20 Hidden Sci-Fi Movie Gems You Can Watch On Netflix

1. Gattaca

I mean no hyperbole when I proclaim that Gattaca is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made (and certainly the most underrated), falling short of only true masterpieces like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien. But Andrew Niccol's films stands head and shoulders above most other sci-fi in every regard.

In a film truly about details, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman star in a tale about genetics and impostors (I won't explain the plot, not because it's necessary complex or even wholly original, but because it really is best to go into Gattaca knowing as little about it as possible), all putting in great turns in a film that is far from the most famous thing on their respective CVs. But it's those details that stand out most: The way gene traitors have a derogatory knickname you can easily imagine being a thing if the situation ever occurred in real life; the set-design, which updates old Brutalist architecture and makes it look like space-age technology; the great lines, like "we managed to get discrimination down to a science", or "for future information, right handed man don't hold it with their left", a quote which is humourous without the context and immaculate within it.

Gattaca is sci-fi by way of Hitchcock, both in its story of fakers and imposers, and in its levels of suspense, which are demonstrated in three or four key scenes of real white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat tension. This is a classic film, a near-masterpiece, a strikingly preserved gem of Science Fiction cinema and one of the best you'll find on Netflix. Any other Netflix gems we missed? Share any glaring omissions down in the comments.