys
8. Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
At the heart of many sci-fi stories lie the seeds of distrust, giving rise to that all-too-familiar 'Us vs, Them' dynamic between humanity and whatever 'other' the story presents us with. Though the most recent reboot trilogy of the Planet of the Apes franchise deals with this in more of an obvious way, it's in 1971's Escape From the Planet of the Apes that these seeds are first sown.
Two apes, Zira and Cornelius, are accidentally sent back in time when the exploding Earth creates a time warp. On the now-intact planet, they are treated like celebrities, and although most of the world seems to welcome them straight away, a few do not.
Dr. Otto Hasslein, Science Advisor to the President, coaxes information out of them concerning the ape-dominated future they come from, and, fearing for the human race, orders that Zira's pregnancy be terminated.
From here, things go from bad to worse for the apes, and in the film's final act, both Cornelius and Zira are shot to death (their baby survives, however). The film is a perfect allegory of the human race's fear of the unknown; they learned of a future where they were no longer the kings of the hill, and they couldn't have that.