This article is part of a directory: Game Rant's Ultimate Sci-Fi Guide
Table of contents

When it comes to the most popular sci-fi movies in the 90s, there are obviously a few names that are always mentioned first. Popcorn flicks like Independence Day and Back to the Future 2 are some big favorites from that era. However, there are quite a few films from that genre that found a way to fly under the radar. Others were still quite popular at the time, but have been largely forgotten as the years rolled by. In fact, there are several science fiction films that people often forget about until they're reminded they existed and that they were released in the 1990s.

When it comes to the sci-fi genre, the fact of the matter is that there are so many movies pumped out every year, that it's hard to pay tribute to them all. Part of that is because there are just so many topics that fit into the larger umbrella. There's the dystopian future or the disease that's going to end it all. There are the alien invasions by creatures that have technology well beyond humanity's and there are the time travelers that are trying to set things right after everything went so very wrong.

Perhaps best of all about this particular era is that there were quite a few actors who really got to cut loose in the roles they played. And for whatever reason, the last 20+ years have largely left audiences and even devoted fans of that era, almost entirely forgetting some of these films even existed.

RELATED: Denis Villeneuve Shares Why Dune: Part Two Will Be A 'Cinematic Treat'

Updated May 22, 2022, by Oliver VanDervoort: It feels as though science fiction is making a big comeback, perhaps because there’s so much that people wish they could fix right this second with the help of futuristic technology. Because of that, it appears as though there are even more sci-fi films that really deserve to get loved more than they might have been when they were first out in theaters. Luckily, streaming services and digital video platforms make it that much easier to see the kind of movies that might have been overlooked, especially in the sci-fi genre when they were new and getting overshadowed by bigger and bigger-budget flicks.

Gremlins 2

Gremlins 2

There’s a chance this particular choice is going to see a bit of pushback considering it was panned as an awful sequel to a good sci-fi horror flick. However, once the message of Gremlins 2 is really taken into account, it turns out the movie is quite a bit better than people gave it credit for. Yes, there is an actual point to Gremlins 2 and that message actually smacks moviegoers in the face.

If there’s one thing the audience should have taken away from the flick, it’s that technology and science run amok can bring society to the brink of collapse. Of course, the real reason this movie makes the cut is that it has a truly odd way of delivering that message and over-the-top acting that went from bad to hilariously campy.

Cube

Cube

Cube is one of those movies that was well ahead of its time. The plot of the film is actually pretty simple. A group of strangers wake up trapped in a cubed room with no idea how they got there. They eventually get out of that room, only to find themselves going into more cubed rooms.

Some of these rooms are booby-trapped and one by one, the strangers start getting killed off. The film is similar to a couple of movies that have come out more recently in the Escape Room franchise.

Event Horizon

Event Horizon

Event Horizon is one of those films that somehow gets forgotten despite the fact that it stars Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne. It starred those guys when they were basically among the bigger names in Hollywood. Event Horizon also happens to be one of the better horror science-fiction films out there, and yet it doesn’t get discussed all that much when people are looking for exactly that kind of movie.

RELATED: 'Event Horizon' Is A Lovecraftian Space Nightmare That Was Ahead Of Its Time

The movie stars Sam Neill as a scientist and Fishburne as the captain of a starship known as the Event Horizon. It turns out that the ship is using a new kind of drive that folds space and time in order to travel faster than light. However, it seems to have also opened a hole in space that appears to have led to a hell dimension. As the crew stays on the ship, their lives become nightmares and Neil becomes the living embodiment of hell. The whole film is quite spooky and a neat take on the idea of what hell is.

The Faculty

the faculty

The Faculty is a great little teen sci-fi thriller that has a kind of unique take on the Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe. In the film, a water-loving alien comes to earth and disguises itself as a teen girl, who then proceeds to take over the teachers of a local high school.

A group of teens that seem like a take on the Breakfast Club has to band together in order to beat back the baddie. This isn’t a movie that was supposed to win awards, but it’s good clean fun.

