5 terrible Netflix sci-fi films ranked from worst to best

There is another push from audiences to devour the juicy morsels of science fiction that litter the airwaves. The genre of film and TV has been popular for decades, but below, we have some of the worst examples of this glorious style.

When Fritz Lang paved the way for the sci-fi genre with his film Metropolis, the filmmaker probably envisioned the genre to live up to a certain standard. When Stanley Kubrick popularised the genre with his ground-breaking film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, he might have had similar thoughts. However, there are certain films on Netflix that are an absolute travesty in the name of the genre and proudly flaunt the badge of being some of the worst films ever made. 

After Netflix premiered Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things, they were applauded for resuscitating the genre by plugging in 80s nostalgia within an exciting Stephen King-like framework with plenty of sci-fi elements, including interdimensional travel, psychokinesis, supernatural monsters etc. The streamer’s tryst with sci-fi content has been quite successful, with a variety of titles adorning its shelves. 

They go from being absolute classics to underrated films that deserve unhinged attention, touching upon themes including time travel, evolution, apocalypse, human extinction, artificial intelligence and more, some of the underrated films remain pretty overlooked. 

However, there is a variety of pretty terrible content that is so bad that you might even begin to enjoy them! Here are 5 terrible Netflix sci-fi films ranked from worst to best:

5 terrible Netflix sci-fi films ranked from worst to best 

5. Hungerford (Drew Casson, 2014)

A small, scruffy English town is overtaken by malignant forces whose sinister effect is leading to organised crime. With the lives of the teenagers in question in danger, they have to find a way to fight against these forces and restore peace and stability. 

Atrocious and flawed, the film, according to many viewers, is a low-budget Shaun of the Dead without the constant laughs and gags. While a lot could be done with the documentary-like handheld video camera usage, the film ended up boring people with erratic assailants and whiny teenagers. 

4. iBoy (Adam Randall, 2017)

While trying to save a fellow high schooler, Tom gets attacked and falls into a coma. He wakes up to realise that fragments of his smartphone have been instilled into his brain, giving him superpowers to exact revenge on the gang responsible for the mindless violence.  

Starring Bill Milner, Maisie Williams, Rory Kinnear and others, the abundance of cliches cannot resuscitate the film from being an absolute disaster, despite Williams’ incredible performance. The film had lots of potential to be a great success but failed due to poor execution.

The plot is extremely slow and gimmicky, the film is a substandard attempt at employing grim realism within such a dreary narrative.  

3. Future World (James Franco, Bruce Thierry Chung, 2018)

Starring James Franco, Lucy Liu, Jeffrey Wahlberg and Suki Waterhouse, the film is a disaster despite its brilliant casting. With its pathetically low budget and Franco’s obvious inexperience, the film was an incoherent, ill-fated doom from the very start with poor production design and ridiculous narrative. 

A young Prince vows to find a mythical medicine in a wasteland to save his mother, the dying Queen, while evading various obstacles, including a Warlord motorbiker, his sex companion-turned-assassin and others.  

2. Shanghai Fortress (Hutato Teng, 2019) 

Wrapped within the elements of a sci-fi film is a story of love and perseverance that quickly falls apart despite its big budget. While The Wandering Earth was a brilliant Chinese sci-fi film, Shanghai Fortress fails to live up to the expectations while trying to drive in patriotic symbolism and loyalty. 

In a futuristic Shanghai, China finds itself battling against an alien siege that has overtaken several cities across the globe. The world relies on China to save the remnants of humanity from destruction at the hands of the vile humanoid robots.  

1. The Darkest Hour (Chris Gorak, 2011)

Starring Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella and others, the film sees a sudden alien invasion threatening to annihilate humanity from the face of the earth. As the survivors scurry to protect themselves, they must also carry out a charge against the aliens who operate via cutting off the power supply.  

A shocking travesty of the sci-fi genre, the film deals with a flimsy alien invasion and the absence of fleshed-out characters. It is so terrible that viewers might actually start taking a liking to its flailing doomsday narrative.