It’s the weekend, which probably means you have some down time. What better activity than catching up on some of 2016’s best sci-fi and fantasy films ?
The films below are currently available to stream (or to buy on Blu-ray) and had a relatively small or unsuccessful release, so we’re guessing you missed at least some of them. Most importantly, they’re good!
Synchronicity
This ultra small sci-fi mind-bender is one of those films that you watch and immediately want to dissect. It’s about a group of friends who create time travel and then get paranoid about people attempting to steal it. Or have they already? It’s currently available on Netflix.
Lazer Team
The team behind Rooster Teeth crowd-sourced this surprisingly polished and funny movie about a group of regular guys who split up elements of an alien super suit that makes its wearer invincible. For a movie as small as this is, you’ll be surprised how good it looks.
Southbound
This horror anthology tells multiple stories that dive into lots of weird, creepy places, all in a vast, desert wasteland. Come for the creepy cults, stay for the awesomely-designed creatures and gross-out surgery.
10 Cloverfield Lane
This movie was a decent sized hit at the box office but, in case you missed it, you should check it out. It’s about a young woman who is mysteriously locked in a bunker and told the world is ending around her. Great performances and a killer ending make this one worth your while. Read our review and more here.
Midnight Special
Midnight Special is a film very much made in the mould of ’80s sci-fi, with a little more heart and modern effects. It’s about a boy with special powers and the people who are ready to give their lives to get him where he needs to be. Read our review and more here.
The Lobster
Imagine a world where, if you don’t have a significant other by a certain point in your life, you are discarded and turned into an animal. That’s just part of this weird, hilarious and subversive film.
Hardcore Henry
The world’s first wholly POV action film is light on story and character but heavy on incredibly impressive visual effects and stunts. You are put into the eyes of a cyborg on a mission to save the woman he loves and, holy crap, the things you’ll see are insane. Read our review and about the making of the film here.
Elstree 1976
This fascinating documentary follows several actors who played teeny, tiny roles in a movie you may have possibly seen before, by the name of Star Wars. It certainly has its lulls, but the best parts make it worth watching. It was actually released in Australia last year, but it only got a US release recently so we’re including it in this roundup anyway. Read our review.
High-Rise
The messed up exploits of an apocalyptic apartment building are the subject of this visceral thriller starring Loki, AKA Tom Hiddleston. Read our review.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Yes, for real. This movie, of course, got a huge release but bombed horribly. Which sucks because it’s lightyears better than the crappy first film. If you had any interest and skipped it, we highly recommend righting that wrong. Read our review.
Swiss Army Man
A man stranded on a deserted island is ready to kill himself when a dead body washes up on the beach. What follows is a weird, funny but ultimately uplifting tale of a man, a corpse and what simple companionship can do for the human spirit. Read our review.
Kubo and the Two Strings
Again, this movie also got a pretty wide release but audiences, for the most part, didn’t show up. It’s coming out on Blu-ray on November 30 and it’s a gorgeous, exciting adventure you’ll be glad you took. Read about the making of the movie here.
Comments
22 responses to “Great Sci-Fi Movies You May Have Missed In 2016 (But Shouldn’t Have)”
syncronicity sounds like a primer rip off
It is a bit. But the soundtrack is Carpenter inspired. Suits the 80’s tech, and tone. The B-movie dialogue is hooked to a pretty sweet narrative, too.
Primer is far superior, but arguably less fun.
I can’t help but notice that most of these aren’t Sci-Fi movies.
Watched Southbound and High-Rise over the last few days. The first was not bad at all, the second was just really bloody strange.
Someone blatantly ripped this list from a post from IMGUR yesterday. Didn’t even bother taking out the non-scifi movies.
I love Kotaku and Gizmodo and I get annoyed at the MRA’s and other random haters but I can’t help but think the quality has dipped in both since they absorbed the ex-gawker writers…
Was the Cloverfield trailer showing The Witch over there too, or did it get screwed up in transit?
They discussed Cloverfield and Witch seperately using still shots.
I’ve fixed up the trailers. Sorry for the snafu on my end.
This was on Gizmodo 2 days ago http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/11/great-sci-fi-movies-you-may-have-missed-in-2016-but-shouldnt-have/ so perhaps imgur took it from them? Unless it was up on imgur even earlier.
Well my thoughts are as follows
If Gizmodo ripped off some random on IMGUR:
Nothing more needs to be said, this is pretty low quality work for a publication this size
If Gizmodo did indeed post first:
The article itself is a POS. Article brings in people with promise of scifi and almost half the movies mentioned are of completely different genres and on initial posting, some of the embedded videos were wrong as well.
No matter which it is, it’s a poor reflection on a once great site.
Hey, Alex here. It’s a repost from Gizmodo; usually we have a little note at the bottom, but that got left out this time. Our bad.
I’ll go through and fix up the videos that aren’t right. Thanks for letting know.
Saw that too, maybe the Imgur user is Kotaku writer?
What? Noooo. The first one was decent, but this one was just baaad, and not even in a cheesy kind of so-bad-it’s-good way.
Personally… nah. The first was terrible but Out of the Shadows was even worse. It just went terrible to absolutely atrocious.
So midnight special is basically stranger things?
Midnight Special was released before Stranger Things. As to whether it would be as good? I doubt it. Might give it a shot though.
Ah ok, yeah they share similar concepts seems worth a watch.
Lazer team is not that good, Sure for Rooster Teeth is a great effort. But the movie itself is full of cringeworth comedy and a lacklustre storyline. This movie would not have done as well as it has without the Rooster Teeth Fandom. As a movie on its own seperate from RT, This movie would have tanked hard.
Agreed, a fair chunk of the comedy comes from RT in-jokes. Great for us RT vets but I’d imagine newbies will be disappointed.
Im a huge RT fan as well, But this movie still made me cringe. RT style comedy does not really mix well with a semi serious movie.
I have to admit though im less of an RT fan and more of a funhaus fan now as their style of comedy is a lot more appealing.
Just finished watching Kubo. Surprisingly amazing. The animation was exceptional.
Midnight Special and The Lobster are fantastic. Keen to see Kubo.