Dark City

dark city

Dark City is one of those science fiction movies that people seem to have forgotten, despite the fact that it was a film that managed to set itself apart for its very interesting and original plot and a cast that was one big-name star after another. It's safe to claim that this film qualifies as a cult classic, but it's an absolute travesty that it's not considered one of the best sci-fi films ever by a larger audience.

The movie centers around a man named John Murdoch (played by Rufus Sewell) who awakens to the realities of his world while most of the rest of his city continues to largely be "asleep." The realities are that the city has been taken off of the planet earth and is now being ruled by an alien race that largely hide in the shadows and come out when everyone is asleep. John spends a good portion of the film trying to wake others up to the reality of their world while trying not to get killed by the alien overlords who are on to him.

The film also starred Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Hurt in a flick that did an amazing job of setting the heavy atmosphere. It's sort of amazing that this film never got a big-budget sequel, but that is also what allows a movie that was well-received to qualify as underappreciated. There's also the fact that the film's director Alex Proyas has had an up and down career since this movie, with his biggest hit since likely being the Will Smith shoot-em-up that is I Robot.

Gattaca

gattaca

Speaking of star-studded movies that were incredibly well-received when they were released, only to be largely forgotten sci-fi movies by 2021, Gattaca might be the most underappreciated film on this list. Starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman when both performers were near the height of their popularity, this film was actually nominated for an Academy Award. These days, even the most diehard science fiction film aficionados might forget to list this among the best of all time. However, the dystopian story that warned against the dangers of eugenics has a lasting message that can also serve as an underdog story.

RELATED: Ethan Hawke Movies To Watch

Gattaca stars Ethan Hawke as a man who lives in a world where only the genetically engineered "Valids" really get to take advantage of all that life offers. However, Hawk's "in-valid" Vincent manages to steal the identity of a man who is about to join the space program (Jude Law as a perfect person who doesn't care they're perfect.) Vincent eventually falls in love with Thurman's Irene while attempting to keep everyone from finding out his real identity in the middle of an investigation into a murder. The plot is actually quite a bit better than it sounds and it's one that needs to be watched again today.

Mars Attacks

mars attacks

For whatever reason, when talking about the most underappreciated science fiction films from the 90s, it appears one of the qualifying characteristics is that it had to star a ton of big stars, yet is still largely forgotten. Jack Nicholson, Martin Short, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J Fox, Annette Benning, Glenn Close, Danny Devito, Rod Steiger, and Natalie Portman are just a few of the big names that appeared in this sci-fi comedy that was riffing on some of the very serious alien invasion movies of the 40s and 50s. Perhaps it was the over-the-top goofiness or just too many big actors, but this movie was largely panned back in the day and it's still being massively underappreciated today.

Starship Troopers

starship troopers

Quite a bit of what makes Starship Troopers so underappreciated is that people didn't bother reading the book that came before it. The over the top rhetoric and in fact, overacting was actually the point. A plot that was rife with propaganda and a weirdly unconnected plotline was also intentional.

The story behind Starship Troopers was a cautionary tale about putting duty to a country over everything. When watching the film, understanding it's supposed to be satire and not just a film about soldiers who take on giant bug aliens, will make it look quite a bit better upon further reflection.

12 Monkeys

12 monkeys

It might be hard for this generation of moviegoers to fathom, but there was a time when Brad Pitt played characters that weren't always laid back and ultra-cool. His character in 12 Monkeys is just an over-the-top lunatic who constantly gets in the way of time-traveling Bruce Willis' attempts to stop a deadly virus that will basically wipe out humanity in the future, from getting its start.

It might seem weird to say the movie that spawned the 12 Monkeys television show is underappreciated, but somehow it's absolutely accurate when talking about this flick. This is one of those sci-fi movies that had a little bit of everything. Dystopian futures based on a plague, time travel, and great acting. That makes it one of the best ever, not just the 90s.

MORE: So-Bad-They're-Good Movies Perfect For A Midnight Marathon