The sci-fi movies of 1993 were awesome and danced around a lot of varied ideas. The year birthed one of the biggest franchises of all time starring dinosaurs. It also helped to create the time loop genre with an offbeat comedy that has gone on to influence both movie and video game concepts.
In addition to introducing new franchises, 1993 completed two of the biggest trilogies of the era. Most of these movies can now be streamed for free or purchased outright for bargain bin prices. There will be no spoilers in this breakdown of some of the best and most notable sci-fi movies from 1993.
8 Demolition Man
Demolition Man is famous for two things in pop culture. One, it imagines a future in which Taco Bell is the one supreme fast food chain. Two, it reveals that people use seashells to wipe themselves in the bathroom, which is a long story best explained by the movie.
Dialing things back a bit, Sylvester Stallone plays a cop who is chasing Wesley Snipes’ character when they both get accidentally frozen. Both wake up and resume the chase although Stallone is more lost than Snipes is in the future. It’s a classic 90s movie that depicts a derelict future with plenty of action.
7 Ghost In The Machine
Ghost in the Machine is a sci-fi horror movie with a plot that was popular in the 90s. What if a murderer could get trapped in the Internet and continue to kill through technology? That’s the premise of this movie, with the killer going after a family he tried to kill right before his death.
It has some unique kills like one where the killer heats a whole kitchen like a microwave and literally cooks a man. The movie does not shy away from the gore either. It’s funny to look back at the Internet and VR culture from the 90s. There is some cheese to it, but Ghost in the Machine is a good movie nonetheless.
6 Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day has a loose sci-fi concept but it still counts as it was one of the first movies of its kind. Bill Murray plays a reporter who finds himself trapped in a time loop on Groundhog Day. He has to figure out how to escape one day at a time. It’s a comedy at heart, but the idea is nightmarish and the movie doesn’t hold back on the darker sides.
For example, there is a full montage of Murray killing himself like with a toaster in the tub. The time loop concept would go on to inspire games and movies. Some media even call out the inspiration directly like in Happy Death Day.
5 Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park is an all-time classic whether one is looking for an interesting sci-fi premise or a disaster horror movie. It’s one of those movies that is infinitely rewatchable, with viewers able to find new details every time they venture into the titular park. Plus, it’s great trying to memorize the quotes and master Ian Malcolm’s laugh.
It’s a magical moment every time that music swells when the main characters enter the park or when the group sees dinosaurs for the first time. The franchise has since gone on to spawn sequels, games, cartoons, and more. It’s a shame the sequels never gathered as much universal praise as the original, but they're all still pretty good.
4 Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is like an Isekai where a lucky kid gets warped into the movies. Danny, the kid in question, gets to live out his dreams with his favorite action character, Jack Slater. He even gets to meet cartoon characters a bit like Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
The movie creates a reverse Isekai as well once Danny returns to the real world with Jack to stop a killer. It’s a fun meta-action movie of the 90s in which Arnold Schwarzenegger absolutely kills it.
3 RoboCop 3
RoboCop 3 puts an end to the original trilogy before things would get rebooted in 2014. Robert John Burke replaced Peter Weller as the titular character and the age rating was bumped down from an R to a PG-13. This made the movie less violent and there wasn’t as much colorful language.
All of these reasons added up could be why so many fans regard this as the weakest point in the trilogy. It may not live up to the first, or even the second movie, but it does still manage to create some fun action set pieces while also introducing a new Terminator-like ninja assassin robot.
2 Super Mario Bros.: The Movie
Super Mario Bros.: The Movie gets a lot of flack for not being a movie adaptation like the video games. The ties to the games are weak, this is true, but, on its own, this movie rules. Mario and Luigi getting warped into the Mushroom Kingdom which is like a dystopian future ruled by dinosaur people is a wild idea.
It’s another Isekai but one that is much darker than Last Action Hero beneath the surface. The supporters of this movie are dedicated, and, in 2021, a group restored cut scenes from the movie and put the whole thing online. The Internet can be a beautiful place sometimes.
1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
The idea of four turtles becoming humanoid ninjas that can talk is already a killer sci-fi premise for a franchise. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 goes beyond this idea and transports the heroes into Japan’s past. Who could have guessed that the end of this original trilogy was going to become a time-travel movie?
Maybe they got the idea from Back to the Future 3 but replayed cowboys with samurai. Like RoboCop 3, this movie is the weakest of the original Turtles’ trilogy but also too zany for prospective viewers to pass up.