Don't worry, we've got your back. Take our word for it: these five indies are science-fiction at its very best. Imaginative, original and emotional, they'll expand your mind and your heart. Best of all, you can stream them right now from the likes of iTunes, Amazon and others.
You're welcome.
Written by: James Ward Byrkit & Alex Manugian
Directed by: James Ward Byrkit
Plot: Without an actual script, director Byrkit created an experimental film that's unlike anything you've ever seen. Eight actors were filmed in Byrkit's own home, improvising the entire film with little more than notes about major plot beats. It starts with a dinner party, but things go haywire quickly when a comet passes overhead, followed by one bizarre occurrence after another. It's a mind-bending experience that's not to be missed.
Available on: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play
Written by: Ari Folman, based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem
Directed by: Ari Folman
Plot: Robin Wright plays herself in this part live-action, part CGI "what if?" tale about an actress who agrees to have herself perfectly preserved digitally. Hollywood uses this digitized avatar to cast her in future films, forever young, a perfect recreation of her body, emotions, personality and talents. But the real world and the animated world start bleeding together for her. After 20 years, she's invited to attend a convention that hopes to spread the transformation of humans into animated avatars, where she begins to question the process.
Available on: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox Video, Vudu, Vimeo
Written by: Joon-ho Bong & Kelly Masterson (based on the graphic novel Le Transperceneige)
Directed by: Joon-ho Bong
Plot: In the future, a massive train called the Snowpiercer circles the globe, carrying the last remnants of humanity after an ice age is accidentally set off. But it's hardly a moving utopia; the train is arranged by social classes. The wealthy live in the luxurious front of the train while the less fortunate live in the grimy, horrible rear compartments. Chris Evans plays a reluctant leader who sets off a revolution, but what makes "Snowpiercer" worth watching is its inventive use of its unique setting, as well as its Korean director's cross-cultural sensibilities.
Available on: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox Video, Vudu
Written by: Jonathan Glazer
Directed by: Walter Campbell & Jonathan Glazer
Plot: Oh, boy. Scarlett Johansson stars as a voluptuous alien who drives around Scotland, picking up men she doesn't know and seducing them in order to lure them to their deaths. It sounds like a basic horror film setup, yet it's anything but. For starters, Johansson did all of the pickup scenes on the street with actual, non-actor men. If they agreed to go with her, the director would step in and explain what was going on and what they were in for. The result is something wholly original and surprisingly affecting.
Available on: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox Video, Vudu
Written by: Pat Rushin
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Plot: Terry Gilliam's latest opus got a criminally minuscule amount of promotion from its distributor, despite a worthy cast and a fascinating hook. Waltz stars as a computer genius in a dystopian society who sets out to find a mythical formula that can explain the meaning of life. Most intriguingly, Gilliam compared its Orwellian leanings to two other films from his own resume: "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys."
Available on: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox Video, Vudu
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