12 Hidden Sci-Fi Movies You've Probably Never Seen
7. Paprika
It’s difficult to classify the films of mercurial genius Satoshi Kon by genre, given how prone his work is to flights of pure imagination. But if it’s fair to pair his taut, tense Perfect Blue with Aronofsky’s almost-remake Black Swan and call them psychological thrillers, then we would say that 2006’s trippy Paprika is definitely science fiction—particularly considering its outsized influence on the work of a certain Hollywood auteur.
Yes, Christopher Nolan’s Inception undeniably owes a debt to Kon’s strange, delightfully offbeat sci-fi thriller, but it does both films a disservice to only consider them in comparison. Even for viewers who despised Nolan’s colder, more clinical slice of sci-fi, Kon’s vibrant vison is a unique and mesmerizing spectacle.
Following the eponymous Paprika, the alter ego of a mild-mannered psychiatrist interested in dream therapy, the flick constantly wrongfoots viewers and upends expectations, weaving a world where we’re never sure whether we’re in a dream or reality. It’s well worth a watch for genre fans, and a treat for the eyes to boot.