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The sci-fi selection on Netflix includes quite a few original movies, along with beloved classics and some hidden gems. Whether you want to go to space or another dimension entirely, here are 10 of the best science-fiction movies to stream on Netflix.

UPDATE: 6/9/23

After reviewing our guide, we found that Fast Color, Men in Black, and Star Trek had left Netflix, so we've replaced them with three new recommendations.

Advantageous

In Jennifer Phang's Advantageous, a single mother undergoes a radical, body-changing procedure in order to provide a more secure future for her daughter. Gwen (co-writer Jacqueline Kim) agrees to have her consciousness transferred into a new body so that she can be a better corporate representative for her employer---but of course, there are complications to the procedure.

Advantageous examines issues of race and class within the context of a heady sci-fi drama about the nature of identity.

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Dune

Before the recent more polished version with a bigger budget, David Lynch attempted to adapt Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel Dune, in a way only a filmmaker like Lynch could. That means that Lynch's 1984 version of the story of intergalactic heir Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) rising to power on the desert planet of Arrakis is full of bizarre, surreal imagery, hallucinogenic set pieces, and impressionistic storytelling. The plotting may be a mess, but it's a strange and singular vision of a sci-fi world that seems to arise fully formed from a fever dream.

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I Am Mother

After all of humanity is apparently wiped out, a robot that calls itself Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) raises one teenage girl known as Daughter (Clara Rugaard). I Am Mother explores what happens when a human intruder (Hilary Swank) disrupts the carefully balanced environment that Mother has created, and causes Daughter to question everything that she's been taught about humanity and the world outside.

It's a thoughtful exploration of the concept of nature vs. nurture, along with some thrilling suspense as the two maternal figures battle for the allegiance of the young woman.

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The Mitchells vs. the Machines

A delightful animated comedy that happens to take place during the robot apocalypse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines turns the potential end of the world into a family-bonding opportunity. The dysfunctional Mitchell family find themselves as humanity's sole hope against self-aware robots, but they must heal their fractured relationships.

Gruff dad Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) learns to understand his artsy teenage daughter Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), all while dodging deadly robot attacks in this colorful, creatively animated adventure.

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Related: The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Max in 2023

Oxygen

Pretty much all of Oxygen takes place in a cramped cryogenic pod just big enough to hold a single person, but the filmmakers still create a whole sci-fi world outside of those confines. Liz (Mélanie Laurent) wakes up inside the pod with no memory of who she is or how she got there, only getting the urgent warning that the oxygen level inside is at 35% and falling.

Along with a not particularly helpful AI, she must piece together her circumstances and figure out a way to escape. It's a well-paced thriller that keeps up the tension for its entire running time, all while remaining right beside its only character.

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Pitch Black

Before Vin Diesel's Richard B. Riddick character anchored a universe-spanning film franchise, he was just one part of the ensemble cast in director David Twohy's sci-fi horror movie Pitch Black.

Riddick is a prisoner on a transport ship that crash-lands on a planet with perpetual sunlight. When an eclipse brings sudden darkness and dangerous beasts emerge, Riddick uses his skills to lead the survivors to safety. Influenced by movies like Aliens, it's a thrilling mix of creature feature and action movie, with Diesel establishing one of his signature characters.

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Related: The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Hulu

The Platform

Spanish sci-fi horror movie The Platform places its protagonist in a seemingly never-ending multi-level prison, where a moving platform descends each day from the top level, full of food. As it goes down, prisoners on each level take what they can, leaving less and less for the people below them. It's a powerful if blunt allegory for income inequality, but it's also an intense, often gruesome thriller, as the main character attempts to overthrow the cruel system and rally his fellow inmates.

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Sleight

A teenage street magician uses his scientific knowledge for both card tricks and crime-fighting in J.D. Dillard's Sleight. Jacob Latimore plays the teen genius who develops his own device to levitate metal objects, putting it to use along with his sleight-of-hand skills to make extra money to take care of his sister.

Dillard combines the gritty drama of a working-class crime story with the technological achievements of a superhero movie, for a distinctive, affecting film about the lengths one young man will go to for the people he loves.

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Related: 5 Science Fiction Movies That Actually Have Science Fiction in Them

Spider-Man 2

Possibly the greatest superhero movie ever made, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 builds on the title character's origin story while deepening the character relationships and providing a magnificent new nemesis for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire).

Alfred Molina plays the diabolical Doctor Octopus, who torments Peter as Peter also deals with troubles in his relationships with his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco). Raimi masterfully balances these elements along with inventive, satisfying action sequences.

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Starship Troopers

Paul Verhoeven's adaptation of Robert Heinlein's seminal sci-fi novel Starship Troopers was maligned and misunderstood on its original release, but it's since become a cult classic thanks to Verhoeven's subversive approach. He takes Heinlein's story of future military recruits fighting bug-like aliens and turns it into a satire on militarism and conformity. Verhoeven combines bombastic blockbuster-style action with a sly takedown of the machismo and nationalism of the source material.

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